Predictable News Dept: Rappers Downsizing During Recession

I'm sure nobody needed a news story to figure out this would happen, but in case you need verification. Hopefully this will also lead to a decrease in journalistic usage of the term "bling bling":

Rappers in a Recession, Cutting Down on the Bling
source

The hip-hop world is a less bling-bling place these days...“the day of conspicuous consumption is gone,” says Tamara Connor, an Atlanta-based stylist who has created looks for chart-topping rappers, including Lil Wayne...

...Before, a new artist might spend $25,000 of a $30,000 advance on a chain, according to Ben Baller, who counts Fat Joe as a client. “Now they would rather try to spend $5,000 and $6,000,” he says, adding, “they’re willing to talk about options by using sapphires, using very, very low quality gold. “Some people (are) even wanting to mix diamonds with cubics (cubic zirconia) so it would not be completely ungenuine.”