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List of Slang Used in Hip-Hop Music
List of Slang Used in Hip-Hop Music
List of Slang Used in Hip-Hop Music
Contents
Slang Words
1.1 Slang Directly from Music
1.1.1 Lamont Coleman
1.1.2 Frankie Smith and Snoop Dogg
1.2 English Words with Changed Meanings
1.3 Invented Terms & Portmanteaux
1.4 Hip-hop Slang for Brand Names and Trademarks
1.5 Hip-hop Slang for Drugs, Gangs, and Guns
1.5.1 Gang Slang Terms
1.5.2 Drug-Related Slang Terms
1.5.3 Gun-Related Slang Terms
1.6 Numbers in Hip-hop Slang
1.7 Hip-hop Slang Phrases
Slang Words
Slang Directly from Music
Lamont Coleman
Harlem rapper Lamont Coleman (stage name Big L) released a song on his posthumous album "The
Big Picture" entitled "Ebonics". In this song, Big L goes through various hip hop slang terms and
gives their "proper" meanings.
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Yo, yo
Angel dust is sherm, if you got AIDS, you got the germ
This particular style of hip-hop slang was created specifically by certain hip-hop artists. Originated
by funk musician Frankie Smith with his 1982 nonsense single "The Double-Dutch Bus", this style
was popularized by rapper Snoop Dogg when he used it on Dr. Dre's The Chronic album in 1992.
Usually the ending of a word is removed, and replaced with the -izzle suffix. In other cases, -izz- is
added in the middle of a word, for example, the word "house" becomes "hizzouse".
bizzle - bitch
fizzle - can be female, fuck, flatulate or any number of words starting with the letter F
hizzouse - house
hizzle - hook, as in the phrase "off the hook"
nizzle - nigga
rizzle - real
shiznit - shit (usually in a general positive sense); used especially in the phrase "Thats tha
Shiznit!"
fo'shizzle - for sure
skizzle- a drip of any sort of intoxicating liquid.
tizzle - tizzy, a state of agitation or nervousness.
wizzle - wigga
These words can be found with the same spelling in any English dictionary, but they are used as
slang words and given an alternate meaning in hip-hop music.
hating (hatin') - v.- same meaning as 'hate' (see above). (EX: Don't be hatin'!)
heat or heater - n.- any type of firearm
heat - n.- police, FBI, law enforcement in general (used especially in the film, Heat).
herb - n.- especially marijuana but can be any sort of drug.
hood - n.- neighborhood, usually, or the turf of certain gangs
ice -n.- diamonds, usually refers to the plural. (EX: "That nigga got shit loads'a ice on his
wrist." = "That guy is wearing a bracelet with a lot of diamonds.")
ill -adj.- 1. cool, appealing, far-out (EX: "That's ill!") 2. crazy, rowdy, mean ("Why are you
acting ill to that guy?")
I'ma - a contraction of "I'm" and "gonna"
jet- to leave quickly (EX: "C'mon, let's jet.")
iron -n.- firearm
kickin'- adj.- appealing; (EX: "Those rims are kickin'.")
lamp- v.- chill, relax
marinate -v.- chill, relax
murk (Also mirk) -v.- 1. leave. "I'm finna murk." = "I'm about to leave.") 2. murder, kill. (EX:
"Pass me the strap, I'm 'bout to murk this foo." = "Give me a gun, I'm about to kill this guy.")
nigga (also "nigger") -n.- rarely refers to a racial slur, often simply a word for a man of color
and occasionally a white man. (EX: "Yo, nigga...")
oreo -n.- opposite of "wizzle" or "wigger", refers to the Nabisco cookie with the same name
which has a white, creamy filling surrounded by two brown, chocolate cookies (EX: "You
look black but you act white. You're an Oreo!" )
piece -n.- 1.firearm 2.pipe 3.a tagging (graffiti marking a certain gang or individual's turf)
piff 1. -n.- 1. cocaine (EX: "Pass the piff!") 2. -adj.- something cool (EX: "My style is straight
up piff!")
pig -n.- police officer
player (also playa) - n.- 1. Someone who knows how to manipulate women towards sex, etc. 2.
