hip hop 101

I am Hip Hop.

It lives in me.

It lives in you.

Hip hop is a culture. It is a movement. It's not just a form a music. It's in everything. It's in your walk. It's in your talk. It's in the clothes that you wear. It can't be created or manufactured by Madison Avenue. Hip hop has seen it's share of fads. Some good...some downright terrible.


high top fade

fat shoelaces

baggy jeans

door knockers

hip hop phrases...

bum rush- crash into a show hoping to see it for free, to arrive in force
bust a cap- shoot a bullet
clap iron- shoot a firearm
coolin’ it- relaxing
da bomb - the bomb, i.e. cool, appealing, or popular
da shiznit- "the shit" - cool, appealing, etc. (also tha shiznit, the shiznit). Popularized by Snoop Dogg.
flip the script - Commonly used in rap battles, it means to take what somebody said against you and to use it against them.
fo shizzle my nizzle - literally, "for sure my friend"

kickin’ it - relaxing
my bad - my mistake or I’m sorry
off the chain-unbelievable, outrageous, wild, etc.
off the hook- unbelievable, outrageous, wild, etc. from telephone_hook
open up shop- sell drugs, establish a drug-selling spot
peace out - good bye
roll out- leave. Specifically, to get in your vehicle leave the scene.
what up ? - hello, how are you ? or what is going on ?
word up - you got that straight, that’s right or how’s it going
oh fo sure - thanks, no problem

Terms...

bail - v.- leave- "Let’s bail."—’Let’s leave’/’Let’s go’. Common slang, meaning basically the same as in "Let’s bail out" (common English usage).
bent - adj.- intoxicated
crib -n.- place of residence
dime - n.- a very attractive woman ; a "ten" on a scale of one-to-ten.
dip - v.- leave. "Let’s dip."—’Let’s go.’ "I’m a dip if I see one-time pop up."
dog (also dogg) -n.- 1. a close & trusted friend.
hate - v.- aside from its usual meaning, has different shades of meaning such as "criticizing", or "disrupting" someone’s game. "Why you gotta hate on me ?"
hating (hatin’) - v.- same meaning as ’hate’ (see above). "Why you hatin’ on a brutha ?"
herb - n.- marijuana
hood - n.- neighborhood
ice -usually as a plural noun- diamonds. "That dude got a lot of ice on his wrist."—meaning, ’That guy is wearing a multi-diamond-studded bracelet’.
ill -adj.- 1. cool, appealing, far-out ("That’s ill.") 2. crazy, rowdy ("Act ill").
jet- to leave, to leave quickly- "C’mon, let’s jet."
scratch- n.- money
scrillah- n. - money
shorty- n.- a girl ; a woman ; a child ; a young man
spit- v.- "He can spit."—meaning, "He can rap." Less often used as a noun.
straight- adj.- ’fine’, ’okay’- Example : A person asks "You want some Henny ?", the other person replies "No. I’m straight."---meaning, "No. I’m fine."
strapped -adj.- bearing a firearm
stuntin- showing your best(cars,jewelry,etc.)or to act out of the ordinary
tight- adj.- cool, high-quality, appealing.
toaster -n.- firearm
trippin’-v.- high on drugs, or being crazy ; "You must be trippin’"
tweak -n.- to do crystal meth ; to smoke weed
whip -n.- car, automobile

Personally, I'd love to see the gold chains come back. I'd love to see..."keep it real" get buried

Are there any fads, phrases, or terms that you'd like to see come back...or go away?

checkdafootwerk

The other day I stumbled as I entered our walk in closet.

I didn't stumble b/c I'm clumsy.

I tripped over a pair of shoes.

The shoes weren't mine. They belonged to Mrs12. She has a gazillion shoes. I understand that a woman should have a lotta shoes. I get that.

Sometimes you gotta keep it simple, tho. I don't get caught in that name brand stuff but I know what I like

For me, there's 3 pair of shoes that I need.

1. Black Cole Haan dress shoes- sleek...can go with any suit

2. White Air Force Ones- it's hard to find a white pair of tennis shoes but these kicks can go with anything

3. Wheat Timberlands- I've always had a fresh pair of wheat Timbs. One of my favorite shoes of all time

What about you? Could you condense your shoe game to 3 shoes? (prolly virtually impossible for some of you...but work with me here.lol)

fresh or wack

Who gives you the latest dances, trends and fashion?
But when it comes to residuals they look past us
Woven into the fabric, they can't stand us
Even the white tees, blue jeans and red bandanas

Nas-America


Hip Hop

It started back in the Boogie Down Bronx in ' 78. I think I started listening back in like ' 84. I'm old school. But I've seen it rise from what people thought would be a passing fad to a multi-billion dollar industry. Hip hop brought many things to the forefront. Fashion trends immediately come to mind.

