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CNN Live At Daybreak

New Dictionary to Clue You Into Wha's Up

Aired December 18, 2002 - 05:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 'tis the season and hip hop is now mainstream. And for those of you trying to understand what the young folks these days are saying, there's a new dictionary to clue you into wha's up.
Our Jeanne Moos has the 411. Translation? Information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): If you think hip hop is what a bunny does, maybe it's time to trade in your websters for the "Hip Hoptionary," where cheddar ain't just cheese.

(on camera): Cheddar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, money. Money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moula.

MOOS: (voice-over): And word play sounds like foreplay.

(on camera): Eyegasm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eyegasm?

MOOS: It's a good looking person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eyegasm?

MOOS: (voice-over): You may not know what blowin' trees means, but these kids did, instantly.

(on camera): Blowin' trees?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, smoking weed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoking weed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoking that weed. Smoking that weed.

MOOS: (voice-over): The "Hip Hoptionary" is for anyone who's ever listened to a rapper and wondered, huh, what did he say?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RAP VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you just make sure you flip the script tonight. You understand me? (END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Nope, better check the "Hip Hoptionary" to change or switch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Change things.

MOOS: (on camera): Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Change things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, wait a minute, man. This guy is a black dude, man. He just got paint on his neck, look.

MOOS: (voice-over): The "Hip Hoptionary" is the brainchild of former TV reporter Alonzo Westbrook.

ALONZO WESTBROOK: Listen, when you think about the language of hip hop, it is clever, it is funny. You know, I mean it's wicked. I mean these guys actually put a lot of thought...

MOOS: (on camera): It's what?

WESTBROOK: It's wicked.

MOOS: (voice-over): Wicked means good, though some hip hop terms seem wicked in the traditional sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bust a cap. Put a bullet in your ass.

MOOS: (on camera): Crackitute?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's not a word.

MOOS: (voice-over): On page 31 it is, person who has sex in direct trade for crack cocaine.

Angela George is an attorney who's a friend of author's and uses his book.

ANGELA GEORGE, ATTORNEY: And if someone says to you I'm gonna wet you up" that means that they're going to shoot you. MOOS: She figures the "Hip Hoptionary" would come in handy for police who have to do surveillance.

(on camera): Vicked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, definitely.

MOOS: He's vicking me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

MOOS: Right there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've been vicked.

MOOS: Sugar in the tank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that means you're gay.

MOOS: (voice-over): Alonzo got the idea for the book when he couldn't understand the lyrics to hip hop songs.

WESTBROOK: And I thought if I didn't know and I'm kind of hip --

MOOS: Though sex and marijuana have lots of entries, coining new terms for money seems most popular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moula.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dough, dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cake, cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheese.

MOOS: Our favorite is dead presidents, referring to the pictures on bills. But don't bet money on most white folks getting it.

(on camera): Dead presidents?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, there are a lot of them, Abe Lincoln.

MOOS: (voice-over): And when this guy kept getting definitions wrong, his buddy used him to define another hip hop term.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, to be stuck on stupid, that's somebody like he is right now.

MOOS: Evolving lingo is nothing new. Remember "Airplane" from more than 20 years ago?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "AIRPLANE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, (EXPLETIVE DELETED), butter laying it to the bone, jacking me up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, stewardess, I speak jive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hang loose, blood cause you gonna catch up on who's bad out of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Do you understand? Make that overstand.

WESTBROOK: Understand it so completely that you overstand it.

MOOS: Overstood.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is hot chocolate, but you can call me spilt milk.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 18, 2002 - 05:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, 'tis the season and hip hop is now mainstream. And for those of you trying to understand what the young folks these days are saying, there's a new dictionary to clue you into wha's up.
Our Jeanne Moos has the 411. Translation? Information.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): If you think hip hop is what a bunny does, maybe it's time to trade in your websters for the "Hip Hoptionary," where cheddar ain't just cheese.

(on camera): Cheddar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, money. Money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moula.

MOOS: (voice-over): And word play sounds like foreplay.

(on camera): Eyegasm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eyegasm?

MOOS: It's a good looking person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eyegasm?

MOOS: (voice-over): You may not know what blowin' trees means, but these kids did, instantly.

(on camera): Blowin' trees?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, smoking weed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoking weed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoking that weed. Smoking that weed.

MOOS: (voice-over): The "Hip Hoptionary" is for anyone who's ever listened to a rapper and wondered, huh, what did he say?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM RAP VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you just make sure you flip the script tonight. You understand me? (END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Nope, better check the "Hip Hoptionary" to change or switch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Change things.

MOOS: (on camera): Sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Change things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, wait a minute, man. This guy is a black dude, man. He just got paint on his neck, look.

MOOS: (voice-over): The "Hip Hoptionary" is the brainchild of former TV reporter Alonzo Westbrook.

ALONZO WESTBROOK: Listen, when you think about the language of hip hop, it is clever, it is funny. You know, I mean it's wicked. I mean these guys actually put a lot of thought...

MOOS: (on camera): It's what?

WESTBROOK: It's wicked.

MOOS: (voice-over): Wicked means good, though some hip hop terms seem wicked in the traditional sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bust a cap. Put a bullet in your ass.

MOOS: (on camera): Crackitute?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's not a word.

MOOS: (voice-over): On page 31 it is, person who has sex in direct trade for crack cocaine.

Angela George is an attorney who's a friend of author's and uses his book.

ANGELA GEORGE, ATTORNEY: And if someone says to you I'm gonna wet you up" that means that they're going to shoot you. MOOS: She figures the "Hip Hoptionary" would come in handy for police who have to do surveillance.

(on camera): Vicked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, definitely.

MOOS: He's vicking me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

MOOS: Right there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've been vicked.

MOOS: Sugar in the tank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that means you're gay.

MOOS: (voice-over): Alonzo got the idea for the book when he couldn't understand the lyrics to hip hop songs.

WESTBROOK: And I thought if I didn't know and I'm kind of hip --

MOOS: Though sex and marijuana have lots of entries, coining new terms for money seems most popular.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moula.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dough, dough.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cake, cake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheese.

MOOS: Our favorite is dead presidents, referring to the pictures on bills. But don't bet money on most white folks getting it.

(on camera): Dead presidents?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, there are a lot of them, Abe Lincoln.

MOOS: (voice-over): And when this guy kept getting definitions wrong, his buddy used him to define another hip hop term.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, to be stuck on stupid, that's somebody like he is right now.

MOOS: Evolving lingo is nothing new. Remember "Airplane" from more than 20 years ago?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "AIRPLANE")

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, (EXPLETIVE DELETED), butter laying it to the bone, jacking me up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, stewardess, I speak jive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just hang loose, blood cause you gonna catch up on who's bad out of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Do you understand? Make that overstand.

WESTBROOK: Understand it so completely that you overstand it.

MOOS: Overstood.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is hot chocolate, but you can call me spilt milk.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com