Editor’s Note: Good googly moogly! 2012 was a year for the books – one that saw Beefs & Battles return heavy to rap, the momentous results of a sputtering Presidential Election, a monstrous East Coast storm, and two of the year’s best rap albums from artists nearly 20 years apart in age. (Oh, and a possible end to life as we know it on December 21, according to the Mayan calendar!) Stick around for the entire month of December for AHH’s 2012 Year End recap…
2012: The Year of the Ratchet
The end of another year is nigh, and it was a great one. As with any year of late, Hip-Hop puts its proverbial stamp on the language with phrases that, with time, become overused and cliched. Check out AllHipHop.com’s “Top 5 Over-Used Phrases to Leave in 2012”:
1. “RATCHET”
The Urban Dictionary does not take it easy on “Ratchet Girls” defining them as: “A diva, mostly from urban cities and ghettos, that has reason to believe she is every man’s eye candy. Unfortunately, she’s wrong.” Ouch. Through (over) use this year, “ratchet” began to describe anything that used to be called “ghetto.” Trashy weave? Ratchet. Still own a BlackBerry? Ratchet. Big Drake or Chief Keef fan? Ratchet.
Ratchet got a big shout-out on the summer hit, “Bands A Make Her Dance”, when Juicy J., pointed out that ratchet girls did possess one thing that he just couldn’t resist. So, where did the word start? We aren’t sure…possibly in Chicago. But this video, “Ratchet Girl Anthem” from Emmanuel and Phillip Hudson, definitely helped speed it’s popularity along. Here’s hoping “ratchet” and “ratchetness,” the phrases and the behavior remain in 2012.
2. “YOLO”
What started out as part of the hook for the song, “The Motto”, quickly turned into a hashtag overkill to explain away all kinds of reckless behavior. In April, The Washington Post declared YOLO, “The Acronym You’ll Love to Hate.”
In the article, Robyn Dexter, campus editor of the Eastern Illinois University’s newspaper, Daily Eastern News stated, “When I see “YOLO” in a tweet, I know instantly that something unintelligent and cocky is going to follow,” she wrote. “There’s nothing wrong with taking risks in life and trying new things. I’m totally for that. But there’s a fine line between living your life to the fullest and making spur-of-the-moment, completely irrational decisions.” We agree. You may only live once, but if you live recklessly, you may not live long.
3. “IT’S A MOVIE.”
Ugh… this one isn’t even fun. We’re not sure of the exact origin of this cliche, but it definitely got old quick. “It’s a Movie,” because a popular saying among artists and promoters to imply that their event, album, song, was so awesome that it was like a film. This was a lame cliche, and we hope it dies a quick movie death.
4. “SWAG”
Here’s an oldie but goodie that…Just. Won’t. Die.. As long as people keep using it, we will keep adding it to the list in the hopes that it will eventually fade. Swag is one of the most overused phrases in Hip-Hop that is so cliched, it is now becoming the opposite of its very definition. #Swag is showing up in usage to describe things that are silly and corny, versus describing that which is unique and cool as a cucumber. We hope this is a sign of the death of a new word. We are, in fact, actively working on something to replace it. #Stiff? #Loopy?
5. “MOLLY”
Hip-Hop loves its recreational drug use. The culture that almost overwhelmingly supports the marijuana industry and grew up selling crack is now – if you let the music tell it – popping Mollys (and sweating).
Molly is a mimic of the drug Ecstasy and like its older sibling, it releases seratonin and dopamine, making the user feel spacey and in a word, “good.” As a created street drug, it does, of course, have its side effects up to and including death. Molly used to be a White girl’s name. Let’s return it to its rightful owner.
And there you have it – our recommendations for over-used phrases that we HOPE will stay in the year 2012. We recognize that for every one we get rid of, another can pop up in its place, which is OK with us. We’ll just kill it next year. In fact, that’s just #Loopy.
What phrases are you wishing death to before the year is out? Hit us up in the comment section!