Do the Stanky Legg! Do the Stanky Legg! Do the Stanky Legg!

It is important to mention that the title of this song and the group’s name are misspelled, but this is a common feature of hip-hop culture. Not all of hip-hop deviates from standard spelling, but it is particularly common in southern rap and gangta rap . So which words are misspelled?

• Their name is the GS Boyz, but we all know that the plural form of boy is always boys, ending with the letter s. Although this is not “proper spelling”, we have to give credit to hip-hop artists for spelling words as they are pronounced. This is not always the case in English, which makes the spelling <> pronunciation connection ever so difficult.
• It’s also worth mentioning that the correct spelling is STINKY in “standard” English, but some regional dialects of southern American English pronounce it like STANKY! In my opinion, STANKY is stinkier and funkier than STINKY, and I wish the rest of the world would adopt this unique word.
• Finally, we don’t spell LEG with two Gs, and to be honest, I have no idea why the GS Boyz insist on spelling it that way.

Grammar: Using Imperatives

Imperatives are used to give orders, suggestions, advice, and encouragement to other people. The verb form is simply the base verb or infinitive without ‘to’.

In the song, the GS Boys use a lot of affirmative imperatives. They want to tell us how to do their new dance.

• Do the Stanky Legg!
• Snap your fingers in the air and shake your micros too.
• Now get it. Get it!
• Now hit the booty doo!
• Just watch me do it like my bro.
• Stick your leg out.

It is also possible to form negative imperatives as well. Simply use do not or don’t.

• Don’t do the Stanky Legg!
• Don’t snap your fingers or shake your micros.
• Don’t get it!
• Don’t hit the booty doo.
• Don’t watch me do it like my bro.
• Don’t stick your leg out.

You can even use adverbs, such as now, just, always, never with affirmative imperatives, but almost never with negative imperatives.

• Always do the Stanky Legg.
• Always don’t do the Stanky Legg.  Try this instead:
  • Don’t ever do the Stanky Legg.
  • Never do the Stanky Legg.

Vocabulary

• You dig? (phrase) – This phrase means “Do you understand?”
• hit the dance floor (phrase) – To arrive at a club or party and start dancing. You are not actually hitting or punching the floor.
• be riled up (adjective) – To have a lot of energy and movement. Young children are often riled up after eating too much sugar.
• Salsa Merengue (noun) – a style of dancing from Latin America, particularly Cuba and the Dominican Republic
• micros & woop-dee-dee-doo (slang) – a butt, booty, ass, etc. If you shake your micro, you are dancing and shaking your butt. If you drop your woop-dee-dee-doo, you are also dancing.
• Get it! – This phrase can mean a lot of things. In the context of the song, it means “Do the dance. Do the Stanky Legg”. It can also mean:
  • to understand = I don’t get it.
  • to retrieve = I went to the job interview, but I didn’t get it.
• dig (slang) – to like something and enjoy it. If you dig a song, it means you really like it a lot.
• jig (slang) – to dance

The post Imperatives: Do the Stanky Leg! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

To the hiddip the hop it don’t stop.
Das EFX with the real hip hop.
To the hiddip the hop it don’t quit.
Das EFX and we came to rip shit.

Grammar: Preposition ‘Like’

In case you didn’t know, the flow is fat like Joe.

I eat a rapper like I’m Pacman.

Well I pop shit and rock shit like Metallica.

Use the preposition like to say that things are the same. Use like before a noun or pronoun to talk about the similarity.

like + noun/pronoun

• He looks like his father.
• She plays piano like Mozart!
• She won’t go out with guys like me.

We can also use like to give examples.

• People are happy in sunny places like California.
• I’m not good in subjects like math. I prefer creative classes.

Like and as can be used as a conjunction before clauses and prepositional phrases. Using as is more formal.

like + clause/prepositional phrase
as + clause/prepositional phrase

• Nobody loves you like I do.
• Das EFX raps like nobody else I’ve listened to.
• No other website will help you learn English like ESLhiphop does!

Writing Task

Das EFX are very fast rappers. What do they sound like? Do they sound like anybody you know? Write as many sentences as possible!

The post Like: Speak English LIKE a Native appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

English Slang

The word ain’t is a very common English slang word, and it is commonly used in hip-hop and rap songs. It is used by the working class in England as well as the southern United States, especially in informal conversation. Many people in the middle and upper class do not like this word.

