Word on  the street

Nailing slang with Nelly�s latest rap smash

By Matt Leppard, Photograph courtesy of AP

It looks like Nelly�s lost his girl to another man and, while he used to be the �other man� in a relationship (i.e. a man in an affair with a woman who already has a boyfriend), he seems to have turned over a new leaf. Now Nelly sees his girlfriend with a new man and he doesn�t like it. Luckily for him, the last verse shows that perhaps the girl is starting to forgive him and they may get back together.

This song is full of slang and colloquialisms, many of which we�ve defined and explained before. A colloquialism is a word or phrase used in conversation, but not in formal speech or writing. Thus, while it may be common to say, �I wanna go shopping,� you would never write on a job application letter, �I wanna work for your company.� Strict grammarians may disagree that words like yo and ya as used above are part of the English language, but � luckily � strict grammarians don�t control the evolution of language or we�d still be stuck using the old-fashioned to-day and to-morrow.

The exercise below will test your knowledge of such words and their usage. Just remember: Street slang belongs in the street, not in your English essays.

�My Place�

By Nelly, featuring Jaheim

I used to pride myself on being the other man
But now it�s flipped and I don�t want you with no other man
Why can�t you understand anything I�m offering
I gave you the world, but you just wanted arguing
From the time I picked you up, until the time I dropped you off again
Even flipped out on me at the mall again
�It�s all his fault again� that�s what you telling all ya friends
I ain�t pointing fingers ma, I just wanna call again
See how ya day going, I know they stressin� on ya
I know them times get hard that�s why I�m checkin� on ya
It�s yours truly ma, I got a little message for ya
Anything he can do, girl I can do it better for ya, �cause

(Bridge � Nelly)
When we laugh or we cry it�s together
Through the rain and the stormiest weather
We gon still be as one, it�s forever, it�s forever

(Chorus � Jaheim)
Won�t you come on and go with me
Come on over to my place
Won�t you sit ya self down and take a seat
And let me ease ya mind girl
We gon do it our way

I heard your friend told a friend that told a friend of mine
That you was thinking that we should do it one more time
If this ain�t the truth then hopefully it�s not a lie
Cause I ain�t got no issues with hitting at another time
We never had a problem gettin� it done
Disagreed upon a lot ma, but the sex wasn�t one
Now check it I know you get excited (still) when I come round and bite it (girl)
Quit frownin� up and quit actin� like you don�t like

I like it, I like it, I really, really like it, I want it, adore it, so come let me enjoy it

(Bridge)

(Chorus)

Shawty, where you been
Feels like a long time, long, long time since I seen ya
Yes it has girl, when I know I said some f****d up things to you before
But girl you know I didn�t mean it
(I didn�t mean one single word)
(I never meant one single word)
If I could take back every word I would and more fo sho
If I thought that you believe it
Cause you make my life so convenient for me

(Bridge)

(Chorus)

About Nelly
Name: Cornell Haynes
Nationality: American
Style: Rap, soul
Label: Universal
Albums: Country Grammar (2000), Nellyville (2002), Sweat and Suit (2004)

In brief: Born Cornell Haynes, Nelly grew up on the streets of the Midwestern US town of St. Louis. However, when his mother moved to nearby suburban University City, Nelly�s life saw a radical change. Instead of channelling his energy into drugs and crime, Nelly took up sports, storytelling and songwriting. With school friends, Nelly later formed the St. Lunatics, but after some minor successes the band decided that they would be better off if Nelly went solo and the others followed. The gamble paid off and Nelly was soon signed to Universal, which released Nelly�s debut album, Country Grammar, in 2000. With his laid-back pop-rap approach that crossed many social and musical boundaries, Nelly was soon a firm chart favourite. One of Nelly�s principal ambitions was to put St. Louis � and in particular, the St. Lunatics � on the map. He kept his promise when, in 2001, the St. Lunatics Free City album (featuring Nelly) debuted. His latest two-album set Sweat and Suit has already spawned the Top 10 US hit �My Place,� which features fellow rapper Jaheim.
Official website: www.nelly.net
If you like Nelly, check out: Outkast, 50 Cent, R. Kelly

Exercises

Here are some colloquial and slang words from the song, as well as other words we�ve looked at previously; all you need to do is provide the formal version. We�ve made it a little harder for you this week because we haven�t defined the words at all, so you will need to look at the context in the song. Oh, and at least one of the words has more than one �definition,� but we�ve done the first one for you just to make your lives easier.

Words                                  Definitions
gonna                    ..................going to....................
�cause                    ..................................................
ain�t                        ..................................................
ya                            ..................................................
gon                         ..................................................
fo                             ..................................................
sho                         ..................................................

Vocabulary

nail (v): in this use, sorting out a problem
issues (n): a problems or worries that somebody has with something
convenient (adj): useful, easy or quick to do; not causing problems
radical (adj): new, different and likely to have a great effect
channel (v): to direct money, feelings, ideas, etc. towards a particular thing or purpose
laid-back (adj): calm, and relaxed; seeming not to worry about anything

Idioms

to flip out: to become very angry, excited or unable to think clearly
yours truly: you or your name
to turn over a new leaf: to change your way of life to become a better, more responsible person