Johnny Dang

Background

Johnny Dang was born in Vietnam and was raised in a small town in the highlands of central Vietnam with his four siblings. Dang’s grandfather and father were both in the jewelry business. His father served during the Vietnam war, fighting with U.S. allies. Looking for a better life for himself and his family, his father left for America in 1987. Dang moved to Houston, Texas, with his family in 1996, where he started working as a jewelry repairman from 1997 to 1998. He studied at Houston Community College and earned a bachelor’s in English. Before relocating to Texas, Dang acquired the skills necessary to produce jewelry while living in Vietnam, greatly aiding him in expanding his enterprise there. Dang started working at a flea market repair booth, making approximately $100 a month until he met rapper and businessman Paul Wall. Wall was pleased by Dang’s ability to design grillz without needing tooth filing. The rapper’s connections and business knowledge allowed Dang to enter hip-hop. This began a working relationship that continues to this day. The two started to show up at hip-hop venues, like Coco Loco, among others.

By 2000, Dang’s business was thriving, and he wanted to create something special for each of his rapper clients by incorporating embellishments like round diamonds and other colored diamonds. Dang relocated his company from the Sharpstown Mall to a standalone facility later in 2016. He began creating personalized grillz for famous people outside of the hip-hop community by creating grillz for Hollywood superstars, including Katy Perry, Paris Hilton, D.J. Pauly D, Tony Hawk, Jeffree Star, and others. He continues to use his skills to create previously unheard-of grillz designs, such as the renowned “invisible baguettes” he created for rapper Quavo in 2019. Quavo proudly flaunts a set of the first emerald-cut grillz ever manufactured by Dang on his Instagram profile. Today, Johnny Dang & Co. jewelry may be found everywhere, including the original shop in PlazAmericas and many other places. More than 50 people work in Dang’s jewelry production department, handling orders on-site from design to production.

Dang has been mentioned in songs by Migos, Gucci Mane, Lil Pump, Lucky Luciano, DaBaby, Y.N.W. Melly, King Von, Keith Ape, Nav, 2 Chainz, Chief Keef, Trippie Redd, and Juice WRLD. He has made appearances in several music videos, such as ‘Grillz’ (2005) by Nelly, ‘We Takin’ Over’ (2007) by D.J. Khaled, ‘Gucci Bandanna’ (2008) by Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, and Shawty Low, ‘Ice Cream Paint Job’ (2009) by Dorrough, ‘Wild Boy’ (2011) by Machine Gun Kelly, ‘No Angel’ (2013) by Beyoncé, and ‘Ice Tray’ (2017) by Quavo. Dang has contributed vocals to several tracks, including ‘Stay Iced Up’ from Paul Wall’s 2010 album “Heart of a Champion.” Dang is married to Jennifer Dang, and the couple spends millions of dollars on their lavish lifestyle. Additionally, the couple has two kids, with whom they like spending as much of their leisure time as possible. Dang had a daughter on September 6, 2005, and a son on April 19, 2007.