Ain’t is a contraction of:

• am not
  • I ain’t hungry. I just ate a very big sandwich.
  • I ain’t sleepy. I had three cups of coffee, and I’m wide awake!
• are not
  • You ain’t the boss of me. You can’t tell me what to do.
  • You’re smart, but you ain’t Albert Einstein.
• is not
  • He ain’t a little boy. He can take care of himself.
  • She ain’t my girlfriend. I don’t know where she got that idea from.
• has / have not (for present perfect)
  • You ain’t heard nothing yet!
  • I ain’t ever been to the Great Wall of China.
• do not / does not / did not
  • I ain’t got much money.
  • He ain’t go to work today, so he can help you move furniture.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Writing Task

Answer these questions  using ain’t.

• Are you an alien from a different planet?
• Are you Barack Obama?
• Do you have $150,000,000,000,000?
• Have you ever seen a person with two heads?

The post Ain’t: Learning English AIN’T Difficult! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

The group rose to fame in the early 1980s with their first successful single “Freedom” and later on with “The Message“, which is often cited as among the most influential hip hop songs. However, in 1983, relations between Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel became strained and the group disbanded. A reunion was organized in 1987, and it released a new album. Afterward, the sextet disbanded permanently (taken verbatim from Wikipedia).

Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge.
I’m trying not to lose my head.
It’s like a jungle sometimes.
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

Grammar: Adverbs of Frequency

It’s like a jungle sometimes.

We use frequency adverbs to give more information about our routines or actions that happen on a regular basis. These are the most common adverbs of frequency:

• Always
• Almost always
• Normally
• Frequently
• Usually
• Often
• Occasionally
• Sometimes
• Hardly
• Rarely
• Seldom
• Never

Adverbs can take three positions in a sentence: front position, mid position and final position. 

Sometimes and usually can go in front position:

• Sometimes it’s like a jungle.
• Sometimes life is difficult.
• Usually I exercise in the morning.
• Usually Monday mornings are depressing.

Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes and occasionally can go in end position:

• I listen to rap in the morning usually.
• He studies English frequently.
• My mother gets very sad sometimes.
• She visits her friends in Europe occasionally.

Always, ever, usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom and never can go in mid-position.

In mid-position, adverbs go:

• after BE verbs am/are/is/was/were
  • He is always late to class.
  • She was rarely a bad student.
• After Auxiliary verbs
  • I am frequenltly looking for new music.
  • The dog will sometimes bark at cars.
• Before all other verbs
  • My father always wakes up at 5 a.m.
  • He never eats after 10 p.m.

Discussion Question

Why is life so difficult sometimes? How are the state of affairs in your country? Are there many people living in poverty? How do these problems make you feel, and what can you do to fix them. Write your opinion in the comments below!

The post Adverbs of Frequency: It’s like a jungle SOMETIMES! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

“Still D.R.E.” was released in October 1999 as the lead single from Dr Dre’s second solo album, 2001. The song, co-written by Jay-Z, features vocals from Snoop Dogg on the intro, chorus and outro (taken verbatim from Wikipedia).

I’m representing for them gangstas all across the world.
Still hitting them cornerson the lo-lo’s, girl.
Still taking my time to perfect the beat.
And I still got love for the streets. It’s the D.R.E.

Grammar: Using Still

Still is an adverb, and it means an action started in the past, is continuing and has not stopped. It does not begin or end sentences, and it always takes mid-sentence position.

BE + STILL

• Can I have another sandwich? I am still hungry.
• I can’t believe it! The meeting started 30 minutes ago, and she is still late!

STILL + VERB (all other verbs)

• He still practices the guitar. I’m surprised he hasn’t given up!
  
• My mother still looks great, and she’s over 60!

BE + STILL + ~ING VERBS (present continuous or past continuous)

• He is still sleeping, so we should wake him up soon. 
• She is still working, so can you call her back later?

Writing Task

Do you have bad habits? Have you ever had bad habits? Do you still have these habits today? If your friend has a bad habit and wants to stop, how can you help? Please write your response in the comments below!

The post Still: I’m STILL taking my time to perfect the beat! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I smoke on the mic like smoking Joe Frazier.
The hell-raiser, raising hell with the flavor.

Grammar: Using ‘Too’

Deep in the dark with the art to rip the charts apart.
The vandal, too hot to handle
You battle, you’re saying goodbye like Tevin Campbell

-Inspectah Deck

And also:

The Wu is too slamming for these cold, killing labels.
Some ain’t had hits since I seen Aunt Mabel.

-GZA

The adverb too is different than very, and they both have different meanings. Too means ‘more than enough’ or ‘more than necessary.’

•  Busta Rhymes is a very fast rapper.
  
