Why be Normal?

I spent years working with teenagers who I had nothing in common with. I was the typical good kid, never getting into trouble and doing everything asked of me. I grew up in a rural town, and let’s just suffice to say that everyone had the same racial profile as I did.As I became initiated into the underworld of juvenile delinquents, I had to learn a lot of things and this included understanding what the hell they were trying to say to me. Although they spoke English, my native language, I had to learn juvenile delinquent slang in order to “get them”, to be a “staff that understands us yo”. Here are a few slang terms and my interpretation of what they mean:

1. Yo. Something we’ve all heard at one time or another, can be used in many ways.

“Yo mama”, Your mother, or in other words, you’re a b$! and so is your mother.
“Yo, staff”, Hey, I need your attention.
“Yo” accompanied with a little nod. How are you? I’m good, Just sitting here.
Which brings me to the next word.

2. Chillin’. Easy enough, relaxing, sitting here, doing nothing.

Can be used, “chillin like a villin” Which means I think I’m a badass I am cool.
An often used combination is: “Yo, chill” which means cut the shit or I’m going to smack you.

3. Phat. Pronounced FAT. A word used instead of cool. It’s Fat, with a PH.

4. Buggin. An old one, but a good one.

“I’m buggin” means simply, I’m freaking out. The opposite of chillin.

5. Dawg. A term coined by Randy Jackson on American Idol, but the girls in lockup were using it way before American Idol was ever on tv.

“Yo, dawg”, Hi friend, how are you today?

6. Peeps. A group of Dawgs. Your peeps are your friends. Most likely a shortened version of people.

“What up peeps?” Hey guys, How are you?

I better stop chillin writing this blog post because my wife is buggin and cleaning everything in the house. Yo dawgs, lata. Peace.

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