Analyzing What We Say & Why We Say It

Have a conversation, check their Twitter, or check their Facebook of almost any student at FSU and you're bound to hear or see some hip-hop slang terms used. Whether it be words like "dope" and "tight" as replacements for words like cool, hip-hop has had an undeniable influence on conversational English. These terms don't necessarily begin in rap songs but rather in the poorer neighborhoods and projects that many rappers come from. The terms gain widespread use and popularity from songs that make it to the mass of listeners. One great example of this is the song "Racks" by YC which led to Tyga's song "Rack City" and before you know it everyone is referring to stacks of money as racks.

 

Often the most common creation of slang terms is when artists refer to drugs. Marijuana is often referred to as "reefer" and "kush" along with a vast amount of others. Type either of those two or others into youtube and a music video titled the word is most likely going to pop up first then followed by all the videos actually talking about it. This can be seen for other drugs as well such as ecstasy being called "molly." Hip-hop influences have seamlessly integrated into how we talk today and whether or not you actually listen to hip-hop its most likely still made its way into your vocabulary.