Guess who’s in the hiznouse? J. Solo abouts to drop bombs on ya’ll. After reading Krusty’s last comment it got me thinking about what’s happened to me in the last 5 years. Yes, I am a black man with a chain now, and yes, I know most of you need a translator to understand me. Check gizoogle.com, or contact DA. But seriously though, it made me wonder what it is about areas of the country and how everybody’s saying the same thing, but in a different way.
Contrary to what most of my friends on the west coast think (especially Seattle), I do not hang around gangster rappers with gold chains and plated teeth. Nor do I feel any different inside. Matter of fact, I mainly work with music producers in the industry who are…NOT black. Most hip-hop producers I work with are white, or Jewish. My main producing partner and native New Yorker, Probe DMS is actually like me… quarter Chinese, quarter white, and half black. All mixed up. I’d have to say the majority of native New Yorkers are mixed, but everybody speaks the same lingo. Race has nothing to do with it.
When I lived in Seattle, everybody used to say, “yeah man, that’s tight,†meaning, “I like that.†Out here the main word is “hot,†or, “dope.†Nobody says “cool†like you might hear on the west coast. And “dude†can be heard from every kid in California. Except to New Yorkers, it sounds like “dee-ude.†Kids from Brooklyn might replace it with, “dukes.†For example:
Brooklynite: What up dukes, what’s poppin’?
Solo: Mad chillin’.
Brooklynite: Dope.
Translation:
Brooklynite: Hello, how are you feeling?
Solo: Very good
Brooklynite: Good.
Now I don’t want anyone to feel offended. These are only observations I’ve made. And I do know that my speaking patterns and dialect have changed; my mother can’t even understand me on the phone anymore. It’s not forced either, in fact, while xboxing, I try to tone it down. Let me elaborate some more.
Solo: Yo, I just mercked that dude (slight mixture of west and east coast lingo).
Krusty: Did you say mercked?
“Mercked†is a Queens-based word meaning murder. Check NAS and you’ll hear it in his rhymes. If I was playing with kids from New York I might say:
Solo: Yo dun, that kid just got mercked (notice the non-usage of “dude.â€)
New Yorker: Aight, true.
Translation:
Solo: Hey, I just killed that guy.
New Yorker: Alright, good job.
I added another Queen’s based word, “dun,†pronounced, “done,†a play off the word “son.†I never use this one online cause it’s not as known to the world unlike “son.†Let’s keep this rolling (moving). This might be a typical phone call:
Solo: Yo, What’s good?
New Yorker: Parlayin’.
Solo: My man hit me up with that cheddar he’d been sittin’ on.
New Yorker: Bout time, it’s been a minute.
Translation:
Solo: Hello, how are you doing?
New Yorker: Nothing.
Solo: My friend gave me the money he’d owed me.
New Yorker: Finally, it’s been a long time.
Now in this conversation you have usage of slang that could be heard all over New York from BK to Queens, to the BX. Believe me, I’m barely scratching the surface here. Onward.
Solo: Dag, my peeps be hatin on me these days.
Translation:
Solo: Damn, my friends are talking about me behind my back.
A few years back, I came out to Seattle to vacation and relax. I ran into a few of my old friends. I was happy to see them and catch up. But I felt like they were judging me for the way I talked. I really thought I wasn’t speaking slang either. It got back to me that some musicians in Seattle are saying that I think I’m black now. I wish! Just kidding, first of all, I’m neither white nor black. Half Korean, half white is the term. And second, I find it very stereotypical to think that because I might use the word “mad†it has anything to do with race. People are people, and we all speak different languages, even in America. Although I did pull up flossin’ 22’s on my whip ballin’ like crazy.
Once again, please don’t take any offense to this. I love all my friends from the west coast and east coast. In fact, I know kids out here poke fun at my west coast slang too (I use both). In fact, you might say I have a funny accent to New Yorker’s ears, sort of like my mother’s Korean accent. If anyone has a question about any terminology I used in this post, I’d be happy to clarify (or ask DA). I ask people who read this to try and come up with slang they use in everyday use and realize where it’s coming from. Race or demographics?
Wit’ dat said, I’m about to floss my piece for a while. My jump off’s at work stackin’ chedda’ while I’m polying wit all ya’ll. I’m startin to cake up nicely, hope ya’ll doin the same. Stop frontin’, keep it real. Peace everybody. One love.
Solo’s got mad game yo.
Don’t be hatin. When it come’s to getting things poppin’ off, he’s hardcore, B.
And o yeh, they call him the piano man cause he moves keys.
ya heard.
J- Ro the Everpresent
Representin east and west sides all across the board
Word. Remember when I used to get flack for rhyming and listening to the likes of Will Smith (in the Fresh Prince days) and Run-DMC. Those guys are so mainstream now I wouldn’t be suprised if they showed up spiiting game in some baby formula commercial. (RIP Jam Master Jay, of course.)
Will Smith verse:
Go call your daddy.
Go ask your moms.
Roll on down to the store
and drop some bombs
You deserve the best
So get your game on little lady
You know how we do
Represent for all the Gerber babies.
Gerber baby food. Dope mashed up carrots for your grill, ya heard!
I apologize completely, you speak perfect english compared to J-Ro. Upon inspection the only slang that I’ve picked up from Cali would go like this.
Krusty ordering food at the Resteraunt: Yeah can I get some avacado burger with a soda(POP). Make that for on the run cause I got hit the ten for a run to the valley.
So people don’t use the word “dude” on the East coast? They probably don’t say “unreal” either. I don’t know if I’d be able to hold a conversation out there.
Here’s another thing maybe you can explain… The hip-hop style nicknames derived from taking the first initial of someone’s name and combining it with the first syllable of their last name. J-Lo. A-Rod. How unimaginative is that?
And it doesn’t work for me, as my entire last name consists of one syllable: M-Ring. See what I mean, I can’t pull it off. However, if I substitute my online pseudonym, Jack McSex, that kind of works… J-Mac. Maybe I should get the paperwork rolling on a permanent name change…
It’s just a way to shorten up the name. I gaurantee “j-lo” and “a-rod” have been in their lives for a long time before they were famous. Plus it’s a way for the media to expose them as somebody that maybe you or I know. People don’t want to say the entire name, takes too long. 2 syllables, max. J-Mac is hot, but you could also roll with Emcee Sex, which would eventually be shortened to just, sex. I’m sure whatever name you choose will be unreal (hot).
Solo I have to agree with you on the short name. I never call anyone by their full name. I am far to lazy. However creativity does count in name shortening. I would take MR more along the lines of P-Sex (the p standing for pale) or Emcee CC (Cold cock). Anyway the best shortened names always should leave people wondering what the hell it means.
Peace and much love
V-Krust
All I have to say is: Cripes! Whenever I read a solo post I’m thinking, man I’m a loser! Even when I read your translations, I’m still going, huh? At least I’ll have this glossary to go back to in the archives for future solo postings. And I keep forgetting that somehow DA is also a human NYC slang dictionary. How the hell did that happen?
I admit I never understood the slang used by the Notorious B.I.G. until I visited the east coast and, more specifically, drove around with Solo listening to every word of it. Suddenly, I had an epiphany and it all became clear, beautiful, and pure genious. I’ve tried to recreate that moment for some friends out here but it’s very hard to do.
I absolutely loved this posting! I think Hansen should contribute more to Zillionaire! MR, nobody uses the word “unreal”, except for you… It’s too white.