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Archive-name: music/hip-hop/dictionary/part3
Posting-Frequency: Bi-weekly, posted on the 3rd and 18th of each month
Last-modified: 2003/10/16
URL: http://www.rapdict.org/
Copyright: (c) 1992-2003 Patrick Atoon
Maintainer: Patrick Atoon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
This is the third part of the bi-weekly posting of the Rap Dictionary
to rec.music.hip-hop. It is extracted from the WWW version accessible at:
http://www.rapdict.org/
This Rap Dictionary is not intended to show the only correct spelling of words;
slang is mostly a spoken language an noone exactly knows how to spell things. A
word might mean something other to you than displayed here; that is because all
words and corresponding meanings have been put in the list on a "goes until
challenged by someone" basis.
I have followed the English rules, writing out words fully. Most verbs are
usually written differently, though. Take for example cruising, which will
usually be spelled like cruisin', or brother which is often seen as brotha. Some
starting with an `f' are often written with `ph', like phat or phunky. And what
to think of a thing like Doowutchalike?
Where possible I have added a source to show in what context the word is being
used. Take a look at the definition below.
dap
1) (n) Sort of high-five type of handshake. "Gimme a dap, I'll give you
one back" -- Ice T. (Ziplock [1991])
2) (n) Dignity and Pride, old slang (think 70's here).
Note the "a source" as in "just any source", I don't mean "the source", since
that would take ages of debating.
Note that in slang or dialects the grammar is not strongly typed, so nouns can
be verbs etcetera. Slang for gun and penis is almost always interchangable.
Wherever you encounter (?) I am not sure about whatever I am saying there.
"???" means that I don't have that particular piece of information. If you know
more than me, please let me know.
Please help making this list more complete. If it wasn't for the help of
the UseNet alt.rap community, this list wouldn't be one percent of its
current size.
pad
(n) House, home, place where you live. "It's like that and its like this I
took her to
the pad and we started to kiss..." -- Eazy-E (Gimme that nutt [??]).
paddle
(n) Gun. "Say why ya creep without a muthaphuckin paddle" -- Lady or Rage
(Lyrical
Gangbang [1992]).
pancake
(v) Hydraulics maneuver where a car goes from all wheels high to all wheels
low.
"Pancake, front-to-back, side-to-side, and all that shit" -- Dr. Dre (Let me
ride
[1992]).
papes/papers
(n) Money. "...and we're getting papers, three months later we run our own
caper"
-- Boogie Down Productions (Love's gonna getcha [1990]).
parlaying
(v) West coast slang for partying or having a good time. Comes from the French
word
"parler", which means talking.
Pat Duke
1) (n) Patty Duke, an old sitcom television show. "On the stoop doing the Pat
Duke" --
Ol' Dirty Bastard (Don't you know [1994]).
2) (n) A popular dance style from the late 80's.
peace
1) (n) That's what rap is all about for all you mentally challenged.
2) (interj) Farewell bidding.
peckerwood
(n) Derogatory term for a white person.
peeling
(n) What comes off when peeling a cap. "The bigger the cap, the bigger the
peelin'"
-- Ice Cube (Steady mobbin' [1991]) Note that Cube is paraphrasing a
Parliament
line, where GC says "The bigger the headache, the bigger the pill", but the
way he
says it, "pill" comes out sounding like peel".
peeling caps
(v) Killing someone by shooting him, shots to the head often disfigure it in
such a
way that the cranium is "peeled back". "One wrong move and your cap's peeled"
--
Ice T. (O.G. original gangster).
peep
(v) Check this out (as in peep this).
peeps
(n) People. "To all my peeps who didn't make it" -- Nas (The world is yours
[1994]).
pen
(n) Penitentiary, jail. "To all of my peoples in the pens, keep ya head up" --
Lost
Boyz (Lex Coupes, Beamaz and Benz's [??]).
Penelope
(n) Police -- E-40 (???).
pep
(v) To beat someone up. "I'm ready to pep ya".
phat
1) (adj) Rich like butter, really good, extremely well put together. "ATCQ be
putting together some phat beats" -- ??? (???)
2) (adj) If a girl was phat, she had Plenty o' Hips And Thighs, in other words
PHysically ATtractive; old slang. Think 60's or early 70's here. A bit more
modern:
Pussy, Hips And Tits or even
Pretty Hot And Tempting.
phat pocket
(n) A person who has a lot of money
Philly
(n) Philadelphia. Home of Schoolly D., Da Youngstas, The Fresh Prince, Tuff
Crew,
The Roots, DJ Ghetto, Bahamadia.
pie
(n) Vagina.
piece
1) (n) A firearm.
2) (n) A work of graffiti art (short for masterpiece).
3) (n) Sexual intercourse. "I'm gonna go get me a piece."
pig
(n) Police officer. "pig" as a synonym for policeman" has been around for
about two
hundred years (according to "Partridge's Concise Dictionary of Slang and
Unconventional English"). It did, however, disappear in the late nineteenth
century (or, as
the dictionary says "go underground" though I'm not sure what they mean by
that)
and reappear in common usage around 1960. I know that during Prohibition
speakeasies who had bribed the local police to not bother them were called
"blind pigs"
(The Blind Pig bar here in Ann Arbor actually used to be such a place). I
suspect that
the term has been used to mean any kind of unpleasant person since humans
started
domesticating the things....
pimp
1) (n) Boss of prostitutes.
2) (v) To be a ladies man.
PJ's
(n) The Projects.
plats
(n) Dreadlocks.
play
1) (v) To go along with. "I don't think so. Homey don't play that" -- Homey
the Clown in
"In Living Colour".
