Hip Hop Slang
Content
Hip hop slang
Slang
Slang is the non-standard use of words in a language and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. Slang terms are often particular to a certain subculture - such as hip hop. Several scholarly works have begun to explore the relationship between hip hop slang and African American English (otherwise known as Ebonics). Below is a list of alternatives to general English that has been adapted by many in the hip hop community. Alternative Pronunciation Alternative Spelling Conjoined Words Partial Words Replacement Suffix Actions Anatomy Brand Names & Commercial Trademarks Consumer Products Drug Terms Gang Terms Gun Terms Locations Numbers Concepts Relationships Miscellaneous Phrases
Enjoy! Mr. Doody
1
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Alternative Pronunciation Used to shorten, alter, or change the sound of a word. Often used for ease of rhyming or to fit into rhythm, such as placing emphasis on the "O" vowel, while dropping the end consontants. Can also be used as self referential humor, by adopting a known variation in pronunciation used in local or regional settings, movies or popular media, dialects, accents, etc, with the end result of an intentional adopted spelling of this pronunciation. * aight, aite, aw-ite - all right * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * axe - ask "I want to axe you a question." befo' - before "I told you this befo'.’" biatch - bitch da' - the "He's da' man." dat - that "I love dat." dis - this "I love dis." down - I'm up for it. "I'm down." fitty - fifty "He's fitty years old.' flava - flavor flo' - floor fo'(1)- for "This is fo' my Aunt." fo'(2) - the number four. fo'(3) - short for before, or any -fore suffix. ho - prostitute, short for whore mo' - more "I can't stand it no mo." moo' - move "moo’ over there for me."
* flow - to rap, can also be used as a noun, "Listen to my flow."
* nigga, niggaz - one's boyz, those one hangs out with * 'sup - what's up
Alternative Spelling Spelling that alters letters in a word but results in roughly the same pronunciation. The intent is to place more emphasis on a part of the word than in the traditional pronunciation. * boi - boy * herre - here, pronounced as "her", introduced by rap artist Nelly in song lyrics, "It's getting hot in herre." * phat - very cool Conjoined Words Words that are combined for ease of pronunciation, and to reduce the total number of syllables. * * * * busta - snitch, "You's a busta." fugly - fucking ugly, "She looks fugly." hella - hell of "He's hella cool." payce - peace "Payce dawg."
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Partial Words Uses part of a word to represent an entire word. * cuz - short for because * cuz(2) - a citation what's up cuz? / cousin, especially in Crips slang "He's my cuz." * feds - short for Federal Agents, refers to cops or other law enforcement agencies * popo - cops, short for police * po' - poor "He's too po' to afford a house." * sitch - situation Replacement Suffix The ending of a word is removed, and replaced with a new suffix used as a substitute, much like Pig latin. * * * * * * * * * bizzle - bitch fizzle - can be female or fuck hizzle(1) - house hizzle(2) - hook, as in "Off the hook" nizzle - nigga rizzle - real shiznit - shit shizzle - sure tizzle - a state of agitation or nervousness
Actions * bail - leave "I'm gonna bail." * be - are, am, is - usually refers to location "I be over here." or "He be sleeping right now." * bent - intoxicated * buggin' - acting in a manner which is not socially acceptable "Why she buggin'?" * bumpin' - to one's liking "That song is bumpin'." * busta cap - to shoot a gun "I'ma busta cap in yo ass." * busta move - to act quickly, or to perform a dance move * bust out(1) - to leave, to exit. "He busted out of the club." * bust out(2) - to show or introduce something. "He busted out a deck of playing cards from his coat pocket." * chillin' - relaxing. "We chillin' at State and 3rd." * dime - hot girl * diss - to show disrespect. * fittin' or fixin' - going to do something "I'm fittin' to buy me some cigarettes." * gank - to steal "He ganked my ride." * jet - leave "We gotta jet." * lunchin' - behaving erratically * roll out - to leave
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* scrap - to fight "We scrapped in the back yard." * spit - see flow. Anatomy * * * * * * booty - buttocks, especially female guns - muscular arms puntang, poontang, punanny, pooty, poot - female genitalia Benz - short for Mercedes Benz, known for luxury automobiles Cristal - Roederer Cristal, a brand of champagne Lex - short for Lexus, known for luxury automobiles
