Is the Bling-Bling Culture in America Finally Dying?

There was a time, not too long ago, when Americans thought that everything bigger was better. Got a nice big home? Sweet. But a 5,000-square-foot McMansion showed that you were really living large. Rolling around in a sporty SUV? Cool. But having a huge (and expensive) Hummer really showed that you'd arrived.

Now it seems, mercifully, that the era of all things "big" is slowly but surely coming to an end. As far as houses go, people are finally figuring out that they don't need palatial estates to be happy after all. (Unless, of course, you're Tiger Woods, Tyler Perry or Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen -- all of whom have recently bought ridiculously large, multimillion-dollar properties). But thanks to the Great Recession, the average American buying a home is scaling back.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that the size of a new single-family home sold in 2009 decreased by nearly 100 square feet to 2,438 square feet – a decline that reversed a 30-year trend toward bigger houses. The real estate Website Trulia put it bluntly: "The McMansion Era is Over." Everywhere you look on the housing front, this trend is occurring. Even owners of vacation properties and megamansions are downsizing -- and sharing a few lessons learned in the process.

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Life Beyond Hip Hop

Life Beyond Hip-Hop: Rappers Doing Big Things Beyond the Music
In honor of Black Music Month, Black Voices has put together a list of artists who have not only achieved success in the rap world but also in other endeavors. From Queen Latifah, who once rapped about 'Ladies First' and has since gone on to become a well-regarded film actress and the face of CoverGirl cosmetics, to the multihyphenated Will Smith, these individuals have shown that the sky is the limit. Take a look at hip-hop's elite.

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Life Beyond Hip Hop

Ice Cube
Los Angeles, California native Ice Cube (real name: O'Shea Jackson) has amassed an impressive list of credits that include rapper, actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. As one of the members of the notable rap group NWA, Ice Cube penned many of the songs from the group's 1988 album 'Straight Outta Compton.' When he left the group, he went on to have a successful solo rap career and eventually a successful film and TV career with roles in such films as 'Friday,' 'Are We There Yet?' and 'Boyz N' the Hood.' Additionally, Ice Cube has taken his talents behind the camera as a director and also producer. He is also executive producer of the new TBS sitcom 'Are We There Yet?'

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Jay-Z
A long way from the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up, Jay-Z (real name: Shawn Corey Carter) is a multi-million dollar-grossing rapper turned entrepreneur. Shooting to fame in the mid-1990s, with his classic debut album 'Reasonable Doubt' (1996) and other subsequent projects, Jay-Z has traveled a path many of his peers have not. His resume includes one-time president of the notable hip-hop label Def Jam Records, one of the founding members of Roc-A-Fella Records, co-owner of The 40/40 Club, co-creator of the clothing line Rocawear, part-owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets, and most recently, founder of Roc Nation, a full entertainment company.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Andre Harrell
Though he was a part of the 1980s hip-hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, New York native Andre Harrell is most known as a successful record executive. As founder of the notable label Uptown Records, and one-time president and CEO of Motown Records, Harrell has molded such acts as Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, and Heavy D & The Boyz, as well as mentored hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs. He also is the man that discovered and first signed Robin Thicke to a record label deal.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Romany Malco
Long before this Brooklyn, New York native starred in box office hit movies such as 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' and 'Blades of Glory,' he was a part of the west coast rap group, The College Boyz. During the early 1990s, the handsome foursome released two albums 'Radio Fusion Radio' in 1992 and 'Nuttin Less Nuttin Mo' in 1994. Acting has proven to be much better for Malco, who portrayed MC Hammer in the VH1 biopic based on his life. He also starred in the hit Showtime series 'Weeds.'

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Doug E. Fresh
Born in Barbados and raised in New York, Doug E. Fresh (real name: Douglas E. Davis) was an integral part of the early hip-hop scene in New York. The rap icon (known as the Human Beat Box (for his ability to imitate drum machines and effects using his mouth), has made such memorable hip-hop songs as 'La Di Da Di' and 'The Show' while with the Get Fresh Crew. With his sights on the food industry, the vegetarian announced plans to open the Harlem restaurant Doug E's Fresh Chicken and Waffle.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

MC Lyte
Queens, New York native MC Lyte (real name: Lana Michele Moorer) is known as one of the top female emcees in the history of hip-hop. Able to hold her own in the male-dominated artform, Lyte deserves much more credit than just a notable female emcee. Her no holds barred attitude has taken her from the rap world to the TV world, where she has acted on such television shows as 'The District,' 'Half & Half' and 'In the House.' She has also built a successful career as in voiceovers. Recently, she signed on to become a voice for the branding of the STARZ cable network. Also, she opened the Los Angeles boutique Shaitel, which specializes in such accessories as belts and sunglasses.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Ice-T
Born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Los Angeles, Ice-T (real name: Tracy Marrow) has had a successful career as a rapper, with such notable songs as 'High Rollers' and 'Colors,' and solidified his place in West Coast rap. He has parlayed his success in hip-hop into a successful acting career with roles in such films as 'New Jack City' and 'Trespass.' He also plays Detective Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola on the popular TV drama series 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.'