2) (v) To fool. "You can't buy no relationship. You played yourself." -- Ice-T
(You
played yourself [??]).
3) (n) Action.
play ball
(v) To play basketball. "Got a pair that I wear when I'm playin' ball" --
RUN-DMC (My
Adidas).
play yourself
(v) To reveal a weakness, as in poker when you played your cards too early.
"No
friends 'cause you dissed 'em too, no money, no crew, you're through. You
played
yourself" -- Ice T. (You played yourself)
played out
(n) Old.
player
1) (n) Someone who is "true to the game", ie. someone who never sold out. "To
Chuck,
Flava and Griff... You're true players" -- Ice-T (M.V.P.'s).
2) (n) A kind of playboy, so a player is good at picking up honeys.
3) (n) "Players" is a black-oriented adult men's magazine.
player hater
(n) One who despises or speaks ill of another because he does not have any
game of his
own.
player's ball
(n) A party for players. Outkast mentions it.
PO
1) (n) Police officer, parole officer or probation officer. "dven pack my gatt
when I
go to see my P.O." -- Mobb Deep (The infamous posse [??]).
2) (adj) Piece out.
3) (v) Pissed off, angry.
po-po
(n) The police, from Oakland Police Department. "Yeah it was po-po, and
that's
OPD for those who don't know" -- Raw Fusion (?? [????])
point blank
1) (adj) At close range.
2) (adj) Right now, right here, in your face. Used when someone is trying to
prove a
point or something.
Poly Apartments
(n) An apartment project at the west side of Long Beach. Was home for artists
like
the Twinz and Warren G: "Poly Apartments for tha niggaz that ain't from the
LB" --
The Twinz (Good Times [1995]).
pop
(v) To shoot someone. "I'm a pop a cap in him" -- Jules in the movie "Pulp
Fiction"
popping collars
(v) To really show off and signify their importance to others, people pop the
collar of their shirt. <EM>"Around here we pop them collars"</EM> -- Lil Bow
Wow
(Bounce with me [2000])
posse
(n) A group of people you hang out with. This doesn't necessarily mean a gang.
"They
got too, too, too much posse" -- Public Enemy (Too much posse [??])
pot
(n) See marijuana. "Must have been drinking, 'cause this ain't pot" -- Cypress
Hill and Sonic Youth (Mary Jane [1993]).
potna
(n) Term to address a person, compare partner. "What's now up potna" -- Menace
2
Society.
power U
(n) Vagina. "On top of that you got the good power U" -- Method Man & Mary J.
Blige
(You're all I need [1994]).
primo
1) (n) A joint laced with crack, west coast term. The east coast equivalent is
"turbo". See also marijuana.
2) (n) Friend.
3) (n) Nickname for DJ Premier.
Private Stock
(n) A brand of malt liquor.
project gold
(n) Huge gold hoop earrings.
props
(n) An abbreviation of "propers" or proper respects. A show sits on physical
and
non-physical props. At an award ceremony the winner gives props: "And I would
like to
thank...".
pruno
(n) Wine that inmates make in prison.
psych
1) (n) Dupe. Check out 70's basketball commentary. Dr. J and especially Nate
Archibald used to do dribbling moves to psych out opponents. Psych as in
psychological
head trips they threw.
2) (interj) I duped you.
puff lye
(v) To smoke a medicinal herb, i.e. marijuana. "Life's a bitch and then you
die,
that's why we puff lye" -- NAS (Life's a bitch and then you die [1994])
pump
1) (n) Pump of a pump-action shotgun "Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump" --
Cypress
Hill (Hand on the pump [1993])
2) (n) To play music loud.
punani
1) (n) Vagina.
2) (n) Sex, this is used more commonly.
3) (n) A Jamaican dance, the art of moving your stomach and behind on the
dancefloor.
punk
1) (n) A person related to the Punk movement or the Punk music.
2) (n) A stupid, usually irritating person. "Motherfuck you and your punk ass
ghetto
bird." -- Ice Cube (Ghetto Bird [1993]).
pussy
(n) Vagina.
puta/puto
1) (n) Prostitute.
2) (n) Asshole. "How you like me now, puto" -- Cypress Hill (Locotes [??]).
Q Vo
(interj) Shout out, Chicano slang. The term comes from old Mexican movies
(musicales). "Q Vo, a qui'stoy MC Kid Frost" -- Kid Frost (La Raza [1991]).
Q.B.
1) (n) Short for Queensbridge.
2) (n) Short for Queen Bitch, or Queen Bee as Lil' Kim refers to herself.
Queen Bee was a
character from the blaxploitation movie "Dolemite".
Quad City
(n) Orlando. Home of Quad City DJ's, 95 South, 69 Boyz and DJ Magic Mike.
quarter-O
1) (n) Quarter ounce (= oz.) of weed.
2) (n) 40 oz. of beer.
Queens
(n) New York City borough. RUN-DMC are often referred to as the Kings from
Queens.
Queensbridge
(n) The name of a six building (six stories each) housing project in Long
Island
City (NY), a section of Queens. 40 side and 41st side refer to the 40th street
side of
the buildings 41st street side of the buildings. Home of Nas and Mobb Deep.
R.T.D.
