Thursday, March 05, 2009

"Hoodie" and other reasons I can no longer stand hip-hop slang in the American cultural lexicon

So, I'm reading a police report on a recent bank robbery in North Salinas. Serious stuff, with the robbers pulling an old fashion "put your hands in the air" (minus the wave them like you just don't care) type of heist.
I was drawn into the report right up to the point where the story said “The robbers, both wearing hoodie sweatshirts...”
Hoodie sweatshirts? Really?
I've read enough news wire stories on the "hip-hopification" of the American lexicon to understand and not be shocked by such word usage. And maybe hoodie itself isn't the most egregious usage of slang, but here, it just struck me.
Maybe it's because hoodie rhymes with woodie, and both words just seem silly/borderline juvenile to me.
I think the first time I ever even heard the word "hoodie" I'm pretty sure was in a Das Efx song, and they were using it just so it could rhyme with "Sam Goodie," which sounds even more silly if you connect the dots.
Like, if hoodie makes it into the Oxford dictionary (and who's to say it hasn't already? I'm too lazy to look it up) will the origins be rooted back to one of the Das Efx , figgety-wiggety guys?
Maybe I should call for a moratorium on all unnecessary hip-hop slang, beginning with hoodie and it's root ('hood is no longer acceptable)and extending to bling, whole sale phrases like back in the day, and any story reference either to Chuck D calling rap music "The Black CNN" or identifying 50 Cent as "Fiddy."
Enough is enough, people.

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