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Q: Rappers language. ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   3 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Rappers language.
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: clicker5-ga
List Price: $4.00
Posted: 03 Sep 2003 15:56 PDT
Expires: 03 Oct 2003 15:56 PDT
Question ID: 251941
There is a new variant of the English language that devotees of Rap
music seem to enjoy.

Rappers add terms, like “izza” and “hizza”, to normal or slang
language.

Is (izza) there a simple set of rules generating this, or is (izza) it
random, or what?
 
 Is it similar to the old “Banana Fana” usage?
“Ana, Ana, Bo Bana, Banana Fana, Fo fana”

Or Pig-Latin?

Or Hawaiian Pigeon?
 
Clarity of the issue may be interesting (or not).
Answer  
Subject: Re: Rappers language.
Answered By: pinkfreud-ga on 03 Sep 2003 17:01 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
I tried researching this for a while, but reading all those rap lyrics
made my brain hurt. Nevertheless, I am posting my findings, hoping
that the enlightenment of the many will be worth the headache of the
one. ;-)

A wonderful online source of info on current slang is the Urban
Dictionary. I've posted excerpts from a couple of U.D. definitions
below.

======================================================================

The midfix -izz- is used as an embellishment to add syllables to
words, perhaps for purposes of meter. It is added after the initial
consonant, or if the word begins with a vowel, at the very beginning.
When context allows, sometimes the remainder of the word is actually
omitted.

Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=izz

An example of my own coinage:

Oldspeak: "Google Answers really satisfies you."

Rapspeak: "Gizzoogle Izzanswers rizzeally sizzatisfies yizzou."

======================================================================

izzo... from Jay-Z's song "H to the Izzo"... chorus lyrics are as
follows: "H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay..." which is an extended form
H to the O, V to the A... standing for H.O.V.A. -- some gangster place
I don't know of. Izzo means O. Put "izz" in front of any letter and it
means that letter.

Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=izzo

======================================================================

From what I've read, the fad of inserting "izz" into words may be
credited to the popularity of Snoop Dogg, although the original usage
almost certainly predates him. The insertion of "izz" into words is
very similar to children's nonsense "code languages" such as
Double-Dutch, Ubbi-Dubbi, and -- the most famous -- Pig Latin.

More on code languages:

Wikipedia
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibberish

Linguist List
http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/8/8-1208.html

The Kith
http://www.kith.org/logos/words/lower/u.comments.html

======================================================================

Here are some newsgroup threads that you may find interesting
(WARNING: there are some vulgarisms and obscenities herein):

Thread from  rec.music.hip-hop newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&safe=off&th=6ec019bcf14e149c&rnum=2

Thread from alt.rap newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&safe=off&th=c3eb15eb7f6e3fa5&rnum=14

======================================================================

Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "izz" + "words" + "rap"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=izz+words+rap

Google Groups Search: "izz" + "words" + "rap"
://www.google.com/grphp?hl=en&tab=wg&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=izz+words+rap

======================================================================

I hope this has been helpful. I now thizzink I have a fairly good
grasp of this aspect of rap slang, but I am still waiting for somebody
to tell me what "diddy wah diddy" means.

Bizzest wizzishes,
pizzinkfreud
clicker5-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Hello again pinkfreud:
Thank you for the 5 star research.

I think "diddy wah diddy" means:
"diddy wah diddy", 
but I am not sure.

Kindest regards:
clicker5

Comments  
Subject: Re: Rappers language.
From: joelpt-ga on 04 Sep 2003 14:14 PDT
 
For an entertaining and useful look at rapper language, rent the movie
"Pootie Tang".  Sah-dah-tay!
Subject: Re: Rappers language.
From: sashadoingyo-ga on 04 Sep 2003 15:53 PDT
 
clicker5,

You might want to look up 'ebonic', which is kind of the 'black
english'. Although thought by many as 'bad english', it actually is
richer and more flexible than english itself, and by many linguistic
terms qualifies to be a dialect of english, rather than just a bad use
of it.

Sasha.
Subject: Re: Rappers language.
From: penmeister-ga on 17 Nov 2003 10:54 PST
 
It seems to me that the practice of adding an "izz" sound to the
middle of words is actually a variation of something invented by
Murray the K back in the early sixties. Murray used to add an "eeoh-z"
sound to the middle of words such that "Murray" became "Me-oh-zzurry."
(Murry the K -- Murray Kaufman -- was a popular top-10 DJ on AM radio
in the early sixties.) Memory being a fragile thing, there's a good
chance that it wasn't Murray, but one of his contemporaries, but the
"izz" thing certainly predates rap in any case.

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