(n) Rough, tough and dangerous: a bus that travels in the ghetto is called
because
people are getting robbed or mugged on a regular basis. The former name for
the Los
Angeles County Mass Transit (Bus) was Rapid Transit District.
rab
(n) Short for rabbi. "Told a rab get off the rag" -- Public Enemy (Welcome to
the
Terrordome[1991])
rat
(v) To betray. "Why did Judas rat to Romans while Jesus slept?" -- Genius (4th
chamber)
rat pack
(n) A bum rush. "Like some pussy, or in fact, a bum rush, but we call it rat
pack, on a
nigga for nothing at all" -- N.W.A. (Gangsta, gangsta [1988]).
raw
(adj) Showing the pure essence of pure hip hop.
real McCoy
1) (n) The orignal, not a fake. One real McCoy was a late 19th century boxer
who fought
under the name Kid McCoy and was so good that other fighters adopted the name,
whereupon he had to bill himself as "the real McCoy". Or, it was Scotch
whisky, made by A. &
M. MacKay of Glasgow. In the UK the saying is "the real MacKay". Another idea
is
that the expression came from heroin originating from Macao (Dictionary of
Cliches, pg.215). Yet another explanation is the American scientist Eligah
McCoy,
who had several inventions well known throughout the African American
community in America. If you owned anything during those days, you wanted it
to be "the
real McCoy".
2) (n) A 1967 Jazz CD by McCoy Tyner, a pianist.
really doe
(interj) Wrong spelling of "Really though", used to emphasize a point. Ice
Cube
(Really doe).
red rum
(n) Murder spelled backwards.
reefer
(n) See marijuana. (1920s-1960s) Marijuana wrapped in cigarette paper, may be
a
variant of Mexican "grefa" (Juba to Jive, pg. 380).
reel to reel
1) (n) Really real.
2) (n) Reality.
3) (n) The big tape used for studio recording and the machine that runs it.
Remy Martin
(n) A brand of cognac. "I've got to get the chronic, some Remy Martin, and my
soda
pop" -- Dr. Dre (Let me ride [1992]).
represent
(v) New big hip-hop word. Means just what you think it means. "Represent!" --
NAS
(Represent [1994])
ricket
(n) Derogatory term for a member of the Crips, an L.A. gang.
ride
(n) A vehicle. "So we rode in his ride" -- Ice-T (Bitches 2 [??]).
rift
(v) See step to.
rip
(v) Old street slang - to steal, stolen, to take agressively.
road dog
(n) A good friend, someone who you always hang out with. "Yo dick on hard, for
fuckin' your road doggs" -- Dr. Dre (The Chronic [1992]).
rock
1) (n) Crack.
2) (v) To have sexual intercourse.
3) (n) Biblical. Alcatraz, Jamaica...
4) (v) To wear, "I was rocking my brand new Nikes".
5) (n) Diamond. "And them rings you wearin' look like they got a few rocks on
'em" --
Eminem (Rock
Bottom [1998])
rock star
(n) Crack addict
rocket
1) (n) A joint (see marijuana).
2) (v) To blast off into a high when smoking a joint.
Rodney King
1) (n) Rodney King was beaten up by police when he was placed under arrest.
The whole
incident was videotaped, leading to the infamous "Rodney King trials", where
the
police officers were under trial for assault and battering. The outcome of the
trial
was not satisfactory to many people in LA, leading to the LA riots of 1992.
2) (n) To pull a Rodney King: To initiate police brutality. "He'll probably
pull me
over and I laugh, pull a Rodney King and I'll blast at his punk ass" -- Tupac
(Souljah's Revenge [1993]).
roll
1) (v) To hang with a given person or crowd. "I'm rollin' with the new jack
crew" --
Ice-T (Newjack hustler [1991]).
2) (v) To roll on someone means to beat someone up.
3) (v) To roll a joint.
4) (v) To drive one's car in the neighborhood with a certain style or finesse.
roll up
(v) To arrive on a scene.
rollie
(n) Rolling papers.
Rolling 60's
(n) Notorious South Central Crip set.
Roly-O
(n) An expensive Rolex watch. "She got the matching Roly-O" -- Hot Boys (I
Need A Hot
Girl [????])
ruff neck
(n) A round the way guy that keeps it real and knows the streets. "Gotta what
yo gotta
get a ruff neck" -- MC Lyte (Ruff neck [??]).
rush
1) (v) Bogard, physically assault.
2) (v) After taking drugs , one often gets a rush
ruthless
1) (adj) Tough, hard, stopping at nothing. "Drop him in his tracks so hip that
I am
ruthless" - Eazy-E (It's on Dr. Dre 187 um killa [1993])
2) (n) Ruthless Records is Eazy-E's record company.
S1W
(n) The Security of the First World; the military dancers on stage with Public
Enemy at their concerts.
SA
(n) Wrong spelling of the Mexican word ese, which means dude. "SA's cool,
don't
fuck with them boys" - Ice Cube (Really Doe).
sack chaser
(n) Woman using a man for money.
Sactown
(n) Sacramento, California.
sagging deuce
(n) A lowered Cadillac car.
scarface
(n) A scarface is someone who is a gangster or models themselves on the
character of
Tony Montana in the film "Scarface"(1983). Scarface is one of the most
influential films with regard to hip-hop. Many of the samples used on rap
albums are from
Scarface. Many phrases you hear used by rappers are copied verbatim from
Scarface.
Examples include The Geto Boys album (Geto Boys) the hook for "Fuck Em' All"
is sampled
from Scarface. The sample at the beginning of the Kool G Rap song "Fast Life"
is from
Scarface. The rapper Scarface took his name from the film.
scheme
(v) To plan to do something to get someones money, most often by cheating.
