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Music

The Official Rap Slang Power Rankings

Plus, a corresponding emoji for each term!

Slang comes naturally to some people and awkwardly to others, and as someone talented (and fortunate) enough to collect a check for my mastery of the written word, I figured it was time I gave back. So if you are interested in the diversification of the darts at your disposal, verbally speaking, here's today's mathematics. Ranking is "ease of use without sounding like a dipshit," from highest to lowest.

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(Note: I am not implying anything about who can, can't, should, or shouldn't say what. Do whatever you want. Just know you might get clowned for it. Also, the exclusion of “turnt/turn up” from this list is due to us being too turnt up to explain that turning up is too ubiquitous to worry about.)

DOPE

The winner and still champion, a reliable and earnest expression of quality. Still meaningful when applied to things as varied as sushi, nature trails, breasts and experimental film.

SAFE FOR WORK? Totally, although only in reference to non-work activities. PowerPoint is never dope.

RED FLAGS? Use in moderation. If you call everything "dope" you sound like an A&R from 1999.

CHILL

"Eating a burger on a roof wearing sunglasses" in word form. Also works for "sitting on a stoop drinking a beer", "smoking a joint in a cemetery" and literally any activity done while you are supposed to be at work/school/jury duty/therapy.

SAFE FOR WORK? Work is never chill, even when you're writing about the word "chill."

RED FLAGS? Please let Chillwave die in peace.

TIGHT

Like a lesser version of "dope." Tight is for small victories: it's cool but keep it moving.

SAFE FOR WORK? Yes, but carefully and probably only in an office full of millennials. So maybe not.

RED FLAGS? "Tight" can also mean uncomfortable, upset or "feeling some type of way." Use context clues to avoid confusion.

FIRE

A stronger expression of approval but a little harder to pull off and less versatile. Sushi can be fire but not nature trails, breasts or experimental film.

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SAFE FOR WORK? Probably not. You'll just confuse everybody.

RED FLAGS? Make sure you're not exclusively using "fire" to describe rap songs. Be honest with yourself, and if that's the case, adjust accordingly.

FEELIN' SOME TYPE OF WAY

The genius of Rich Homie Quan's breakout single is that it works as a commentary on the onslaught of input which defines modern life. As a society, we're still adjusting to how much more information we take in and one way we do that is by prioritizing what we even acknowledge or react to.

SAFE FOR WORK? Absolutely, but you should leave Quan out of it.

RED FLAGS? It's useful once you get the hang of it, but tough because you might have to explain what "not feeling a way about it" means more than you'd want to.

SAUCEY

J. Stalin said it a bunch when I interviewed him so I'm gonna assume it's a fixture in the Bay. You can be an early adopter/word-gentrifier!

SAFE FOR WORK? I guess. Do you work in Oakland?

RED FLAGS? You run the risk of sounding like a mobster from the 30's. That's not really a bad thing (see also: calling women "broads") but it's kinda silly.

TRILL

Like a stronger, more serious "dope," reserved for expressions of power or especially bold or honorable moves. I feel like I use it mostly in a rap context, but that says more about how utterly trife my life is than my own vocabulary. I might come through in the Audi Zipcar and where I paid extra so there's no Zipcar logo, that's about as close to "trill" as I get.

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SAFE FOR WORK? Given the serious nature of the word, your average workplace can create trill situations. I don't know if you need to comment on trillness publicly, but next time your Project Manager smacks down your idiot client over some "make the logo bigger" shit, make a mental note. That shit's trill.

RED FLAGS? Calling everything trill makes you sound like a recent music business-school grad trying to maneuver into the urban market.

(Note: if you're from Texas, you can say trill as much as you goddamn want.)

CRACK

Kinda weird to say if you, your family, your neighborhood, or your life in general have never been affected by crack-cocaine or the crack epidemic. I mean, it's admittedly kind of funny to refer to the dumplings at particularly Dim Sum spot as "that crack" but have some decency.

SAFE FOR WORK? Nah.

RED FLAGS? You probably won't get smacked for it, but some silent judgement will probably be goin down.

THOT

What started as a hilarious acronym has jumped the shark and is now the most overused slang word in America. If you weren't saying "thot" a year ago, please don't start now. If you are over the age of 30, phase that shit out. Still funny sometimes as a sardonic dismissal ("ayo, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor a thot") but otherwise let it go like the animated sensation Frozen.

SAFE FOR WORK? Where is your place of employment that you got thots at work?

RED FLAGS? All of them.

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RATCHET

Somehow "ratchet" made its way from its Boosie-fueled beginnings in Louisiana all the way to Los Angeles and the Mustardsphere (which I hope catches on as a term). In one form, it's kind of a less offensive flip of "bitches and hoes": a term fun-loving, low-stress, possibly unstable party girls could own. But unfortunately "ratchet" hitched a ride with "trap" into the mainstream and became synonymous with sorority girls making "rap hands" in Facebook photo albums. And that's a shame.

SAFE FOR WORK? Anything you would be describing as "ratchet" at work could also be described with the timeless expression "a hot mess."

RED FLAGS? I feel like there's a racial component to "ratchet" that makes it even worse. Like you could do a psych experiment where you showed subjects a series of photos of out of control parties and asked which ones could be described as "ratchet" and their answers would correspond with the race of the crowds in the pictures. Look for my research in an upcoming edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Rap Sciences.

BONUS: CHAV

"Chav" is a term for lower-class white people in England and it is fucking awesome. In recent months, I've learned Chavs dip themselves in track suits and Burberry and they all have herpes because they don't use condoms. Also, in Scotland they are known as "Neds." I don't know why it's so funny, it just is.

SAFE FOR WORK? I propose we all just start calling things "chavvy" indiscriminately and see what happens.

RED FLAGS? British people might get offended but fuck em, we won the war. USA!

Skinny Friedman is a writer and patriot living in America. He's on Twitter - @skinny412

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For more fun times with rap music, check out Young Money Rappers as Street Fighter Characters, a map of where Migos can find the plug, and an interview with Coolio.