List of slang used in hip-hop music

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Hip-hop music uses a varied accumulation of slang terms that have changed as hip-hop itself has evolved and changed. Much of its lexicon is drawn from African American Vernacular English. Hip-Hop music slang makes use of alternative pronunctiations (mostly drawn from AAVE); ordinary words given new meanings; new coinages and portmanteau words; as well as vernacular phrases. The slang used in a hip-hop record can often date it to a certain era and/or school of hip-hop.

1 Translation in music
2 Changed meaning
3 New coinages & portmanteaux
4 Frankie Smith slang
5 Brand names and commercial trademarks
6 Drug slang
7 Gang terms
- 7.1 Synonyms for Types of Guns
8 Numbers
9 Phrases
10 External links

Translation in music

Harlem rapper Lamont Coleman, stage name Big L, released a song on his posthumous album "The Big Picture" entitled "Ebonics". In this song, L goes through various hip hop slang terms and gives their proper meanings.

Yo, yo

A burglary is a jook, a wolf's a crook

Mobb Deep already explained the meanin' of shook

If you caught a felony, you caught a F

If you got killed, you got left

If you got the dragon, you got bad breath

If you 7:30, that mean you crazy

Hit me on the hip means page me

Angel dust is sherm, if you got AIDS, you got the germ

If a chick gave you a disease, then you got burned

-Excerpt from Big L's "Ebonics"

Changed meaning

All words under this section will be found with the same spelling in the average English dictionary, but they usually won't have these meanings listed. No phrases under this section. All words must also be used in a released Hip-Hop record in the sense listed.

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
bird - n.- girl
biscuit - n.- gun, pistol
bitch - n.- besides the usual meanings, "My Bitch" can simply mean "my girl." When applied to males, it is an insult meaning 'coward, sissy, punk', etc. ("You's a bitch").
blunt - n.- a cigar used as a joint, filled with marijuana instead of tobacco.
blunted - adj.- same meaning as 'stoned', but specifically the intoxication from smoking a blunt or blunts (plural of blunt).
boo -n.- affectionate term for one's significant other
bounce - v.- leave, go- "Let's bounce."--'Let's leave/go'.
bugged out - adj.- "He's bugged out." Acting weird, unorthodox, upset, etc.
buggin'- v.- "Why you buggin'?" Why are you acting upset, or weird, etc.
bumpin'- adj.- cool, pleasurable, to one's liking- "That shit is bumpin'." Also as a verb, "It's bumpin'."---meaning, the beat of the music is bumping in a pleasurable manner.
burner-n.-gun
bust -v.- perform, do. "Bust a rhyme."--'Say a rhyme.' "Bust a move."--'Make a move/perform a move.'
busted -adj.- ugly, caught doing a crime; "Nigga, yo' girl is BUSTED!".
cap - n.- bullet
capped -tr.v.- shot. "He got capped in the knee"--"He got shot in the knee".
cheese - n.- money
chill - v.- relax, keep cool
chill - adj.- relaxed, alright. "He's chill."---meaning, "He's alright/relaxed."
chillin' - v.- relaxing
cold-adj.-tight,good,nice
coolin' - v.- relaxing
crab -n.- A derogatory term (used mostly by factions of the Blood gang groups) for Crip gang members.
crib -n.- place of residence (One of MTV's shows is MTV's Cribs)
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.
dope - adj.- cool, appealing, etc.
down - adj.- 'I'm down to do it' meaning 'I'm up for it'. 'I'm down' meaning 'I'm up for it' or alternatively, 'I'm hardcore'. 'That fool thinks he's down...' meaning 'that guy thinks he's hardcore'.
fat - adj.- cool, appealing, and so on. When spelled (outside of the music), it is almost always intentionally spelled 'phat'.
fire-adj.-tight,nice,coo also refers to marijuana
flow - v.- to rap; can also be used as a noun, " ...listen to my flow."
fly - adj.- cool, appealing, etc.
folk - n.- friends, acquaintances
front - v.- pretend to be that which you are not; act tough.
game - n.- knowledge, skill, expertise, knack, mack-skills, techniques, etc. "He got game."--He has the technique, the skill, the knack, the pull.
ghost - to leave, leave quietly, quickly. "He got ghost."--He left quickly. "It's time to get ghost."---It's time to evacuate from the scene.
gurp - adj. Very drunk.. so fadded you cant see straight.. also see FUCKED UP.
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 nigga?"
heat - n.- any type of firearm
heat - n.- police, FBI, law enforcement in general (used also in the film, Heat).
herb - n.- marijuana
hood - n.- neighborhood
ice -usually as a plural noun- diamonds. "That nigga 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."
iron -n.- firearm
kickin'- adj.- appealing; "Those rims are kickin'."
lamp- v.- chill, relax
murk (also mirk) -v.- leave. "I'm finna murk. PEACE."
murk (also mirk) -v.- murder, kill. "Pass me the strap, I'm 'bout to murk this foo."
piece -n.- firearm
pig -n.- police officer
player (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').
punk - n.- 'a coward'; alternatively, 'an asshole' (not anatomical reference);
punk- 'Don't punk out on me', i.e., don't get cowardly
punked- intimidated; 'he got punked by that fool', he got intimidated/bullied by that person.
pussy- n.- a coward, a sissy. Used as a put-down usually against males.
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.
steel -n.- firearm
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; Can also be altering something
tweaking -v.-
whip -n.- car, automobile
whistle -n. - firearm