"And the
girls that been scheming, gonna get creamed when I" -- The Gravediggaz (Tonite
is a
special nite [1995]).
school
(n) A specific era in hiphop history. There have been many discussions about
the
difference between the "Old School" and the New School". One accepted view was
put to
words in alt.rap by Charles L. Isbell:
<BLOCKQUOTE> All of time can be divided
pretty easily this way:<P> - Everything before "Run DMC" (Run DMC [1984])<BR>
-
Everything before "It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back" (Public
Enemy
[1988])<P> It gets harder after that, but maybe you'd have to label parallel
movements
with stuff like:<P> + Everything before "Straight Outta Compton" (NWA [1988])
and "Amerikkka's Most Wanted" (Ice Cube [1990]) for the West Coast Gangsta
Movement<BR> + Everything before "3 Feet High And Rising" (De La Soul [1989])
and "Low End
Theory" (A Tribe Called Quest [1991]) for the Jazz/Bohemian Movement<P> Others
seem
to think we're about to enter the Everything before "93 'Til Infinity" (Souls
of
Mischief [1993]) era for the Ascendency of Hieroglyphics, but I'll reserve
judgement
on that.<P> There are also several dark moments: MC Hammer ushered in the
HipPop
Era and Vanilla "No I really used to be rich; May I take your order?" Ice
ushered in
something unspeakable (Snow, if nothing else).<P> Hmmmmm, here's a way to pass
the
time: what are the key moments/movements and what albums/artists best
represent
them? How have they influenced the direction of rap? Making no value
judgements,
I'd have to say that the four most influential hiphop moments/movements are
the
ones I listed above and for obvious reasons.</BLOCKQUOTE>
Scooby Doo
1) (n) The cartoon character.
2) (n) A blunt. "Scooby Doo, where the fuck are you?" -- Cypress Hill (???
[??]).
3) (n) The B-side on Lick a Shot (US).
scope
1) (v) Look at something. "Scope that bitch"
2) (v) Stare down someone.
scrap a lick
(v) As in "can't scrap a lick", meaning, can't put up a fight, has a poor
fighting
ability. From Dr. Dre (Fuck wit Dre day).
scratch
(n) Money, loot. "Scrilla scratch paper" -- E-40 (One love [??]).
screw
(v) To play a hip-hop record at a slower speed, said to accentuate the bass
and
facilitate mixes with ballads. Also screw mixes, get my screw on. Originated
in the late
80's, when Fresh Records released 12" singles at 45 rpm. Many DJ's missed the
speed
designation and mistakenly played it at the slower 33 rpm speed. Many
listeners began to
intentionally request those records (esp. Mantronix's "Fresh is the Word") at
the slow
speed. Now done with CD players with variable pitch (or vinyl).
scrilla
(n) Money, loot. "Scrilla scratch paper" -- E-40 (One love [??]).
Seatown
(n) Seattle.
sell out
(n) Doing something purely for the financial gain, Selling your soul. "Did Ice
Cube sell out? You say hell no!" -- Ice Cube (When will they shoot? [??]).
sense
(n) An abbreviation of the word "sinsemellia", which is a form o marijuana
that has
no seeds, because it is isolated from male pollen during te blooming process.
Instead of making seeds, the marijuana plant makes more THC, hence this
"sense" is
more potent, and generally better than standard ganja.
serve
1) (v) To defeat an opponent with skill.
2) (v) To deliver a subpoena
set
1) (n) A denomination of one of the larger gangs, a set is not necessarily
friendly
with other sets in the same gang. "Baby girl asked me what set am I claiming"
- Sir
MixaLot (Rapper's Reputation)
2) (n) The group of songs in a concert by a specific performer.
set tripping
(v) Killing someone in your own gang, but who is in a different set. i.e. a
different
street but in the same gang.
shackles
(n) Handcuffs.
shank
(n) A custom made knife as used in prisons, made from whatever materials are
available. "You better grab your shank, cuz ain't no fistfight" -- Dr. Dre
(Lil' ghetto
boy [??]).
Shaton
(n) Shaton or Shaitan is an Arabic word meaning "devil". "At night the evil
armies
of Shaton don't play" -- Fugees (Family business [1996]).
Shea Town
(n) New York, from Shea stadium.
sherm
(n) Under the influence of drugs. "Smokin' dope is like a sherm high niggaz
think
they learned to fly" -- 2Pac (Hit
'Em Up [1998]) or "Niggaz gettin' shermed out" -
2Pac (To Live And Die In L.A. [1996])
sherm stick
(n) Marijuana dipped in embalming fluid.
shife
(adj) See mark or newjack. A rookie or one who purports to be more than he is.
"And he
knew he was shife, he knew he was hype" -- Bust Down (Nasty bitch (intro)
[1993]).
shimmy
(n) See booty. "Shimmy shimmy ya!" - Ol' Dirty Bastard (Shimmy shimmy ya
[1995]).
sholda than show
(interj) Surer than sure.
shook one
(n) Individual who acts like he is tough, but when things get hectic or tense,
he
gets scared and acts like the punk he really is. They have been shook up by
the
reality and are labeled shook ones. "Shook ones" -- Mobb Deep (Shook ones pt.
II
[1995]).
short
(n) Vehicle.
shorty
1) (n) Little person.
2) (n) Female, like baby or honey. "I got myself a shorty, I got myself a
forty" --
Wu-Tang Clan (Method Man).
3) (n) A seven ounce bottle of beer.
shotty
(n) Shotgun.
show and prove
(v) Demonstrate.
show case
(v) To carry out a fraud.
siamese
(n) A person who acts two-faced.
sike
(n) See psych.
simp
1) (n) Derived from simpleton, used for rhyming with pimp. "Short baby I ain't
no
simp, but the nigga in the suit ain't nothin' but a pimp" -- Too $hort
(Cocktales
[??]).