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Ludacris
Born in Champaign, Illinois and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Ludacris (real name: Chris Bridges) proves that he is more than a rapper. Shooting to fame in the 2000s as a rapper with distinctive wordplay, the talented artist turned his sights to acting, where he has excelled in such films as the Academy Award winner 'Crash' and the John Singleton-produced 'Hustle & Flow.' Other ventures include a fragrance deal with TAG Body Spray and collaboration with Norwegian cognac house Birkedal Hartmann to create Conjure cognac.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

Master P
From growing up in the projects in New Orleans, Louisiana, No Limit Records founder, rapper, athlete, film and TV actor Master P (real name: Percy Miller) has built a multi-million dollar empire that includes being the founder of P. Miller Enterprises, an entertainment and financial conglomerate and Better Black TV . He has presided over a business empire that has included No Limit Records, Bout It Inc., No Limit Clothing, No Limit Films, No Limit Sports Management, PM. Properties and Advantage Travel. Master P is also a published author, releasing the 2007 book, 'Guaranteed Success.' Not only that, he is actively involved in bettering schools and communities, and was given the key to the city of Memphis, Tennessee in 2008.

Life Beyond Hip Hop

With cars too gigantic, vehicles are completely out of favor. After Hummer sales fell 67 percent in 2009, and GM sold just 265 of the gas-guzzling units in January of this year, the automaker decided to put the Hummer out to pasture. Overall on the automotive scene, although bigger isn't totally out, it is changing dramatically. As this Fortune story, titled 'The Big SUV's Death Rattle,' points out: Americans are shifting away from big SUVs to more practical and useful crossover vehicles.

As a Money Coach, I'm happy to see Americans start to downsize a bit. And, no, it's not because I have a modest home and drive a "baby SUV," a 2002 Toyota Highlander. Nor am I hating on people or envying what they have. On the contrary, as Americans of all economic and social backgrounds scale back, I'm wishing them well. I'm praying they'll reap the benefits of these changes. Chief among them: having less debt and reduced economic stress. After all, smaller homes and more modest cars are generally less expensive than larger upscale ones, when you take into account mortgages or car notes, insurance, taxes, maintenance, upkeep and so on.

A New Consumer Mindset: Opening Your Eyes to the Matrix

Oh, and did I mention one other huge benefit from ditching the "bigger is

better" mentality? It's enormously liberating to not be beholden (dare I say enslaved?) to excessive material possessions. It's like you've opted out of that whole "keeping up with the Joneses'" rat race that traps so many others. Perhaps that's why the 100 Thing Challenge -- which urges you to get rid of excess stuff and clutter in your life -- has touched a nerve with so many people.

Sometimes, when I look at people with financial problems that are of their own

doing (reckless overspending or blatant fiscal mismanagement), I feel like Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix. 'I'm thinking: doesn't anyone see the real deal going on here and view the world as it really is? And here's the real deal: Whether people want to admit it, a lot of the emphasis on buying bigger stuff often boiled down to showboating. Acquiring "things" -- larger things, expensive things, and just plain old more things -- was really all about trying to live the bling-bling lifestyle.

Madison Avenue skillfully convinced most middle-class people to try to emulate a bit of what they'd seen on TV. Back in the day, it was 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' More recently, it's been reality TV shows that glamorize celebrity lifestyles, making you want -- or think you want -- what those celebs have.

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Unfortunately, most of that stuff -- fancy cars, designer clothes and shoes, expensive jewelry, and, yes, bigger homes and cars -- mainly just get people into debt. It also makes them constantly crave stuff they can't truly afford, don't need, and in many cases don't even want -- other than to impress others. Now that the Great Recession has been going for three years strong, Americans are re-thinking the wisdom and practicality of clinging to the "mine is bigger than yours" mindset.

But let's not lament the or fret over previous excesses. Instead, as 2010 nears a close, let's all raise a glass and celebrate: The death of the bling-bling lifestyle means you don't have to be bling-blinging -- and broke.

Do you agree or disagree with me that we should be glad that "blinging" is coming to a slow demise?

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Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times best seller 'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'