• 1: of extraordinary quality
• 2: attractive or desirable

EXAMPLE “God damn, backyard’s bangin’ like a Benzie/If I was jiggy, you’d be spotted like Spuds McKenzie”

– Ghostface Killah, “Ice Cream” (1995)

• 1: someone with a lot of money and luxury goods, usually acquired through hustling; one with extravagant taste and a penchant for flaunting their wealth.

EXAMPLE “The crew is lampin’ Big Willie-style/Check the chip-toothed smile, plus I profile wild.”

– Nas, “The World is Yours”

• 1: jewelry made primarily of platinum or diamonds; characterized by distinct gleam emitted when hit by light

EXAMPLE “All day my phone ringin’ bling bling bling/Can see my earring from a mile bling bling.”

– B.G., “Bling, Bling”

• 1: showing dedication; all about a particular topic or action
• 2: to be thorough in handling one’s business
• 3: down for any and everything
• 4: intrepidness; not showing fear

EXAMPLE “Cause I’m bout it, I mean I’m rowdy/I hang with these killasthat everyone talk about.”

– Master P, “Bout it, Bout it”

• 1: currency; money, usually cash.

EXAMPLE “See it’s all about the cheddar, nobody do it better/Going back to Cali, strictly for the weather.”

– The Notorious B.I.G., “Going Back to Cali”

• 1: to chill and relax at the same time.

EXAMPLE I’m just chillaxin’

• 1: remarkably cool or fresh

ADDITIONAL NOTES The name of 1990’s rapper Coolio of “Gangsta’s Paradise” fame.

• 1: currency, usually signaling substantial, long-term wealth

EXAMPLE “Cash rules everything around me/CREAM! Get the money, dolla dolla bill y’all.” – Method – Method Man, “C.R.E.A.M.”

• 1: something of surprisingly exceptional quality

verb

• 1: to be explosively good; mind-blowing.

EXAMPLE “The pussy was da bomb, had a nigga on sprung” – Snoop Doggy Dogg, “Bitches Ain’t Shit”

• 1: currency; quick means of exchange

EXAMPLE “Bitches get fucked on the roof when i ain’t got no hotel dough” – Big L, “7 Minute Freestyle”

• 1: to drop one’s backside quickly to the rhythm of a song, catching it just before it touches the floor.

EXAMPLE “After you back it up, then stop/Then wha, wha, what, drop drop it like it’s hot” – Lil Wayne, “Back that Azz Up”

• 1: it’s all good; used to affirm or confirm that a situation is chill; all is right in the world.

EXAMPLE “Everything is everything, what is meant to be will be” – Lauryn Hill, “Everything is Everything”

• 1: cool; used to confirm that everything is OK; often uttered during the use of hallucinogenic or psychedelic drugs.

EXAMPLE “Groovy dude, not to prove to be rude/But this stuff is like what you might put on movie food.” – MF DOOM, “Great Day”

• 1: to reply in order to continue a correspondence with a friend or new acquaintance.

EXAMPLE “It’s alright, you heard? It’s alright, holla back” – Jay-Z “It’s Alright”
ADDITIONAL NOTES officially died in 2005 after the release of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollback Girl”

noun

• 1: call used by hustlers to signal the presence of police.
• 2: tribal utterance acknowledging a friend.

EXAMPLE “One for the playas at the crib, dank and dranks/And two is for the sound, Hootie Hoo that I make” – Big Boi, “Hootie Hoo”

adj.

• 1: fly; dapper; exceptionally well-dressed and put together

EXAMPLE
“Let’s get the dough and stay real jiggy, uh huh/And sip the Cris and And sip the Cris’ and get pissy-pissy/Flow infinitely like the memory of my nigga Biggie, baby!”
– Jay-Z, “Hard Knock Life”

• 1: the act of staying true to one’s self or upbringing

EXAMPLE
“Keepin’ it real, packin’ steel, getting’ high/’Cause life’s a bitch and then ya die.”
– AZ, “Life’s a Bitch”

• 1: full of energy; exciting; lively
• 2: real, authentic

EXAMPLE
“From Bedford Stuyvesant, the livest one/Representin’ BK to the fullest”
– The Notrious B.I.G., “Unbelievable”

• 1: to do a whole lot of nothing; relaxing without a care in the world.

EXAMPLE
“Chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool and uh shootin’ some b-ball outside of the school.”
– The Fresh Prince, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme Song”

• 1: the eternal conundrum of success; the more money you get, the more problems you have.

EXAMPLE
“I don’t know what they want from me/It’s like the more money we come about, the more problems we see.”
– The Notorious B.I.G., “Mo Money, Mo Problems”

No diggity |  nō dig-i-tee |


adj.

• 1: without a doubt; definite; used to show supreme confidence in something

EXAMPLE
“I like the players/No diggity, no doubt”
– Blackstreet, “No Diggity”

Slammin’ |  slam-in |


adj.

• 1: aggressively good; of a definitely superior quality

EXAMPLE
“My rap’s steady slammin’, I keep a heavy cannon/It’s a new sherrif in town, and it ain’t Reggie Hammond.”
– Big L, “Put it On”

• 1: from the root word sneakers
• 2: tennis shoes; kicks; gym shoes

EXAMPLE “Freaks be movin’ in fly sneaks/two finger rings and gold teeth, and ain’t afraid to hold heat” – Raekwon “Ice Cream”

Phat |  fat |

adj.

• 1: used to describe something of considerable thickness or girth, usually a part of the female anatomy;
• 2: describing something particularly fulfilling; robust; can refer to one’s wealth.
• 3: acronym for pretty hot and tempting.
• Note: Not to be confused with “fat.”

EXAMPLE “Long as my motherfuckin’ pockets was phat/I didn’t give a fuck where the bitch was at.” – Dr. Dre, “Bitches Ain’t Shit”

• 1: Interjectional statement of the affirmative; shows that the user enthusiastically agrees with what was just said.

EXAMPLE “Thug changes, and love changes/and best friends become strangers, word up” – Nas “The Message”

• 1: To overstep one’s bounds, unintentionally embarrassing one’s self; to misjudge or underestimate an opponent based on delusions of grandeur.

EXAMPLE “So put a quarter in your ass, ’cause ya played yaself” – yaself” – Big Daddy Kane, “The Symphony”