2) (v) To sing and pimp. From Boyz II Men (Simpin' ain't easy).
sister
(n) Woman of the same group; friend.
skank
(n) A scandalous woman.
skeezer
(n) See freak. "If you wanna know what a skeezer is, it's a girl who's on my
jock cause
I'm in showbiz" -- LL Cool J. (??? [??]).
skill
(n) General ability; ability on the microphone.
skins
1) (n) The lips of the vagina. "She likes to bend over and then she spreads
the skins" --
Brand Nubian (Slow down [1990]).
2) (n) Condom.
3) (n) Rolling papers.
skirt
(n) A female.
skitzing
(v) Acting bizarre or crazy, from schizophrenic.
skully
(v) Getting oral sex performed. "My buddy, daz dilly, we gettin' skully" -
Kurupt
(My Buddy [1998]).
skunk
(n) A medium grade and smelly form of marijuana.
slab
1) (n) The ground; to lower a car to the slab: to lower down. "I'm breaking em
down to the
slab" -- Rage (The chronic [1992]).
2) (n) Crack.
slamming
1) (adj) Dynamic.
2) (adj) Something really good/attractive. "And may I say, may I say, that,
that
outfit you got on is slammin'" -- L.L. Cool J (MrGoodbar).
slang
(v) The act of selling drugs.
slanted-back
(n) A Caddillac Seville, because of the slanted trunk of the earlier models.
slap skins
1) (v) Slapping hands together.
2) (v) Having sex. Slapping skins, hitting skins, getting skins, etc. Skins
being
the skin of the opposite sex.
Slauson
(n) Los Angeles street. "The sun went down when I hit Slauson" -- Dr. Dre (Let
Me Ride
[??]).
sleep [on]
(v) Ignore. (v) To be unaware or unprepared. You can creep up on someone while
they
are "sleeping" (even if they are awake).
slipping
1) (adj) On the downward trend, losing the edge. "Cause you're slipping!" --
Boogie
Down Productions (You're slipping [1988]).
2) (v) Not paying attention "Yeah I caught that fool slippin' and I smoked
him" -- ??
(??? [??]).
slob
(n) Derogatory name for a member of the Bloods, an L.A. gang, used by members
of the
Crips, another L.A. gang.
slow your roll
(interj) Slow down whatever you are doing. "Slow ya roll like your leg was
broken"
-- Kurupt (For my niggaz and my bitches [1993]).
smacked
(adj) Under the influence of drugs.
smashing
(v) See slapping skins.
smoke
1) (v) Killing someone. "Right then, I knew I had to smoke his ass" -- N.W.A.
(Gangsta
gangsta [1988]).
2) (v) To get smoked: to get under the influence of drugs. "I'm in the land
gettin'
smoked with my kinfolk" - Tha Luniz (I Got 5 On It [1995])
snap
(n) a form of verbal jestering. Also French and English speaking Africans
especially in Dakar and Paris say 'oh snap' in two contexts. 1) 'oh snap' if
you get bagged
on (snapped on) and 2) meaning 'oh shit' as in 'I didn't know' or 'I forgot
something'.
snaps
(n) Money.
sneakers
(n) Sportswear shoes. "I wear my sneakers but I'm not a sneak" -- RUN-DMC (My
Adidas).
snow
(n) Cocaine.
soggy indo
(n) A joint (see marijuana) that has been dipped in PCP or something.
soldier
(n) Non-OG gangbanger.
South Central
(n) Los Angeles area. A very important place for gangsta rap. Origin of a lot
of
rappers.
SP-12
(n) The E-MU SP-12 (or SP-1200), a high-end sampling drum machine for rap
music
production. These pieces of equipment came out around 1985 and 87
respectively. The SP-12
did not have an internal disk drive, but EMU saw the problems since it only
worked
with a Commodore diskdrive. So they made the next model with an internal
drive.
Incidentally Ced-Gee of Ultra-Magnetics was the first person in hip-hop to use
this
machine which has become one of the most sought after pieces of equipment to
date. So
much that EMU has reissued the SP-1200. "Just me, a mic, and an SP-12" --
Young MC
(Album Filler).
spliff
(n) Jamaican marijuana cigarette, see marijuana.
spray
(v) Firing a round of bullets. "Pulled out the uzi, cruised by and sprayed
him" --
Ice Cube (Gangsta's Fairytale).
sprung
1) (adj) Erected. "Sprung, niggaz call her lips 'n lungs" -- Ice Cube (Check
yo self
[??]).
2) (adj) Obsessed with something.
3) (n) Released on bail by someone else.
squab
(n) Shortened form of "to squabble"; to fight, physicallly confront. "Quick to
squab, always down for the job" -- E-40 featuring Suga T (Sprinkle me [??]).
squash
(v) To end, Squash that beef.
squeeze the trigger
(v) To shoot a gun. "Yo homeboy,squeeze the trigger!" -- Ice T. (squeeze the
trigger) [198?]
St. Ides
(n) A specific brand of maly liquor. Ice Cube and Scarface have done radio
commercials for St. Ides. "Gotta get tha S-T-I-D-E-S, first of tha month" --
Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony (??? [??]).
stab out
(v) To leave.
stack up
(v) Making money, often used in conjunction with paper. <EM>"This kid here is
all
about stackin' up"</EM> -- Lil Bow Wow (Bounce with me [2000])
steel
(n) Pistol. "Finger on the trigger with my hand upon the steel" --Cypress Hill
(Hand on the pump [1993])
steez
(n) Style.
step off
(v) Back away from a confrontation.
step to
(v) Engage a confrontation. "So don't step to me 'cause you boys 'll get
wacked" --
Ice-T (Power).
step up
(v) See step to.
stilo
(n) Pronounced as "steelo", is a term that like a lot of other hip-hop terms
originated in New York City. It is Spanish, and it means style.
straight
1) (n) Okay.