Over the years I've seen some things that made me wanna run to the store and purchase. And then there were other things that I wouldn't be caught dead in. LOL

Back in the day...if something was cool...then we described it as FRESH. If it wasn't cool...then we described it as WACK. So, I'll give you some fashion trends that I thought were FRESH...and some that I thought were WACK

FRESH- Gazelle shades (rocked by the Fat Boys...among others)

WACK- Polka Dots (popularized by Kwame)

FRESH- Fat shoe laces

WACK- Biker shorts (don't get me wrong...i liked to see women in biker pants but when dudes started rocking em...that was nasty)

FRESH- No shoe laces (Run-DMC)

WACK- Saggin pants (i dunno who started it but I wish they'd take it back with them)

FRESH- Fat gold chains (almost every rapper in the 80s)

WACK- platinum chains (never got into that platinum)

FRESH- Daisy Dukes shorts (nuff said)

WACK- Grillz (there will be some real yukmouths running around in a few years when they take that stuff outta their mouths)

FRESH- Button down shirts (Jay Z help start a movement to "change clothes")

WACK- Dudes rockin pink (Cam-ron...you'll never catch me in pink...PERIOD)

FRESH- Bandanas (Tupac)

WACK- Hammer pants (MC Hammer)

FRESH- Bald heads (Michael Jordan, Tupac, Onyx...to name a few)

WACK- Jheri Curl (drip...drip...drip)

FRESH- Door knocker earrings (can somebody bring those back?)

WACK- Kross Colors (nuff said)

FRESH- Timberlands (still rock em to this day)

WACK- putting your clothes on backwards (Kriss Kross)

FRESH- Hoodies

WACK- throwback jerseys (glad that one came and went)

I could go on and on.

Tellmewhututhink

Hollatchaboi!!!

that ain't my style

On my left hand...i have a gold ring (with diamonds) that I wear on my ring finger. Mrs 12 gave it to me the day that we got married. It's called a wedding ring.

On my right wrist...i wear a watch

On my right ring finger...i sometimes wear a my gold ring with diamonds. The diamonds are in the shape of a football. I earned this championship ring when I played football in college at South Carolina State University.

Other than these 3 things...I don't wear jewelry. I've always hated jewelry. Never had a chain to hang around my neck. Never understood the "platinum chain phenomenon" that so many bruthas are into.

Unlike most men...I don't wear much jewelry.

What about you? What are some thing(s) that you are not into that most members of your gender are into?

Unlike most men/women...I don't...(u fill in the blanks)

Hollatchaboi!!!

hairy situashun

This is the year that I come in and just devestate
My style is great ask your peoples can I dominate?
My rhymes are harder than last night's erection
Don't play me close, I'll have this mic up in your rear section
My shit is lovely simply meaning that my joint is tight
Amping up the mic making sure production's tight
Sometimes I might catch a severe case of writer's block
But by the end of the day you'll be on my jock
My name's Malik my hobby's putting MC's to the test
And if you front I'll put my foot up in your friggin chest
Freestyle fanatic, and never will it ever stop
You crew is loose, you might just want to call the cops

Phife from A Tribe Called Quest (1nce Again)

It was the mid 70s. Pops rocked a fro. I mean...his joint was like Dr. J's joint. Only problem...it had a hole in it. Aw shit! Moms used to tell us that we'd lose ours by the time that we hit our 20s. At 35...i still got mine.

Damon, my brother, lost his. But he rocks a baldy and it fits him. Not me.

Stylz- I've had the Gumby (don't ask for no pics cuz you ain't gonna see em), the high top fade (wasn't that high) and the regular. I have the regular style right now. I remember rocking "a small part" in the middle but i'm too old for that now. Never had a jheri curl.

I like it short or long. Always been a fan of natural hair. Weaves have grown on me (no pun intended). Just as long as I can't see ya tracks...i'm good.

Mrs12 has hers to her shoulders. For a long time, she wore it long just b/c i liked it long. It's yours...do what you wanna do with it. And she DOES. Maaad stylz every 2 weeks. I'm baffled at times. I've seen her take allllllll damn morning tryna "get it right". But i don't have that problem. Neither do our sons.

Looking at your profile pics, I can tell that y'all spend a lotta time and effort on your headz. What's your style? Natural or weave? Frustrations or success.

I saw some weird hairstylez yesterday

Soooooo...a blog about hair? Yep. Why not?

Hollatchaboi

On Sale

The door opened. My wife walked in a few seconds later with a HUGE grin on her face. She stepped back outside momentarily into the garage. She returned with a 2 bags. I quickly noticed that the bags were from a department store and not a grocery store.

Me: "What's in the bag, baby?"

Mrs.12: "What bag?"

Me: The bag that's behind you

Mrs.12: Oh...you mean THAT bag

Me:Yeah. That one.

Mrs.12: I just bought some shoes

Me: Shoes? For who?

Mrs.12: For me. They were on sale.

She then reaches in the bag to show them to me.

Mrs12: Aren't they cute???

Me: Yes. They are fly. But when you say that they were on sale that doesn't mean anything. The shoes were prolly marked up to begin with.

Mrs.12: Awww quit hatin'. I got a good deal for these shoes. I'll rock em all summer long.

Me: *sigh*...i mumble something under my breath as I exit the room

One of the FIRST things that I learned in Marketing 101 is that when you see the word SALE...beware. In order to deem if it were truly on SALE, you must know what the original price was. As consumers, we never know. Sometimes when you drop a hunnid bux on shoes or a dress that was on SALE...you have to ask yourself what was the true price before you bought it. Was it really only worth $50 and it was advertised at $250 but sold for $100 to make you think that you got a deal? That's the way that I think. Some call it cheap...some call it frugal...I really don't care what you call it. LOL.

WEBSTER'S definition of being on sale...
able to be bought at reduced prices.

Now, I'm not saying that Mrs.12 DIDN'T get a good deal on her shoes but I just don't fall for that sale jargon. haaaaa

So...you tell me. When was the last time that YOU got a good deal on a SALE. It could be anything. Or something that you would call a STEAL.

Holla baaaaak