Someone who knows how to manipulate things in general. 3. Someone who cheats on his
girlfriend or wife (or if a woman: boyfriend, husband). 4. Less correctly applied to a
"baller" (see "baller").
popes - n. - the police, an abbreviation of po-po. (EX: "Look out for the popes!")
punk - n. - a coward, alternatively an asshole
punk - a coward or wimp. (EX: "Don't punk out on me." = "Don't get cowardly.")
punked - intimidated. (EX: "He got punked by that fool." = "He got intimidated or bullied by
that person.")
pussy - n. - a coward, a sissy. used as a put-down, usually against males. It also refers to the
female vagina or the female in general.
pussy - v. - Sex (EX: "I'm gettin' hella pussy back at my crib tonight" = "I will have sex
tonight at my house.")
scratch - n. - money
scrillah - n. - money
shorty - n.- a girl or woman if referring to a girlfriend, a child if referring to someone's son or
daughter.
spit - v.- rap (EX: "He can spit." = "He can rap.")
steel -n.- firearm
straight - adj.- fine, okay. not related to sexuality. (EX: A person asks "You want some
Henny?" The other person replies, "No thanks, I'm straight.")
strapped -adj.- bearing a firearm
stunting - showing your best or to act out of the ordinary
tight - adj.- cool, high-quality, appealing.
toaster -n.- firearm
trippin' -v.- high on drugs, kidding, or being crazy. (EX: "You must be trippin'.")
tweak -n.- to do crystal meth; Can also be altering something
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These words and their meanings would not be found in an English dictionary, but are used in hip-hop
music slang. Though used and popularized by M.C.s, most of these words were not coined by any
M.C.; instead, they were taken from the local street slang of each M.C.'s area. Many of these words
have become mainstream nationally because of various popular hip-hop artists.
Wifey - Girlfriend
Okie - Friend (Philly)
Guts - The Interior of a car. e.g "The Red lambo got white guts up inside it" (Red Cafe) Or
"The Guts soft like my female breast is it a v12 yes" (CASSIDY)
Kicks - Sneakers
Big Face - 100 Dollar Bill
Jakes - Police
Whip - Car
Real Talk-Telling the truth or being serious
Chow Down- Eating food
baby mama -n.- the mother of an unmarried man's child, who himself is referred to as a "baby
daddy".
baller -n.- a high-roller, a money-maker. Hence the verb "ballin'" ('balling'), which refers to
someone who is doing very well for himself in terms of money.
bee-yotch (also biatch or biotch) -n.- see bitch
bling-bling -n.- See article for definition and origin of term.
boy-boy -n.- a friend with benefits
chickenhead -n.- a bitch or a woman that gives oral sex (referred to the motion of giving a
blow job).
chillax -v.- relaxing. A combination of "chill" and "relax."
crunk -adj.- having a good time or "high and drunk at the same time". reportedly derives from
"crazy" and "drunk" being combined or from "crazy" and "funk" being combined. used by
Southern rappers specifically.
buttahead, alternatively, buttaface -n.- A girl with a nice body but with an ugly face. taken
from the phrase "Everything look good, buttahead [but her head]." (EX: "Jermaine's girl is a
buttahead." = "Jermaine's girl has a good body, but her face is ugly.")
def -adj.- cool, appealing, fly, ill. said to be abbreviated from "definitive". used by M.C.s in
the mid to late 1980's and not used anymore unless they are being intentionally "old school".
dimepiece -n.- same meaning as dime, i.e., a very attractive woman. a "ten" on a one-to-ten
scale.
diss -v.- to criticize or disrespect someone. (EX: "He dissed that bitch.")
gank -v.- steal
ganked -v.- robbed, swindled (EX: "He got ganked." = "He got robbed.")
gat -n.- a gun. less generally, an automatic firearm, especially a machine gun. an abbreviation
of Gatling gun.
ghettobird -n.- police helicopter
growns (also "grown men") -n.- 22" rims or bigger on an automobile
hella -adv.- very. formed from "hell" and "of". not used much by M.C.s anymore. common on
the West Coast.
homeboy -n.- someone from the same neighborhood or area
homie (or "homey") -n.- a good male friend
hoodrat -n.- neighborhood girl with loose morals, neighborhood slut
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187 - homicide
24/7 - all day hustle
411 - information. from 4-1-1, the number for directory assistance in the United States
420 - Number associated with cannabis and cannabis usage. also refers to April 20th, which
many people refer to as "Marijuana Day" because of the date.
5-0 - in reference to the police (as in the television show Hawaii Five-O)
1096 - police code for mentally ill suspect (from the film The Sugarland Express). commonly
used in the state of Texas.
4080 - industry rule #4080, in reference to the music industry and it's lack of morals and ethics
(from "Check The Rhime" by A Tribe Called Quest)
5150 - code for mentally ill from the California Welfare and Institutions Code. also the name
of a Van Halen and an Eazy-E album
730 - the code for a crazy person. according to some New York City rappers the term "730"
originated from mental health patients receiving their medication at 7:30am and 7:30pm.
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