2) (n) Short for stright up, truly, used for emphasis. "Straight booty" or
"straight
wack".
strap
(n) A gun.
strapped
(adj) Strapped in: armed.
strawberry
(n) Someone who willingly exchanges sexual services for drugs. "Strawberry,
Strawberry is the neighbourhood ho" -- N.W.A. (Dopeman [1988]).
stroll
1) (v) To be out on parole. "27 years old, out on parole, stroll." -- Dr. Dre
(Lil'
ghetto boy [??]).
2) (n) To drive one's car.
Strong island
(n) Long island.
stunt
1) (n) Sexual act.
2) (n) A person who performs stunts.
3) (n) To pull a stunt, to try something difficult.
stupid
1) (adj) Creative.
2) (adv) Very. "Evil's got the funky beat, a stupid dope loop" -- Ice-T (Fried
chicken
[1991]).
sucka
(n) person easily duped.
Sucka Free
(n) San Francisco.
SWASS
(n) Short for "Some wild-ass silly shit".
SWAT
(n) Southwest Atlanta. Home of Outkast, Goodie Mob, Kriss Kross, Parental
Advisory.
Swayze
(n) I'm out of here, I'm ghost. From the movie "Ghost" which features the
actor
Patrick Swayze, used for example in a cut by EPMD..
sweat
1) (n) over-patronize.
2) (v) Worry, as in "don't sweat it".
3) (v) Harrass or scrutinize. "There's one or two narcs in the area that's
sweatin'
me" -- Digital Underground (Sex packets).
sweet
(adj) Cool, dope, fresh.
swerver
(n) Car.
swing
(n) To have sexual intercourse (Grand Puba).
swing low
(n) To have oral sex (Kool Moe Dee).
switch
(n) Your average toggle switch. Low-riding drivers use them to control the
hydrolics or any other electrical device in their cars. "Rollin' in my fo'
with sixteen
switches" Dr. Dre -- (Let Me Ride).
syrup
(n) "Syrup", a popular drink, contains Promethazine With Codiene Cough Syrup,
vodka or rum, Milk of Magnesia (a common medicine for stomache pain), and
candy;
usually "Now and Laters" (soft "taffy" style candy)
or "Jolly Ranchers"
(watermelon flavored hard candy) - often served in a baby bottle. Continues
the Southern
tradition of the slow "Screw Mixes" originated by DJ
Screw from the early 1990's.
Music is pitched to deliberately slow speeds to portray a warped,
psychedelic
feeling.
tag
1) (n) A persons graffiti nickname.
2) (v) The act of writing graffiti on an object (tagging up).
Tanqueray
(n) A brand of distilled English Gin, used to make cocktail drinks. It was
recently
popularized by several rap and also by a very creative advertising campaign in
the US,
featuring and elderly white man named Mr. Jenkins: "Mr. Jenkins doesn't
understand all
the Hip-hop lyrics at his friend's record release party, but he understands
gin
and juice very clearly." is the line that was used. "My homey Dr. Dre came
through
with a gang of Tanqueray" -- Snoop Doggy Dogg (Gin and Juice [??]).
tastey
(n) A fly honey.
tax
1) (v) To rob. "Stick up kids are out to tax" -- Gangstarr (Just to get a rep
[??]).
2) (v) To take away something after you kick a sucka's ass."and Ima tax that
ass like
the government" -- BDK (Pimpin ain't easy).
3) (v) To dig into or estimate, I'm gonna tax that ass.
Tec 9
(n) A 9mm semiautomatic or fully automatic gun made by Infratec. "Every kid's
got a
Tec 9 or a handgrenade" -- Ice-T (??? [??]).
thai stick
(n) See marijuana.
thang
(n) Thing; "your own thang": your own way.
The (island of) Shao-Lin
(n) Staten Island, a New York borough. Home of the Wu-Tang clan
The Boogie Bang / The Boogie Down
(n) See Bronx. King Sun mentions it in one of his EPs.
The Boogie Down
(n) The Bronx.
The Bridge
(n) See Queensbridge.
The Burgh
(n) Pittsburgh, PA.
The Get Low
(n) San Francisco. JT the Bigga Figga's group is call GLP: Get Low Players.
Thompson
(n) Tommy gun.
three-wheel motion
(n) Ride upon three wheels with a low rider car. You can see it in videos for
"Ain't
nuthin but a G thang" and Today was a good day" [1993]. One of the back
corners of the car
is really close to the ground and the opposite corner is picked up off the
road.
through
(n) Drunk or high to the point of almost being unconscious.
throw-up
1) (n) A non-complex piece of graffiti usually involving only two colors.
2) (n) To tag your graffiti on something ("Watch my back as I throw up this
tag").
thug
(n) Someone who does not have anything but himself. "Livin' life thug style"
--
Tupac (To live and die in L.A. [????]).
thump
(v) To engage in a fistfight. "Remember they used to thump, but now they
blast,
right?" -- Dr. Dre (Lil' ghetto boy [??]).
tical
(n) See marijuana. "Smoke a bag of tical" -- Method Man (???).
tight
1) (adj) A state of mind, feeling really good at the moment. Straight,
legitimate,
all-good.
