Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds and Hip Hop
"Bling'd: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip Hop" is an upcoming film that takes a hard-hitting look at the illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone, West Africa and how "blinging" in the flashy world of commercial hip-hop played a role in the 11-year civil war, which ended in 2002. The war was perpetuated largely by of a group of genocidal rebels, supported by Liberia, and primarily funded by the illegal trading of conflict diamonds or "blood" diamonds. The rebels sought to control the country's diamond mines and then traded the stones for money and arms in order to fund the war. Blood diamonds are a challenge not only in Sierra Leone, but in several West African countries, where miners often earn less than a dollar a day and peace and security remain elusive.
In "Bling'd" three hip-hop celebrities-- Paul Wall, Raekwon (of Wu Tang Clan), and reggaetón king Tego Calderon --will visit Sierra Leone. In the capital of Freetown, these hip-hop stars will meet their contemporaries, refugees and former child soldiers living in the country. They will hear first-hand accounts of the atrocities suffered at the hands of the rebels that included rape, torture and amputation. They'll witness how Sierra Leone citizens are trying to rise from the ruins of conflict and improve their living conditions.
In the U.S., Kanye West, Jadakiss as well as other luminaries will weigh in on how hip-hop can redefine the diamond culture and the consequences of that embrace. Along with their insight, the film will be interspersed with testimonials, factoids and graphic images of those directly affected by the diamond trade. "Bling'd" will capture hip-hop's reaction to the human violations, bring global awareness to this issue and educate Americans about how they can play a role in eradicating the smuggling of blood diamonds simply by becoming conscious consumers and responsible global citizens by demanding "clean" diamonds.
But let's be for real this has been happening way before hip hop, way before the majority of black folks even had the money to splurg in such a way.
We can thank Hollywood, top world designers, models, government officals, the rich and infamous.... the list goes on and on.
The first showing already aired on February 22,2007 at 8:00 (CST) but you can catch the next airing of the eye-opening documentary on Sunday February 25, 2007 at 8:00 (CST).
http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/vh1_rock_docs/115835/episode.jhtml
