DEATH OF THE WORD "BALLIN"

Head Writer


Derek Alan West



Welcome back, this week we're finishing up our Misused/Overused slang series with a word that could have been buried somewhere with jimmy Hoffa circa 2008..."Ballin". It's not so much that I don't care for the word, as much so that I feel it should only be reserved for the times when you are in fact Ballin'.





look at his concentration.....amazing



I place the blame for the words surge in popularity solely on the shoulders of Jim Jones. The word had of course been around before his 2006 mega hit "We Fly High (Ballin)" from his album Hustlers P.O.M.E. but it was after that when we started to see parents, children, grandmothers, and even WWE wrestlers not only use the word in everyday life, but also the "hooping" gesture.

The origin of the word obviously comes from the sport of basketball and is used to imply a vast amount of wealth. Like that of what an NBA player would receive from his players contract, endorsements, etc. the issue here arises when the word is applied to situations that are not Ballin'.....at all.



"I was at the club last night son! Ballin out of control! It was $2.00 shots and $1.00 bottlenecks kid! Balllliiiiiinnnn! *makes hooping gesture*



got the new stunna shades on kid....uh oh.. "BALLIN!!!"



No, that's not Ballin. That's drink specials at the club to get people through the door. Youre not Ballin because you managed to drink a little more for a little less cash. The whole idea behind Ballin is to not even be worried about the cash you're blowing. So by definition you're the opposite of Ballin because you waited until discount night to hit the town.



Now some would argue that Ballin is relative. What may be Ballin to one person might not necessarily be Ballin to another. For instance if you work a 9 to 5 type job, bringing in let's say $400 a week, then maybe to you, blowing $200 on a night out is what you would call Ballin, and in that instance, I'd say...no. You're wrong. You can't be Ballin on a budget. You simply either are, or you aren't. And let's be real, the majority of us are not.

The one thing I will say about it is that it's a nice dream. It's something to aspire to I suppose. To not have to worry about money. To go out and blow an insane amount of cash on a good time with your homies. We're all in love with the same idea for better or worse. My point is don't make the mistake of projecting yourself to be something you're not. There are people Ballin in the world, ballers. Professional athletes. Rappers. Celebrities. But we can't all be those people. Sometimes it's just best that we be ourselves.



see this counts.... halfway



So the next time you're at the strip club with that $100 worth of ones in your left pocket, and your $40 worth of drink money in your right one, do yourself a favor, and do jot scream out "BALLLLLIIIINNNNN" because you're not. Youre just some dude in a strip club with $140 and light hatred of women you'll never be able to afford.

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STREET EVOL IS STREET LOVE

ARE YOU A HATER??

HATERS
By: Derek Alan West
Head Writer

This week my assault on over used or mis used slang terms continues with one of the by far most over used words ever...hater.

Old School Haters!!

"Man, I asked her out and she said she doesn't date losers...she's just a hater..."

No, she's not a hater...she doesn't want to date you because you're 27, you live with your mom, you work at Speedway, and your hobbies are play station, weed, and internet pornography. In summation, by definition, you're a loser. She just called you on it. The funniest part about when someone calls someone else a hater, the person being called a hater is usually telling the truth, and in turn get labeled as being a hater for doing so.





"My professor gave me another D. Damn that dude is such a hater..."





Wrong again Cheech. You got a D because you opted to go get drunk 6 nights out of the week, rather than just study for a few hours and get your head right. Your professor is not a hater. Even if he wanted to hate on you, trust me he doesn't have the time. It also doesn't help that your hobbies include play station, weed, and Internet pornography. Are we noticing a trend here?

umm....Really?? smh

Google doesn't have a definition for the word hater, and I don't count the Urban Dictionary as a credible source so the following is my definition of the word hater:

Hater - (hay-tur) noun.

Someone who dislikes something about someone else.

So by my definition we are all or we have all been haters at some point or another during our lives. Hell I've apparently been a hater since kindergarten when Tommy Flanagan managed to get the ghostbusters firehouse play set before me. My point is we can't deem everyone a hater because we don't like something they do or say.





The only thing worse then people who call others haters, are the people who claim to have haters. I won't say names, but I recently saw a friend of mine on Facebook use the following as her status: "I love my haters"

Really? You're a dental hygienist from central Ohio who works and lives in Pittsburgh...who is hating on you? Really?





Look I get that everyone has little quirks that bother us. Shit sometimes the quirks downright piss us off. But the term hater has become so over used and out of control that it's hard to define anyone as anything but.




apparently I was told this was my favorite drink...






I'll go ahead and say it...I'm hating on haters.





Follow me on twitter @derekalanwest

hater!

THE STREET EVOL IS STREET HATE LOVE

Death of Swagger

by Derek Alan West
Head Writer

Yesterday I was browsing through my time line on twitter when I came across the following hash tag from an 80 year old woman trying to gain 80 thousand followers: #oldladyswag. And though it had previously occurred to me that this was coming, it confirmed what I already knew. The use of the word swagger is no longer acceptable, or cool. Not only has it become too widely used, but the terms meaning itself has just become too broad. I recently saw a guy get a cast taken off his leg after a boating accident, the first thing he said when he stepped onto the floor? "I'm done with that handicap swag!"



eli porter introduced us to handicap swag..
"he da best mayne..he did it"

*Sigh*

Here is how google defines the word swagger:

swag·ger/ˈswagər/

Verb:
To walk or behave in a very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive way: "he swaggered along the corridor".
Noun:
A very confident and typically arrogant or aggressive gait or manner.

Somewhere along the way swagger became less about who you actually were and more so about who you wanted people to believe you were. People began to not necessarily HAVE swagger so much as they were attempting to ACHIEVE swagger. And how did they attempt to achieve it? By doing what other people who claimed to have a swag told them to do. They wore certain brands and styles of clothing. They used certain slang terms. They bought certain brands of cars, and sun glasses, and kicks. And then they told their friends "check out my swag!"

you can play a drinking game with how many times Lil B
 uses "swag" in a song

Now let's be clear people have been attempting to be stylish based on what other people have done, said, and wore forever. In the 80s rapper dressed the way drug dealers dressed, with the track suits and Gazelles (which are sun glasses for you 90s babies) and Adidas. I say that to highlight the fact that I'm not coming down on people for wanting to be stylish. The issue is the broad, over use, and frankly misuse of the word swagger. To have a swagger signifies ownership. It's yours. It's unique to you, and no one else has it. It's sort of like the fingerprint of your life.

when does it stop??

Now, if you walk the same, and talk the same, and use the same slang, buy the same clothes, wear them the same way, use the same accessories, get the same haircut, as everyone else, then how exactly is your swagger yours? Believe me when I say there is NOTHING wrong with being stylish. I mean let's be honest, no one wants to be considered unfashionable. Just don't make the mistake of fitting in as having swag, swagger is an attitude, not something you can buy or learn, and by definition it's not the best attitude to have anyway. There's nothing wrong with confidence, but aggressive arrogance is unappealing. Its a turn off to any women older than the age of 15.

So in conclusion what I'm saying is there is no such thing as #oldladyswag or #handicapswag or #hipsterswag or any other type of #hashtagswag. There is only swagger, and its long been known that when parents, teachers, grandparents, and older white people start using a slang term, it's time for us to stop using it. Swagger, ironically yours has expired.

On a side note I wish I had used #hashtagswag BEFORE I declared it uncool...

Feel free to comment, agree, or disagree.

Follow me on twitter @derekalanwest

THE STREET EVOL IS STREET LOVE



swag..lol