2) (adj) Cool, dope, fresh.
Timbs
(n) Clothing of the brand "Timberland", a popular hip-hop choice. "Are you
feeling my Timbs, my baggy jeans,
my thug appeal" -- Blaque feat. N-Sync (Bring it
all to me [199?])
tip
1) (n) Penis (Get off my tip).
2) (n) Q-Tip from a Tribe Called Quest
3) (n) The end, the fullest. "To the tip!" -- Schoolly D. (Mr. Big Dick).
Tipper Gore
(n) Tipper, the wife of vice-president Al Gore, has become a synonym for
narrowmindedness. She had to do with the committee that decides which CD's get
the "Parental
advisory" stickers. "You gotta be high to believe that you can change the
world with a
sticker on a record sleeve" -- Ice-T (Freedom of speech / Just watch what you
say
[1991]).
to get your swerve on
(v) A compliment of skill. If you are about to get your swerve on then you are
confidently preparing to enter the conflict. If you got your swerve on it
means you
accomplished something skillfully.
toa
(n) Gang pride/love (Polynesian/Maori).
Tony Montana
(n) The character of Tony Montana in the film "Scarface"(1983). "1995 Tony
Montana" -- Ice Cube (Summer Vacation [??]).
toy
1) (n) A poor or beginner graffiti artist.
2) (v) To purposefully write over another graffiti artists work (toy someone
out).
3) (n) A sucker.
4) (n) Short for Trouble On Your System.
Tragniew Park Crips
(n) Compton crip set, associated with MC Eiht. "Tragniew Park you say..." --
DJ
Quik (Dollaz & Sense [1994]).
trap
(v) to sell drugs.
tray eight
(n) See 38.
Trenton
(n) Home of the old schoolrappers, PRT.
trick
(n) Short for trick bitch. Derives from the turning tricks action of oral
sex/doggy style of a prostitute. Can be used to acknowledge any sort of woman.
More than
often used as "slut", but a replacement for "bitch" will work too.
trill
(adj) Rough, street-wise person; "Trill ass nigga" -- Underground Kingz (The
Southern way [1992], also on Too hard to swallow [1994]).
triple beam
(n) Balanced scales for weighing with three grades of weights, originally used
to
measure gold, it is more commonly used to measure drugs. "You learned about
your
triple beam from me" -- Ice Cube (Dr. Frankenstein [1998])
tripping
1) (v) Literally making a misstep, figuratively doing something wrong.
2) (v) Responding to the effects of narcotics.
3) (v) Freak for any reason. "Don't start tripping, or we'll go toe to toe" --
??
truck jewelry
(n) big gold jewelry.
true that
(interj) See word is bond.
trump
(n) To have lots of money, like billionaire Donald Trump. 2) (n) In certain
card
games the highest ranking suit is called trump (e.g. spades). When a person
has
nothing but trump cards in his hand it is referred to as being 'trump tight'.
"cause
Snoop dog is trump tight like the virgin-surgeon" -- Snoop Dogg (Tha Shiznit
[??])
TTP
(n) Tree Top Piru, a notorious Compton Blood set, associated with DJ Quik
(addressed to MC Eiht) "Westside Trees sprayin' all tha fleas" -- DJ Quik
(Dollaz+Sense
[1995]).
turbo
(n) A joint laced with crack, east coast term. The west coast equivalent is
"primo". See also marijuana.
turn (it) out
1) (v) To make records.
2) (v) To have sexual intercourse with.
twenty sack
(n) One gram of marijuana, which costs $20. See marijuana. From Nas (NY state
of
mind).
twisted
(n) Drunk.
uncle L.
(n) L.L. Cool J. "Like uncle L. said, I'm rippin' up shows" -- Public Enemy
(Shut 'em
down).
uncle tom
1) (n) A black man who wants to be white. From the book Uncle Tom's Cabin.
2) (n) A tattle-taler; a person who befriends another only to deceive him,
usually in
the workplace.
Union Square
1) (n) A park in New York City on Broadway between 14th and 16th(?). Origin of
Kid n
Play.
2) (n) A hip-hop club from the late 1980's in the above area. The name of this
routine is
called live at Union Square. - KRS One
up north trip
(n) Being sent to jail. "Up north trip" -- Mobb Deep (?? [??]).
UPT
(n) Uptown New Orleans
Uptown
(n) The word uptown originated in the New York city train stations. As you
leave
downtown Manhattan the trains direct you to Uptown. Uptown includes Harlem,
East
Harlem, Washinton Heights, Inwood and (sometimes) the South Bronx.
USG
(n) United States Ghettos (Onyx).
uzi
(n) Israeli semi-automatic gun. "Hold it, rock! Miuzi weighs a ton" -- Public
Enemy (Miuzi weighs a ton).
V-Town
(n) Vallejo, California. Home of E-40.
Vacaville
(n) Nothern California Prison (Too $hort).
vacuum lungs
(n) Taking a deep smoke. "Cause fools be havin' them vacuum lungs" -- The
Luniz
(I've got 5 on it [??]).
vato
(n) East LA hispanic slang, meaning homeboy. "Vato, cholo, call us what you
will"
-- Kid Frost (La Raza [1990]).
Vegas
1) (n) High quality speaker units mabe by Cerwin-Vega, used in car and hi-fi
systems.
"Going to school with the Vegas on my earlobe" -- Da Luniz (I got 5 on it
[1995]).
2) (n) A marijuana sigarette rolled in Garcia Vegas (a brand of cigar) papers.