• Twista is also a very fast rapper, but he is too fast. I can barely understand him!

Use ‘too’ before adjectives and never before nouns.

too + adjective

• The Wu-Tang Clan is too good for mainstream rap labels. 
• The music is too loud. Can you turn it down please?
• Your sister is too old for me. I can’t date her!

too + noun & too + adjective + noun

Use too much before uncountable nouns and too many before countable nouns.

• There is too much information on the Internet. How can I find reliable news?
• I’ve brought too much lugggage with me, and I have to pay a lot of carry-on fees.
• I have too many supervisors at my job. If I make a mistake, I hear about it from four different people.
• He drinks too many cans of soda every day. That’s not healthy.

Here is another possible use:

too + adjective + infinitive

too + adjective + for + noun + infinitive

too + adjective + for + object pronoun + infinitive

• It is too late to take the bus home. We have to walk or call a taxi.
  
• It is too expensive for my company to hire those lawyers. We will look into another firm.
• It is too cold for us to walk outside.

Writing Task

• Is it possible to have too much of something? For example, can a person have too much love? Too much freedom? Too many friends?
• Complete this sentence: You can never have too many _____.

The post Too: You’re TOO hot to handle! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

In this song, 2Pac and Dr. Dre celebrate the unique and vibrant culture of California. They acknowledge and give props to several California cities that have influenced West Coast hip-hop, including Los Angeles, Compton and the San Francisco Bay Area.

California knows how to party.
In the city of L.A.
In the city of good, old Watts.
In the city, the city of Compton.
We keep it rocking.

Grammar: The Verb ‘Let’

Use the verb let for suggestions, orders or for permission. 

For permission, use: Subject + let + object + base verb.

• I sometimes let my friends borrow my car. In other words, I allow them to borrow my car. 
• My wife doesn’t let me eat junk food. She wants me to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.
• Our teacher lets us work together in class. I like this more because our other teachers want us to be quiet all the time.

For group suggestions or orders: Let’s + base verb. Let’s not + base verb. 

Let’s (informal) = Let us (formal)

• Let’s go to the restaurant. I’m starving!
  
• Let’s buy our tickets as soon as possible. I really want to go to the concert.
• Let’s not go to that neighborhood after dark. I hear it’s dangerous at night.

For instructions to yourself: Let me + base verb. Think and see are common.

Let me = Lemme (informal pronunciation)

• Do you know where my coat is? ~Let me see… I think it’s in the other room.
  
• What is the best dish in this restaurant? ~Let me think… The lobster ravioli is very good!
• Excuse me for one minute. Lemme answer this phone call from my mother.

For instructions to another person: Let + him / her/ it / them + base verb

• Let him eat all of the candy. He will be sorry when he gets a stomachache!
  
• Let her borrow my CD. She should definitely listen to it!

Examples from Song

Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild West.

Worldwide, let them recognize from Long Beach to Rosecrans.

Let me serenade the streets of L.A.

Let’s show these fools how we do it over on this West Side.

Discussion Questions

2Pac and Dr. Dre are proud to be from California. Where are you from? Are you proud to be from your country, province and city? Why are you proud to be from there? Please write your comments below!

The post Let: LET me welcome you to the Wild West! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

This a thousand dollar pair of shoes, and you don’t even know it.
This a thousand dollar cup of lean, and you don’t even know it.
This a half a million dollar car. You don’t even know it.
I came up from bottom. You don’t even know it.
My niggas all ride with me on. You don’t even know it.
Got killers with me right now. You don’t even know it.
This a million dollar watch, nigga. You don’t even know it.
Got a million-dollar crib nigga, you don’t even know it.

Grammar: Adverbs of Emphasis

Use even to emphasize something unexpected or surprising.

1. Use after BE verbs – am/is/are/was/were
   
2. Use after AUXILIARY verbs – am/is/are/was/were/do/does/did/has/have
3. Use before all other verbs

• He is always late to meetings and appointments. He was even late to his own wedding!
  
• Why did you buy me a sandwich? I am not even hungry.
• He really wants to lose weight. He is even running 5 kilometers every day. He never used to run!
• She has visited many countries. She has even been to Antarctica.
• They are very strict vegans. They don’t even eat honey. Isn’t that crazy!
• I used to be a lazy student, but now I am working very hard. I even go to the library on Saturday.
• My grandfather is very cool. He even listens to hip-hop!

Discussion Questions

Do you have an interesting life? Do you encounter many surprising situations at work or school? When something unexpected happens, what do you do? How do you react?  Do you like doing predictable work or do you like surprises? Please write in the comments below!

