The Etymology of Hip-Hop Lyrics – Nathanology
Singer: Nathanology
Title: The Etymology of Hip-Hop
Hip-hop’s from the Bronx; that’s where it’s born from
But what is the word ‘hip-hop’’s etymological origin?
A word’s Etymology is how it was formed, and when —
And words are important — so you should be informed of them
So here’s an etymological lexical chronicle
Hip-hop, a genre of audible, optical
Thought and flow: get taught, ‘cause it’s part of hip-hop to know
…And so here it is: The Etymology of Hip-Hop
‘Hip’ comes first, but at first ‘hip’ was ‘hep’
Which meant up-to-date, with it, and in-step —
Which in 1914, first appears with that name
In the now-rare ‘Vocabulary of Criminal Slang’ —
Which claims that it came from a detective’s last name
Who was, legend has it, always ‘hep to the game’
And so his name became a saying — he’s ‘hep’, like, ‘he’s heard of it’
Some say it comes from ancient ploughmen and shep-
Herds, Who when herding would shout the word ‘hep’
To their herds. ‘Hep hep’, like ‘tut tut’ — the kind of word you’re using
As you do in hip-hop, when you’re getting things moving
More likely sources, on the other hand, say that it’s
From the Wolof language of Senegal, Mauritania
And Gambia — ‘hepi’: ‘to open one’s eyes.’
— That’s eye-opening, and should come as no surprise
Since West Africa was the home of the griot, or jeli
Who practiced the ancient art of tale and poem telling
And preserving a cultural knowledge by rapping it —
But some even that etymology is inaccurate
But where ever it came from, what matters is where it went —
It entered the vernacular of Black Americans
In the 30s and 40s, in what they call the Jive Era
50 years before Jive and era-era-era
And its usage continued in the context of jazz
First among musicians, and then among the fans —
So a ‘hepcat’ went from being a jazz man, to later
Being a white intellectual jazz appreciator
And ultimately as ‘hip’ made the transition from ‘hep’ —
If that was a transition you weren’t hip to yet —
And you still said ‘hep’ and not ‘hip’, then you’d fall
Into the category of persons who were not hip at all
Hop, as in jump, or a one-footed leap
First appeared in the 1500s, from a deep
Proto-Germanic root word, in modern form ‘hupfen’ —
To engage in a bouncing, springing forth movement
Combining then ‘hip’, which means conscious and aware
And ‘hop’ which means making a leap up in the air
You have ‘conscious movement’ — that’s how KRS explains it —
He’s the teacher of hip-hop. I teach Ancient Languages
A DJ’s a Disc Jockey, that’s an established acronym;
Less obvious, perhaps, the MCs that rap to them
Can stand for Master of Ceremonies, or for
Mic Checka, or less known Microphone Controller
Graffiti’s Latin via Greek, and via Latin from Italian
And even Ancient Romans wrote but not on Iron Stallions;
Breaking is from ‘brecan’, Old English, to shatter —
Olde English 800 is a way to get plastered
Rap, rap, rap, rap, rap is onomatopoetic —
And so whoever did invent it when they thought it and said it
Made up a word that recreated some impression that came before
Like the rap, rap, rapping Edgar heard at his chamber door
It came from ancient Danish, ere becoming a term of art —
And meant a ‘light, quick blow.’ It also meant ‘fart’
And that’s poetic justice, because it’s obvious there
Are some rappers who claim to drop sh#t that’s just air
— That’s rap. But what about trap?
In the past ten years everybody’s feelin’ that
But where’s the word come from, and where’s the word at?
It refers to the spot where you’d drug transact
Trap, deriving from ‘trep-‘
That in or onto which someone can step —
Implying a movement that comes to a stop;
And some people don’t like it, some like it a lot. — Why not?
I’m not really saying either way
I’m trying to say the way it went and whence it came
And since it came to get its name
And then became a way of statement that’s pervasive in the game —
And oftentimes it’s like a h#mophone: it kinda sounds the same
I guess it’s aptly titled, ‘cause it’s everywhere of late —
I guess they call it trap ‘cause its hard to escape
Hip-hop evolves and undergoes changes;
And yet somehow its essence transcends and stays changeless
And the line between who’s real, and who appropriates it
Is whether you make it in such a way that no haters can say sh#t
That’s what I’m trying to do. And I recognize genre
Is nothing more than a means to catalog an author
And I don’t care if what you call what I do is hip-hop or
Historical essays masquerading as song words
What I care about is this: regardless of your origin
When a crowd hears your voice, be sure you inform them —
Make them hip to what’s real, make them hop to what moves them
Make them think, make them feel — give them thought, give them movement
For this is the function of language, and music
However you make it, whenever you do it —
‘Cause words are just words, what’s real is just facts
And it’s not just where they’re from, it’s where they’re at
Find more lyrics at lyrics.jspinyin.net
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Lyrics Nathanology – The Etymology of Hip-Hop
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