Versace
(n) Clothing label. "I stay laced cuz my body got Versace taste" -- Monifa (I
miss
you (come back home) [1995]).
vest
(n) Condom. "Pack a vest for your jimmy in the city of sex" -- 2Pac
(California Love
[1995])
vexed
(v) Very angry.
VIP Records
(n) Famous Long Beach record store where a lot of current stars first sold
their
demo tapes. Snoop was standing on it in his "Who am I?" video. "Let's journey
to the
VIP for the latest hits" -- Domino (Long Beach Thang [1993]).
VMB
(n) Video Music Box, a NYC hip-hop video music show.
wack
1) (adj) Negative: crazy or weird. Mostly this is meant
2) (v) To kill someone. "So don't step to me 'cause you boys'll get wacked" --
Ice-T
(Power).
watching Andy Griffith
(v) refers to masturbating. Martin Lawrence (You so crazy).
wax
1) (n) Record album(s). "And we put it on wax, it's the new style" -- Beastie
Boys (The
New Style [1986]).
2) (v) Synonym to tax as in "wax his ass" from the black popular "mop up the
floor with
your ass".
3) (adj) Describing refinement as in 'waxed, buffed and simonized' from the
Mister
Magic radio show.
4) (v) To have sexual intercourse. "Wax that ass" -- Ice Cube (Get off my dick
[??]).
5) (v) To make a car appear very shiny.
WBLS
(n) One of the original hip-hop stations in New York City. "BLS, 97, KISS,
bounce to
this" -- Craig Mack (??? [??]).
wet
1) (v) Kill someone. As in wet from blood when someone is sprayed. "Now I
gotta wetcha"
-- Ice Cube (I'm gonna wetcha)
2) (v) Excite a female.
WHBI-FM (105.9)
(n) The first radio station in New York that had a hip-hop show (Mr. Magic,
the
Awesome Two, Afrika Izlam). The station later changed its call letters to
WNWK-FM.
wheels of steel
(n) Turntables. "My DJ Code Money on the wheels of steel" -- Schoolly D.
(Gucci
time).
whip
(n) A nice looking car. "Some bought me ice, so pay for whips" -- Beanie Sigel
(Playa
[????])
Whitestone
(n) Movie theatre in the Bronx - Diamond D.
who ride
1) (v) To get buckwild. "The darkside where the real G's who ride" --
Macadoshish from
Thug Life (Don't get twisted [1994])
2) (n) The who ride is the act of getting wild and crazy, like a riot or an
assassination, or any wild activity.
whodi
(n) Used to address someone as a friend, as in "What's up whodie", in the same
way as
words like "homey", "money", "playa" or "dogg".
wigger
(n) A derogatory term usually used by white people for white people that use
black
slang and that primarily socialize with black people.
wild thing
(n) Sexual intercourse. "Hey you two, I was once like you and I loved to do
the wild
thing" -- Tone Loc (Wild thing).
wilding
(adj) To act without without rational thought. Wilding was a term not used
until
the Central park jogger attack in 1989. The victim in this case was raped,
and,
upon being questioned, kids in the neighborhood of the attackers had said that
they had done the "Wild Thing" (after the Tone Loc release). Misinterpreted by
reporters not accustomed to the slurred speech of the attackers, the term
wilding was
born out of the NYC media's lust for a catch phrase. (Info from: "Black
Studies, Rap
and the Academy" by Houston Baker Jr.) "Across the street you was wilding" --
Nas
(?? [1996])
Willy
1) (n) Penis.
2) (n) Someone with money or status in the neighbourhood, a player or bawler.
wood
(n) Erected penis. "Delivering the wood" stands for having sexual intercourse.
word
1) (n) Biblical (John1:1). "logos": truth.
2) (interj) Exclamation or term of endearment.
word is bond
(interj) Saying this means that what you are saying is absolutely correct, and
you
do not have to put up money to prove it, you just say it. The term originates
from
the financial markets where hirstorically traders woul tell each other "my
word
is bond", i.e. my word is good enough, you don't need it in writing. "Cause
I'm
frontin' in my ride, and my word is bond" -- LL Cool J (The boomin' system
[1990]).
word up
(n) (interj.) A question like "What's up?", or "What's the word?".
wreck
1) (v) To accomplish something.
2) (v) To destroy or break up. "All they wanted to do is wreck and flex"
Public Enemy
(Burn Hollywood, burn [1990]).
3) (v) To show great freestyling skills.
xerox
(v) To copy, from the Rank-Xerox copying machine. "and still they try to
xerox" --
Public Enemy (Don't believe the hype [1987]).
y'all
(n) Short for "you all". Also sometimes used for "you", singular.
yak
(n) This is actually the phonetical version of "gnac", as in "cognac". "Dre
and
snoop chronic'd out in the 'llac (caddilac), with Doc in the back sippin'
on
'gnac" - Dr. Dre (The Next Episode)
yo
1) (n) You.
2) (n) Your.
3) (interj) To catch attention, as in "Yo! What's up?"
zig zags
(n) Rolling papers. "Send some gin and a pack of zig zags" -- Snoop Doggy Dogg
(Pump
pump)
zooted
(adj) Smoked out on weed. "I want to get zooted, nigga" -- Total Devastation
(???
[1993]).
zootie
(n) A joint laced with crack.
[cold] hoopin' it
(v) Playing a game of basketball.
[kitty] cat
(n) Vagina.
[to be] high
(v) To be intoxicated by a drug of somekind. Reported other terms for it are:
blazed, blunted, bombed, charged, juiced, skunked, stressed, toked. "I want to
get
high, so high" -- Cypress Hill (I want to get high [1993]).
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