The post Level 1 Lesson 3: Even appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

Mary had a little lamb
That’s a fib. She had two twins though
And one crib
Now she’s only fourteen. What a start
But this defect is ground common in these parts
Now life in this world can be such a bitch
And dreams are often torn and shattered and hard to stitch
Negative’s the attitude that runs the show
When the stage is the G.H.E.T.T.O.

Grammar: So and Such

Use so and such to show extremes in adjectives, adverbs and nouns. So and such also mean very or really.

so + adjective

so + adverb

such + noun

such + adjective + noun

so + noun… such + adjective… such + adverb

• De La Soul is so good! They are a very good hip-hop trio.
  
• Hip-hop music is not so stupid. Many hip-hop artists are very intelligent.
  
• He learned English so quickly with hip-hop music.
• Gift of Gab from Blackalicious sings so well. He is very talented and has a great voice.
• People who hate hip-hop music can be such idiots! They claim it is not poetry.
• 3 Feet High and Rising is such a great album. It is really good.
• Lil Wayne is such an interesting rapper.

Vocabulary

• defect (noun) – a fault in something which means it is not perfect. He went to the hospital and had surgery because he has a heart defect.
• bitch (slang, noun) – something that causes difficulties or problems. My job is such a bitch! I’m very unhappy, and I want to quit soon.
• ghetto (noun) – an area of a city where many people of the same background or race live. Ghettos are usually crowded and have bad living conditions. For your safety, don’t walk through the ghetto at night.
• pimp (verb) – to get customers for a prostitute.
  • also a noun
• broken-down (adjective) – in a very bad condition; very tired and sick. My car is a broken-down heap of metal. I need to get a new car.
• high (slang, adjective) – to be intoxicated from drugs or alcohol. Snopp Dogg is always so high because he smokes a lot of marijuana. 
  
• scapegoat (noun) – a person or thing who is blamed for something bad that somebody else has done. Many people blame violent movies and music for the increase in crime, but that is only a scapegoat. 
• crumble (verb) – if a building is crumbling, parts of it are breaking off. The old house is starting to crumble. We need to repair it now before the damage gets worse. 

Discussion Questions

Does your country have ghettos? Have you ever been to one? If you have, what was it like? Why do ghettos exist in the first place? Does discrimination or racism perpetuate ghettos? Please write your comments below!

The post Level 1 Lesson 10: So & Such appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I’m going to put it on the table
I ain’t a thug nigga and player. I ain’t playful
I’m just Senim Silla, man without label
Standing on my own two. You’re trying to stay stable
Speaking what I know to only what I’m able
I ain’t the kind of guy who carry on for dough
The material cat who walk around for show
I’m just your everyday, merry way Joe on the go
While others go with the flow

-Senim Silla

Grammar: ‘Everyday’ and ‘Every day’

Everyday and every day are pronounced exactly the same way. Everyday is one word and every day is two words, but what is the difference?

• everyday (adjective) – common and ordinary. I am just an everyday guy. I am not a special man, and most people think I’m an average Joe.
  
  
• every day (adverb) – daily. I listen to hip-hop every day. In other words, I listen to hip-hop 7 days a week.
• Every day is an adverb that can begin or end a sentence, but it cannot take mid-sentence position.
  • I listen to hip-hop music every day.
  • Every day I listen to hip-hop music. (less common)
  • He every day listens to rap music.

Vocabulary

• put it on the table (idiom) – to be completely honest. I’m going to put it on the table and tell you exactly what happened. I kissed your girlfriend last night!
• carry on (phrasal verb) – to continue doing something, especially after a difficult ordeal. Binary Star broke up in 2000, but they carried on and made music independently. 
• dough (slang) – money. Some rappers only make music for dough. They do not care about hip-hop music as an art. 
• material cat (slang) – a man who is obsessed with money and possessions. Some rappers are just material cats who chase after fast cars, women and dough. 
• average Joe (idiom) – an ordinary man. Senim Silla is just an average Joe. He is just an everyday guy, but I think he’s so cool!
• go with the flow (phrase) – to do what others are doing or to have the same opinion. Some people cannot go with the flow, and society considers them misfits. 

Discussion Questions

Is it important to be honest all the time? Is it ever acceptable to tell a lie or to be dishonest? Some people try to be different, which might be different from their real personality and identity. Why is it important to be true to yourself? Please write your comments below. 

The post Level 1 Lesson 7: Everyday & Every Day appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.