Rappers and Jesus Pieces

Jesus, the Notorious! Biggie was one of the first cats to rock a Jesus piece on his chest. His New York comrades, such as Jadakiss, Jay-Z and Nas, also let the holy figure dangle around their necks as well. But what may have started as an NYC thing began to migrate across the map to the West and nearly everywhere in between, with MCs revering the medallion via their lyrics. B.I.G. spit, “Cubans with the Jesus piece (thank you God) with my peeps" on "Hypnotize." Kanye West would follow suit seven years later on Slum Village's "Selfish," saying, “From the Polo fleece to the Jesus piece/I got family in high places like Jesus’ niece.” 'Ye even has his own black Jesus medallion for God sakes, pardon the pun. XXL takes a look back at all the MCs that have honored the God himself, through the years.— Mark Lelinwalla