’Net Junkie
Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
It doesn't seem so long ago that words like chill, wack and diss, and phrases such as "24/7" and "good to go" were strictly the domain of Kangol-tilting, Cazal-and-dukey rope-sporting B-boys. Yet with the proliferation of hip-hop over the past two decades, people from executives to soccer moms have amended their vocabularies to include terms taken straight from the streets. Check Web for guide
to latest hip-hop lingoFor a refresher course on the lingo of the hip-hop generation, log on to www.rapdict.org, where you'll find a comprehensive collection of rap slang, from outmoded old school-isms (words like def, hype, fresh, fly and slamming were fine a decade-and-a-half ago, but you may as well use "groovy" and "outta sight" when conversing with today's young'uns) to regional monikers ("A-Town" means Atlanta, "C-Town" is Cleveland, "D-Town," Detroit, etc.).
As a language of the streets, hip-hop is riddled with references to sex (freak, get busy, lay pipe, nutt, slap skins, stunt, swing, wax and, thanks to Tone Loc, "the wild thing"), drugs (rapdict.org contains more than a dozen synonyms for marijuana alone, including chronic, dank, indo, cheeba, buddah, sess, lye, scooby doo and tical) and violence (a hardcore rap fan who may have never handled a firearm might still know the difference between a .22, .30, .38, .357 and .380, thanks to the Web site). Of course, these subjects are hardly exclusive to hip-hop; just ask the older set to explain Jefferson Airplane's enigmatic "White Rabbit" or Donna Summer's husky moans in "Love to Love You Baby."
It is also true that at least in commercial rap circles, its biggest stars are consumed by material gain, as evidenced by the many references to currency (papes, grip, cheese, cheddar) and jewelry (ice, bling bling) one might pick up on while flippin' the radio dial. Ever seen an episode of MTV's "Cribs"? Who's got the flossiest rims?
This is not to say that hip-hop deserves a bad rap (sorry, I couldn't resist). Just as with rock 'n' roll, it's given the language vitality and "flava." You can find a more sanitized version of these terms at www.jesusfun.com/hhhterms.htm. Or http://riceplate.com/rap/rap.php. Or www.anthonyvitti.com/hiphopdictionary.html. Or www.faqs.org/faqs/music/hip-hop/dictionary
'Til next time, I'm ghost, B.
’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.
Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.
