Sunday Times Magazine F/C 10-11 - 12/03/2014 04:56:26 PM - Plate:

10 I
16 MARCH 2 0 14
I 11
16 MARCH 2 0 14
G RI L L
P OW E R
Dental bling has spread from the grimaces of rappers to the
mouths of the mainstream. Rob Scher went to Brooklyn in
search of the glittering grin and met SAs first grill dentist
J
EWELLERY is a vague
concept. You could
dip a carcass in gold,
wear it round your
neck and people
would love it. This
pearl of wisdom
comes from the glint-
ing mouth of Ulysses Calixto, who wears a
conspicuous band of gold his grillz
across his four lower incisors.
Calixto, 23, is a Mexico-born street artist
from Brooklyn, New York. He has all the
trappings of a New York grillz wearer: tat-
toos, flat cap and a graffiti alias, Vto. Speak
with him briefly though, and his knowledge,
wit and charm belie this hood faade. On the
history of grillz, he is eloquent.
Hailing from Brooklyns burgeoning
Bushwick, Calixto has watched the demo-
graphics of both his neighbourhood and
grillz-wearers drastically change over the
past few years.
I feel right now with grillz, were at the
peak of what it was like 20 years ago, he
says. Only 20 years ago it was a sub-culture,
now its pop-culture.
Grillz were born in the late 80s, most no-
tably in New York City. Not everyone knew
where to get them back then, says Calixto.
Guys like Fast Eddie were the pioneers.
Jeweller Eddie Plein, owner of Eddies
Gold Teeth, is widely considered to be the
engineer of the first grill. He fitted out early
boisterous hip-hop figures such as Flavor
Flav and Slick Rick.
It would prove the perfect match Flavor
Flav s constantly wide-open mouth and
Pleins gold craftsmanship cemented grillz in
hip-hop culture. Plein moved to Atlanta,
where he created increasingly elaborate de-
signs for major southern hip-hop artists in-
cluding OutKast and Goodie Mob. It was the
southern revival of the grill, laughs
Calixto.
Down a flight of stairs in the heart of
American grillz country Fulton Avenue,
downtown Brooklyn I find a hair salon full
of gabbing women. Um, Im here to see Gino
the jeweller? I mumble into the sudden
silence.
Siyabonga Ngwekazi, aka Scoop, inspired the
first set of grillz in South Africa.
The grillz which existed in SA at that time
were generic sets which relied on wax or
silicone on the inside fitting surface to be
able to fit the user. They were made from
simple alloys, says Rawhni. With the help
of my experienced dental technician, I in-
troduced custom-made grillz professionally
crafted from precious metals. These do not
impact on the biological tissues of the mouth
the way the generic ones did. They afford
their user the comfort and confidence of not
worrying about them falling out during a
speech or song. They are handmade to fit
each individuals unique dentition.
South Africa is still in the embryonic
stages of grillz culture, he says. Rawhni is in
talks with the SA Dental Association and the
Health Professions Council of SA to request
official recognition for the procedure, to
avoid compromising his ethical and pro-
fessional position.
There has, he says, been a marked upswing
in female interest girls want grillz. After
Miley and Rihanna appeared wearing grillz,
lots of girls have been approaching me with
interest. The market is here, were just not
feeding it yet.
Back in Brooklyn, Calixto welcomes the
change in perception. People from all dif-
ferent parts of society are coming to these
jewellery stores now, getting fitted and most-
ly getting ripped off because they dont know
what to look for in the quality of the work. Its
the current it thing, which is fine. Were all
entitled to it.
As it has twice in the past two decades, the
grillz fad will pass again, a fact that doesnt
escape Midi. I would never have imagined
Id be able to make a living from gold teeth.
I really dont know where I would be if it
werent for that crazy Italian. Im riding the
wave right now, I dont know when its going
to give out, but were on top right now.
Rawhni is preparing for South Africas
oncoming swell. Every time a local artist is
seen in a photo or video wearing the grillz I
made for them, someone either contacts me
via social media or comes up to me to make
an appointment. Im even getting people
from all over Africa contacting me Kenya,
Tanzania, Nigeria, all over. The culture is
really in the birth stages but Im looking for-
ward to seeing it develop.
Calixto doesnt foresee a day when he
wont be wearing gold in his mouth. Yeah,
Im attracted to shiny cool things Im
primitive in that sense. Ill probably never
stop wearing my grillz. An important thing I
always try to remember though, is not
everything that shines is gold.
ORAL TREASURE: Can you identify these famous grillophiles? Find the answers at
the bottom of this page, listed clockwise from top left.
Through those curtains, honey! Gino,
real name Jean Midi, 42, works in a tiny back-
room workshop and is Calixtos trusted jew-
eller and long-time grillz maker.
I started when I was 15, he says. I was
part of a dental technicians class. Our teach-
er was an Italian World War 2 veteran whod
lost his leg. He was a cool guy.
Midi was a natural. Soon, with his teachers
blessing, he was supplying the entire school
with gold teeth. It was the early 90s, ev-
erybody wanted them.
When the Italian retired, he instructed
Midi to commandeer the schools equipment.
Put it in your bag and walk out that door,
he said to me. I wasnt gonna argue with
him. Midi set up shop in his parents base-
ment and within a couple of years had fitted
his entire neighbourhood.
Trends pass, and the popularity of grillz
died down. Midi gave it up and took a job at
Newark airport. Then, in 2005, Nelly released
the song Grillz, which would become the
comeback anthem for gold teeth. Midi got a
call from an old friend. They offered me
$1 000 a week, he says. Everybody was
coming in saying, I want diamonds like Nel-
ly. Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds.
That lasted until 2009, then things went
quiet again. It picked up again in 2011 with
A$AP Rocky. There was suddenly a whole
new generation. No more diamonds. Now
everybody wanted A$AP Rocky grillz. It
hasnt really stopped since then. Im doing
work for about 20 stores. He gives an
exhausted sigh.
Grillz are no longer just for hip-hop artists.
Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Madonna have
all sported them. There is a fresh generation
of fans and a different demographic of grillz
wearers. And the trend has moved to
Mzansi.
As far as I know, Im the only dentist in
South Africa who makes grillz, says Joburg
practitioner Dr Alexander Rawhni, known
to those who wear his grillz as Dr Smile, a
name he has trademarked. Also a singer-
songwriter known as LexLeo, Rawhni
brought his two worlds together, using his
own teeth as the testing ground. The first
grill I made was my own. I had to make sure
I got the process and design perfect before
making one for another mouth.
Soon after debuting his golden smile, he
began receiving requests from friends and
local personalities. TV and radio presenter
OPEN WIDE: Far
left, grill pioneer
Eddie Plein outside
his store in
Atlanta; left, local
dentist Alexander
Rawhni presents
a set of grillz in his
Johannesburg
rooms
ANSWERS
M i l e y C y r u s
R i t a O r a
M a d o n n a
F l a v o r F l a v
K a t y P e r r y
N e l l y
EVERYBODY WAS
COMING IN SAYING,
I WANT DIAMONDS LIKE
NELLY. DIAMONDS,
DIAMONDS, DIAMONDS
PHOTOGRAPH: KEVIN SUTHERLAND
K
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V
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COVER STORY COVER STORY
LexLeo (aka Dr
Smile) and his
glowing chompers