Consumer Products * bub - short for bubbly, i.e. champagne * rims - wheels of a vehicle, often a customized wheel replacing a manufacturer wheel, with an appealing design or "bling-bling" appearance. Size is also a factor, generally twenty to twenty-four inches denotes luxury or extra expense. * whip - car Drug Terms * bud - marijuana * dime, dimebag, dimesack, sawbuck - a ten dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * ice - crystalized methamphetamine, ice cream, dream catcher * mac - blunt * nick, nickel, nickelbag, nickelsack, - a five dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * yayo, yay - cocaine * weed - buda, shwag, mota, bud, mary jane, dodo, green, fire, smoke, peace stick, watar, bluntos * hydro - dro, dodo, banga, ganja, dank, sticky * elbow - LB (lb.) pound of illicit drugs * dub - a twenty dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * quarter - a twenty five dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * eight ball - an eight ounce "bag" of illicit drugs * roll - MDMA, ecstasy pill
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Gang Terms * gangsta - member of a street gang * playa - someone who is not monogamous / someone who's really in, someone who's got a lot of respect * playa hata - one who has ill feelings towards the actions of a playa / someone with no respect, wanksta * thug - hard core gangster * wanksta - fake ass gangsta * P.H.D. - pimping hoes daily * noassatall - no ass at all * chillax - chilling while relaxing * white girl - cocaine, coke, yayo, blow,the shit Gun Terms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * cap - bullet Mac 10, Mac - gun nine, nina - 9mm handgun piece - gun strapped up - holding a gun AR - AR 15 machine gun K - ak 47 pump - shotgun pistol - gun heat - gun biscuit - gun ruger - gun 4 pounda - 40 caliber gun 44 - 44 caliber gun
Locations * * * * * areous - area crib - place of residence hood - neighborhood bodega - corner store the shops - mall somewhere to go shopping
Numbers * 313 - from, of, or referring to a Detroit (telephone) area code * 213 - from, of, or referring to a southern California (telephone) area code * 411 - information, from the telephone directory service in the US * 420 - marijuana related, from the police code used for possession or use of marijuana
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* 5-0 - police (referring to the television show Hawaii Five-O) * 808 - police code for excessive noise pollution, supposedly named after a sound system of the same name. * 730 - the code for crazy * 247 - all day hustle * 187 - murder * 817 - Fort Worth TX,(funkytown, murderworth,and partyworth) telephone area code
Concepts * benjamins - refers to 100 dollar bills after the American president Benjamin Franklin, whose face is on them. "It's all about the benjamins". * bling bling - expensive jewelry or other expensive material possessions, refers to the imaginary sound of glistening metal or other shiny surfaces. * bo janglin' – stupid, not paying attention * busted - ugly nigga, "Yo' girl is busted." * dope - cool, tight * dime - a very attractive woman, a "ten" on a scale of one-to-ten * fly - appealing "She is so fly." * koolin' it - kickin' it, chilling * kickin' - appealing "Those rims are kickin." * straight - okay * the shit - awesome, great. "That man is the shit." * tight - attractive "Your car is tight." * wack - not to one's liking "This relationship is totally wack." * ba-donka-donk - an incredibly attractive ass
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Relationships * * * * * * * * * * boo - boy/girlfriend, beau boyz - gang friends brurva - a male acquaintance crew - one's good friends (similar to boyz) haps - mother hoodrat - girl with loose morals homie, homey, homeboy - friend jigga - acquaintance, alternate of "nigga" peeps - people, acquantainces shorty - girl, or girl on the side
Miscellaneous * * * * * jakes - cops jonx - belongings junk - stuff, belongings, male or female genitals shit - stuff, belongings. "Get away from my shit." lowckin - checking out the scene
Phrases * * * * * * * * * * * da bomb - the bomb, i.e. cool, appealing, or popular my bad - my mistake off the hook, off the chain - unbelievable, outrageous, wild, etc. peace out - good bye rise up, foo - bring it on school ya - to teach a lesson, to win a confrontation sku me - excuse me whas goin' down? - what are we doin` tonight? what tha dilly yo? - what is going on? what up? - hello, how are you? word up - got that straight, that's right, or how's it going?
Copyright © 2009 by Mr. Doody. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission from Mr. Doody.