New coinages & portmanteaux

Under this section, neither these forms or these meanings will be found in the average dictionary, but these words are used in Hip-hop music. No phrases under this section either, but compound words included. Though used and popularized by M.C.'s, most of these words were not coined by any M.C., they were taken from local street slang.

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 also the verb ballin' ('balling'), which refers to someone who is doing very well for himself, livin' it up, in terms of money, etc.
Bee-yotch -n. see bitch
bling-bling -n.- see article for definition and origin of term.
crunk -adj.- having a good time; or 'high and drunk at the same time'. Reportedly derives from 'crazy' and 'drunk' being combined (='crunk') or from 'crazy' and 'funk' being combined. Doesn't date back to the 1980's, and is a somewhat recent term in hip-hop music, used especially by Southern rappers.
buttaface -n.- A girl with a nice body but with an ugly face; taken from "but her face". Ex: "Jermaine's girl is a buttaface, yo."
def -adj.- cool, appealing, fly, ill. Said to be abbreviated from definitive. Used often by M.C.'s in the mid to late 1980's. Not used by M.C.'s anymore unless they are being intentionally 'old school'. Also not used in general slang anymore, though still used in some circles.
dimepiece -n.-same meaning as dime, i.e., a very attractive woman, a ten on a one-to-ten scale.
diss (or dis)-v.- to criticize someone, disrespect someone. "He dissed that bitch."
gank -v.- steal
ganked -tr.v.- robbed; swindled "He got ganked."--'He got robbed.'
gat -n.- a gun; less generally, an automatic firearm, especially a machine gun. The term is originally an abbreviation of Gatling gun.
ghettobird -n.- police helicopter
hella -adv.- very. Formed from hell + of. Common slang, not used much by M.C.'s anymore.
homeboy
homie (or homey)
hoodrat -n.- neighborhood girl with loose morals; neighborhood slut
hooptie -n.- an old car, a beater.
Jakes -pl. n.- police officers. Used especially by New York M.C.'s.
(Get) jumped (on) v.- to get beaten up, physically abused by others;" You jus' another punk in the club, aboutta get jumped!"
Mo' Fo'- n. Motherfucker
one-time -n.- police.
peeps -n.-
player-hater (playa-hata) -n.- Specifically, one who hates a playa/player (see above); generally, one who hates someone who is doing well. They say "hater" instead of the full term to this present day
popo -n.- police. The 'po-' in 'police' was duplicated (po-po), the rest of the word dropped.
scrilla -n.- money- Used especially by West coast M.C.'s (Mack 10, E-40, etc.).
tweaker -n.-
wack -adj.- awful, cheap, stupid, weak, etc. Usually spelled 'wack' when spelled, rarely spelled 'whack'.
T's - police car

Frankie Smith slang

Usually the ending of a word is removed, and replaced with the -izzle suffix as a substitute, much like Pig Latin. This particular style was originated by funk musician Frankie Smith with his 1982 nonsense single "The Double-Dutch Bus". Rapper Snoop Dogg has popularized this form of slang from when he used it on Dr. Dre's The Chronic album in 1992. In other cases, -izz- is added in the middle of a word (house>hizzouse).

bizzle - bitch
fizzle - can be female, fuck, flatulate or any number of words starting with F
gizzle - gay
hizouse - house
hizzle(1) - house
hizzle(2) - hook, as in "Off the hook"
nizzle - nigga
rizzle - real
shiznit - shit (usually in a general positive sense); used especially in the phrase "Tha Shiznit!"
shizzle - sure
skizzle- a drip of any sort of intoxicating liquids.
tizzle - tizzy, a state of agitation or nervousness.
wizzle - wigga

Brand names and commercial trademarks

Ac - Short for Acura.
Benz/Benzo - Short for Mercedes-Benz, known for luxury automobiles.
Beamer - BMW car.
Cad- a Cadillac.
Caddy - a Cadillac car.
Cristal - Roederer Cristal, a brand of champagne
Dom P. - Dom Perignon, a brand of champagne
Henny, Hen - Hennessy, a brand of cognac
'Lac- a Cadillac.
Lex - Short for Lexus, a brand of luxury automobiles, also short for 'Rolex' a brand of luxury watches.
Moe - Moët et Chandon, a brand of champagne
Timbs - Timberland boots
Rolly or Rolley - Another term for Rolex, as used in Snoop Dogg's 2004 hit "Drop It Like It's Hot". Also used as a synonym for a Rolls Royce automobile.

