Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540686
officially entered pop culture with Nelly's aforementioned 2005 music video Grillz, which fortuitously featured a cameo by Dang's biz partner, rapper Paul Wall, which led to the explosion of the pair's budding empire. During that era, Dang tells us, he was filling orders for upwards of 450 grillz a month. A sampling of the song's lyrics says it all about the opulence and indulgence of these street bijoux: What it do, baby? (Uh), it's the iceman, Paul Wall (yeah) I got my mouth lookin' somethin' l i k e a d i s c o b a l l ( y e a h ) I got the diamonds and the ice, all hand set I might cause a cold front if I take a deep breath (already) My mouthpiece simply certified a total package Open up my mouth, and you see more carats than a salad (c'mon, man) M y t e e t h a r e m i n d b l o w i n ' g i v i n ' e v e r y b o d y c h i l l s Call me George Foreman, 'cause I'm sellin' everybody grillz Today, custom grillz are the couture of hip-hop style, collectible and to be changed out like any other accessory. At the top of the list of in-demand jewelers is Dang, whose dazzling pop-on embellishments for celebrity clients, especially performers, can take months to complete. It's not uncommon for Dang's signature grillz ornamented with diamonds and other jelly bean-colored jewels to reach into the five or six figures for statements that light up social media. Beyond the glitz, though, Johnny Dang & Co is a family-owned affair. He honed his craft from his grandfather and father; the latter had immigrated to Houston in the early '80s, opening a jewelry shop in a flea market, then urging his son to get in the biz and move to Texas. We met Dang's own son Johnny Jr. the day of our shoot, a disarming college student who appears in Dang & Co's social media posts, rocking his understated preppy look by the addition of grillz and other bijoux candy. "I always have family involved … my mom, my brothers," says Dang. There's a community focus, too — most notably carried out via an epic annual back-to-school block party (Paul Wall performs) capped by a backpack and school-supplies giveaway. As for future expansion, Dang says he's looking into Miami, and maybe Dallas. The Innovator: Diamond Boyz Style Dang's initial technical breakthrough was forging grillz that did not require teeth to be filed down. He followed that by an artistic tour de force, realized first in a commission for Migos rapper Quavo: invisibly set, emerald-cut baguette grillz, which soon became the ultimate accessory to sport in the hip-hop world. By this time, Dang and Paul Wall — who initially met at Sharpstown Mall, where Dang had a store and Wall deejayed — were business partners. As the jeweler said in his 2019 Forbes interview, "You have to keep giving customers something new and special to keep them coming back." In that vein, the latest maximal look from Johnny Dang & Co is the "honeymoon" style. Check out Megan Thee Stallion's GIA-certified oval-and-pink diamond honeymoon-set grillz on TikTok. Sporting his own blinding honeymoon grillz for social media, Wall proclaims in a cheeky video, "We got engagement rings on every tooth, man. If she don't say I do to this, she is not the one for you. The only way you can get one of these is calling Johnny Dang & Co right now, today." Reflecting upon his success, Dang says, "It's an American dream. I think, number one, it's a mentality from immigration. The first six months here, I made $500, my first-ever money. I was so happy. Now [three decades later], I have so much work, so many clients, and that's why I have a team. I'm supposed to do grillz for Kim Kardashian, maybe in a couple weeks." Top: The jeweler and his son, Johnny Jr. Above: Dang with hip-hop client RNB.FOEMOB. 96