7
[email protected]
Slang
Slang is the non-standard use of words in a language and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. Slang terms are often particular to a certain subculture - such as hip hop. Several scholarly works have begun to explore the relationship between hip hop slang and African American English (otherwise known as Ebonics). Below is a list of alternatives to general English that has been adapted by many in the hip hop community. Alternative Pronunciation Alternative Spelling Conjoined Words Partial Words Replacement Suffix Actions Anatomy Brand Names & Commercial Trademarks Consumer Products Drug Terms Gang Terms Gun Terms Locations Numbers Concepts Relationships Miscellaneous Phrases
Enjoy! Mr. Doody
1
[email protected]
Alternative Pronunciation Used to shorten, alter, or change the sound of a word. Often used for ease of rhyming or to fit into rhythm, such as placing emphasis on the "O" vowel, while dropping the end consontants. Can also be used as self referential humor, by adopting a known variation in pronunciation used in local or regional settings, movies or popular media, dialects, accents, etc, with the end result of an intentional adopted spelling of this pronunciation. * aight, aite, aw-ite - all right * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * axe - ask "I want to axe you a question." befo' - before "I told you this befo'.’" biatch - bitch da' - the "He's da' man." dat - that "I love dat." dis - this "I love dis." down - I'm up for it. "I'm down." fitty - fifty "He's fitty years old.' flava - flavor flo' - floor fo'(1)- for "This is fo' my Aunt." fo'(2) - the number four. fo'(3) - short for before, or any -fore suffix. ho - prostitute, short for whore mo' - more "I can't stand it no mo." moo' - move "moo’ over there for me."
* flow - to rap, can also be used as a noun, "Listen to my flow."
* nigga, niggaz - one's boyz, those one hangs out with * 'sup - what's up
Alternative Spelling Spelling that alters letters in a word but results in roughly the same pronunciation. The intent is to place more emphasis on a part of the word than in the traditional pronunciation. * boi - boy * herre - here, pronounced as "her", introduced by rap artist Nelly in song lyrics, "It's getting hot in herre." * phat - very cool Conjoined Words Words that are combined for ease of pronunciation, and to reduce the total number of syllables. * * * * busta - snitch, "You's a busta." fugly - fucking ugly, "She looks fugly." hella - hell of "He's hella cool." payce - peace "Payce dawg."
2
[email protected]
Partial Words Uses part of a word to represent an entire word. * cuz - short for because * cuz(2) - a citation what's up cuz? / cousin, especially in Crips slang "He's my cuz." * feds - short for Federal Agents, refers to cops or other law enforcement agencies * popo - cops, short for police * po' - poor "He's too po' to afford a house." * sitch - situation Replacement Suffix The ending of a word is removed, and replaced with a new suffix used as a substitute, much like Pig latin. * * * * * * * * * bizzle - bitch fizzle - can be female or fuck hizzle(1) - house hizzle(2) - hook, as in "Off the hook" nizzle - nigga rizzle - real shiznit - shit shizzle - sure tizzle - a state of agitation or nervousness
Actions * bail - leave "I'm gonna bail." * be - are, am, is - usually refers to location "I be over here." or "He be sleeping right now." * bent - intoxicated * buggin' - acting in a manner which is not socially acceptable "Why she buggin'?" * bumpin' - to one's liking "That song is bumpin'." * busta cap - to shoot a gun "I'ma busta cap in yo ass." * busta move - to act quickly, or to perform a dance move * bust out(1) - to leave, to exit. "He busted out of the club." * bust out(2) - to show or introduce something. "He busted out a deck of playing cards from his coat pocket." * chillin' - relaxing. "We chillin' at State and 3rd." * dime - hot girl * diss - to show disrespect. * fittin' or fixin' - going to do something "I'm fittin' to buy me some cigarettes." * gank - to steal "He ganked my ride." * jet - leave "We gotta jet." * lunchin' - behaving erratically * roll out - to leave
3
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* scrap - to fight "We scrapped in the back yard." * spit - see flow. Anatomy * * * * * * booty - buttocks, especially female guns - muscular arms puntang, poontang, punanny, pooty, poot - female genitalia Benz - short for Mercedes Benz, known for luxury automobiles Cristal - Roederer Cristal, a brand of champagne Lex - short for Lexus, known for luxury automobiles