Drug slang

dub - a twenty dollar bag (also refers to twenty inch rims)
indo - indoor grown marijuana
nick, nickel, nickelbag, nickelsack - five dollar "bag" of illicit drugs
buddha, shwag, mota, bud, dodo, green, fire, smoke, chronic, doja, ganja, dank, sticky icky, indo, - marijuana
dime, dimebag, dimesack - ten dollar "bag" of illicit drugs
Hydro, 'Dro - Marajuana grown in a hydroponic solution

Gang terms

BG - Baby Gangsta (Gangster), an adolescent gangster. Sometimes refers to 'Blood Gang'.
bluh- n.- Slurred pronunciation of 'Blood'. Generally means 'friend', 'homie'; specifically can mean, 'fellow Bloods member'. Usually used in phrases such as "What up bluh?", meaning 'What's up Blood'. Generally used to refer to a Blood gang member, sometimes used by Bloods towards non-Bloods gang members to provoke confrontation. Although sometimes still used in this manner it is mostly archaic and rarely used as a term of recognition and respect between African-American males.

Cuzz/Cuzzo - (Cuzzin/Cousin) Crip. Sometimes pronounced 'Cuh'. After fading out of popularity for awhile, it has started to make a resurgence in use as a term of recognition and respect between African-American males, and occasionally manifesting itself in other races as well. It can also be used in a confrontational manner from a Crip gang member towards a non-Crip.
G- a gangsta, in Eastcoast or 'oldschool' HipHop can mean simply 'Guy' or 'Girl'.
gangsta - (gangster) member of a street gang. Also refers to an attitude or style and can be used towards objects, actions or ideas. IE - "That Caddy is gangsta!".
OG - Original Gangster, initially refered to the founder of a street gang now commonly refers to any older gang member. Also has been adopted outside of the gang culture for general use in HipHop to refer to any originator of something or older person involved in that something. IE - "Mr. Wiggles is an O.G. B-Boy." meaning that Wiggles has been involved in Breakdancing since the early days of the artform. Synonymous with 'oldschool'. Sometimes, but not as often, can refer to a thing instead of a person.
loc (pronounced loke ) - Derived from the Spanish word 'loco', meaning 'crazy'. Can also mean 'cool' as in it's slang usage. That nigga is a loced out gangsta
slob - Derogatory term towards a Blood gangster
overhoe- Derogatory term towards a Ova Solider gangster
suwitchboy-Derogatory term towards a D.T.B ganster

Synonyms for Types of Guns

9-mm handgun - nine, nina, Nina Ross
.22 caliber gun - Deuce Deuce, Scooby-Doo (used by Cypress Hill, etc.).
40-caliber gun - 4 pounda
44-caliber gun - 44, Fo' Fo'
45-caliber gun - Fo'Five
Desert Eagle - Desert Eaze, Deagle
AR-15 - AR
AK-47 - AK
Mac-10 - Mac
shotgun - pump, shotty, "The Dimple-ator"
TEC-DC9 - Tec, Tec-9

lil daddy

Numbers

187 - Homicide
24/7 - all day hustle
411 - information, from 4-1-1, the number for directory assistance in the US
420 - Number-Code for Marijuana. Also refers to April 20th (A.K.A. Marijuana Day)
5-0 - In reference to the police (as in the television show Hawaii Five-O) or the 5 liter Ford Mustang
730 - the code for crazy, according to some New York City rappers the term "730" originated from mental health patients receiving their medication at 7:30am/pm.
808 - In reference to the Roland TR-808 drum machine.
211 - (two eleven) robbery.
20- location- ex: "what's yo' 20, fool, y'all sold me some shit crack, now I got Dimples on my ass!(Bitch)

Phrases

bum rush- crash into a show hoping to see it for free, to arrive in force
bust a cap- shoot a bullet
bust a move- perform a dance step. Popularized by Young M.C.'s hit single, Bust A Move (1989).
bust out- leave or exit quickly. "He busted out of the club."
bust out- show or bring out something- "He busted out a fat dubsack from his coat pocket."
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.
dead presidents - money (U.S. currency has a picture of a former President of the United States)
fo shizzle my nizzle - literally, "for sure my nigga". Popularized by Snoop Dogg.
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 (also, "PEACE!")
peep game -take note to someone's game. Observe someone's game in action, etc.
roll out- leave. Specifically, to get in your vehicle leave the scene.
spit game/spittin' game- speak game. See the definition of game above.
what's goin' down? - what are we doing tonight? teach a lesson, win a confrontation
what tha dilly yo/dealio? - what is going on?. This phrase is not used by M.C.'s much.
what up? - hello, how are you? or what is going on?
wigity-wack- adj.- very disturbing (up to the present day, the "wigity" is dropped and now use just "wack")
word up - you got that straight, that's right or how's it going (up to the present day, the "up" is dropped and now use just "word")
oh fo sure - thanks, no problem