There are some pretty obvious reasons to compete on The voiceThe winner will receive $100,000 in prize money and a recording contract with Universal Music Group, and runners-up will have the chance to expand their audience week after week on one of the biggest stages in the world while being mentored by industry professionals.

Those are just the minimum requirements, but sometimes participants also receive bonus gifts from their chosen coach, a piece of jewelry or a memorabilia that symbolizes their shared goal (capturing the crown) and their time together. In the past, John Legend has handed out Team Legend jackets, Chance the Rapper has handed out hats, Dan + Shay have handed out custom baseball jerseys, and Reba McEntire always entices participants with hash browns, chicken strips, and other treats.

In season 27, Snoop Dogg has joined the team of trainers and is handing out what is probably the coolest artifact in the history of The voice: Death Row Records chains.

A Brief History of Death Row Records

Death Row Records was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, The DOC and Dick Griffey. The label was instrumental in defining West Coast hip-hop and has made several big names on the scene. Early on, the label secured a deal to contribute music to the soundtrack of the 1992 film Deep CoverThe title track was Dr. Dre’s first release after leaving NWA and featured a young Snoop Dogg.

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Shortly thereafter, the label released Dre’s first solo album, The ChronicleSnoop Dogg’s From behindand 2Pac All eyes on meAlbums that are still influential today. Towards the end of the decade, the label struggled with the burden of Tupac’s murder, various legal disputes, and the departure of its key artists, including Snoop Dogg. Death Row filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was purchased by WIDEawake Entertainment three years later. It bounced between various companies until Snoop bought the label from MNRK Music Group in 2022.

That same year, Snoop released his third album on Death Row Records, 26 years after the release of his second album in 1996. This time, he was not only the darling of the label, but also its owner. A few decades ago, Snoop was given a Death Row necklace by Suge Knight, and now, 30 years later, he’s the one handing them out.

The Unspoken Meaning of Bling

Jewelry and other aesthetic adornments have been a part of human culture for hundreds of thousands of years, ever since humans began to exist. In hip hop, we can see the meaning and cultural symbolism of jewelry on a grand scale.

Early hip hop artists wore fairly simple jewelry, often purchased from local stores, to show off their success. An artist might buy a ring or necklace to celebrate an accomplishment or to symbolize reaching a new level. Over time, the role of jewelry in hip hop culture evolved, with each new artist upping the ante until it reached the many different forms we see today in contemporary “bling.” Artists wear their accomplishments not on their sleeves, but on wrists and fingers, on grills, and around their necks.

Bling-bling not only represents wealth and success, but also connection and a found family. In 2002, Kanye West was still relatively unknown when he signed with Roc-A-Fella Records and received a Roc-A-Fella chain in front of an audience in his hometown. Roc-A-Fella co-founder Dame Dash, who presented the chain to the young Ye, said according to Time: “I just wanted to give him strength. And that’s why I presented him with the chain in front of everyone in his hometown.”

In the right circles, the right necklace (or other jewelry) actually confers power and respect. You can’t buy it or demand it, you have to be given it, and the criteria for getting it are varied and vague. Rapper and radio host Roxanne Shanté was part of the Juice Crew, an ’80s hip-hop collective in Queensbridge, New York. She is the only rapper to have received a Juice Crew ring, a gold ring with a diamond-encrusted letter R.

“It used to be that if someone had juice, they were respected and in control of their neighborhood and the situation. So if you saw someone with the Juice Crew ring, you knew you could trust that person. You knew you could go to that person with your problems. So you had to earn it. The Juice ring was not something you could buy. It had to be given to you,” Shanté told NPR.

Shanté’s Juice Crew ring is one of the more subtle pieces featured in “Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry,” on display at the American Museum of Natural History through January 5, 2025. The exhibit illustrates the history of hip-hop from the ’80s to today and features Run-DMC’s Adidas pendant, Nicki Minaj’s jewel-encrusted Barbie necklace, a grill for Lil Nas X, and a watch chain made famous by Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav, among other pieces.

Today, half a century after the birth of hip-hop, collectors are eagerly snapping up yesterday’s bling. In 2023, a pair of Death Row Records pendants were auctioned off, along with artifacts from Tupac’s 1996 Saturday Night Live performances and other hip hop memorabilia. The chains were commissioned by music mogul Suge Knight and were meant to be loaned to artists. There were a few different styles, including a gold “Fully Iced” pendant with diamonds that was worn by top artists like Snoop Dogg and Tupac. That same year, one of Tupac’s rings sold at auction for over a million dollars.

Pendants, rings, grills and other jewelry are more than just fashion accessories, they are a means of communication. They allow the wearer to communicate their affiliation, philosophy and achievements. And they provide a visual thread, an ever-evolving but culturally regulated collection of artifacts that tell the story of an art form. In context, Snoop’s chains in Season 27 of The voice are more than just necklaces, more than just souvenirs, they are unique and special gifts that only Snoop can give.