Consumer Products * bub - short for bubbly, i.e. champagne * rims - wheels of a vehicle, often a customized wheel replacing a manufacturer wheel, with an appealing design or "bling-bling" appearance. Size is also a factor, generally twenty to twenty-four inches denotes luxury or extra expense. * whip - car Drug Terms * bud - marijuana * dime, dimebag, dimesack, sawbuck - a ten dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * ice - crystalized methamphetamine, ice cream, dream catcher * mac - blunt * nick, nickel, nickelbag, nickelsack, - a five dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * yayo, yay - cocaine * weed - buda, shwag, mota, bud, mary jane, dodo, green, fire, smoke, peace stick, watar, bluntos * hydro - dro, dodo, banga, ganja, dank, sticky * elbow - LB (lb.) pound of illicit drugs * dub - a twenty dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * quarter - a twenty five dollar "bag" of illicit drugs * eight ball - an eight ounce "bag" of illicit drugs * roll - MDMA, ecstasy pill
4
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Gang Terms * gangsta - member of a street gang * playa - someone who is not monogamous / someone who's really in, someone who's got a lot of respect * playa hata - one who has ill feelings towards the actions of a playa / someone with no respect, wanksta * thug - hard core gangster * wanksta - fake ass gangsta * P.H.D. - pimping hoes daily * noassatall - no ass at all * chillax - chilling while relaxing * white girl - cocaine, coke, yayo, blow,the shit Gun Terms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * cap - bullet Mac 10, Mac - gun nine, nina - 9mm handgun piece - gun strapped up - holding a gun AR - AR 15 machine gun K - ak 47 pump - shotgun pistol - gun heat - gun biscuit - gun ruger - gun 4 pounda - 40 caliber gun 44 - 44 caliber gun
Locations * * * * * areous - area crib - place of residence hood - neighborhood bodega - corner store the shops - mall somewhere to go shopping
Numbers * 313 - from, of, or referring to a Detroit (telephone) area code * 213 - from, of, or referring to a southern California (telephone) area code * 411 - information, from the telephone directory service in the US * 420 - marijuana related, from the police code used for possession or use of marijuana
5
[email protected]
* 5-0 - police (referring to the television show Hawaii Five-O) * 808 - police code for excessive noise pollution, supposedly named after a sound system of the same name. * 730 - the code for crazy * 247 - all day hustle * 187 - murder * 817 - Fort Worth TX,(funkytown, murderworth,and partyworth) telephone area code
Concepts * benjamins - refers to 100 dollar bills after the American president Benjamin Franklin, whose face is on them. "It's all about the benjamins". * bling bling - expensive jewelry or other expensive material possessions, refers to the imaginary sound of glistening metal or other shiny surfaces. * bo janglin' – stupid, not paying attention * busted - ugly nigga, "Yo' girl is busted." * dope - cool, tight * dime - a very attractive woman, a "ten" on a scale of one-to-ten * fly - appealing "She is so fly." * koolin' it - kickin' it, chilling * kickin' - appealing "Those rims are kickin." * straight - okay * the shit - awesome, great. "That man is the shit." * tight - attractive "Your car is tight." * wack - not to one's liking "This relationship is totally wack." * ba-donka-donk - an incredibly attractive ass
6
[email protected]
Relationships * * * * * * * * * * boo - boy/girlfriend, beau boyz - gang friends brurva - a male acquaintance crew - one's good friends (similar to boyz) haps - mother hoodrat - girl with loose morals homie, homey, homeboy - friend jigga - acquaintance, alternate of "nigga" peeps - people, acquantainces shorty - girl, or girl on the side
Miscellaneous * * * * * jakes - cops jonx - belongings junk - stuff, belongings, male or female genitals shit - stuff, belongings. "Get away from my shit." lowckin - checking out the scene
Phrases * * * * * * * * * * * da bomb - the bomb, i.e. cool, appealing, or popular my bad - my mistake off the hook, off the chain - unbelievable, outrageous, wild, etc. peace out - good bye rise up, foo - bring it on school ya - to teach a lesson, to win a confrontation sku me - excuse me whas goin' down? - what are we doin` tonight? what tha dilly yo? - what is going on? what up? - hello, how are you? word up - got that straight, that's right, or how's it going?
Copyright © 2009 by Mr. Doody. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission from Mr. Doody.
7
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