This post is a guest article written by Paul Martin. Paul is an English teacher who’s from New York and is currently based in Buenos Aires. A music lover, he tries to incorporate music from all different genres into his lesson plans. He teaches with Listen & Learn, which offers English courses in New York, in addition to other foreign-language classes all over the world. You can check out his Facebook page or email him at paul@listenandlearn.org for more information.

Now take it away, Paul!

Introduction

“Empire State of Mind” is a single from Jay-Z’s 2009 album “The Blueprint 3”, which was a collaboration (something done together) Jay-Z and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. The song is a tribute (something that shows respect or affection) to New York City, where both Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are from. New York state’s nickname is “The Empire State”, and state of mind is a synonym for “attitude” or “mood”. Therefore, “Empire State of Mind” means “New York attitude”. The song deals with some of the positive and negative aspects of living in New York, and is filled with useful vocabulary and New York-themed slang.

Now you’re in New York!
Concrete jungles where dreams are made of.
There’s nothing you can’t do!

New York Slang and Vocabulary

In “Empire State of Mind”, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys make many references to various places in New York City. If you’re interested in slang from many different cities in the United States, check out this American slang map.

• Brooklyn – Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York, where Jay-Z was born.
• Tribeca – Tribeca is a neighborhood in New York where Jay-Z currently lives. The word “Tribeca” means “Triangle Below Canal Street”, which refers to its location within New York.
• (Frank) Sinatra – Jay-Z makes a reference to Frank Sinatra, who recorded the wildly popular song “New York, New York” in 1977.
• Harlem – Harlem is a historically and culturally important neighborhood in Manhattan. It’s the birthplace of the Harlem Renaissance, an artistic and musical movement that gave rise to famous musicians such as Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.
• The Knicks and The Nets – Jay-Z makes reference to the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, which are two professional New York-based basketball teams.
• Yankees – The Yankees are one of New York’s two major-league baseball teams (the other is The Mets).
• yellow/gypsy/dollar cab – A cab is a casual term for a taxi. In New York, yellow cabs are official, legal taxis. Gypsy cabs are illegal, unlicensed taxis. Dollar cabs refer to a certain type of illegal taxi that operates in Brooklyn at night.
• Labor Day Parade – The Labor Day Parade takes place in Crown Heights, Brooklyn every year.
• Statue of Liberty – One of New York’s most famous landmarks, the Statue of Liberty was completed in 1886.
• World Trade – The World Trade Center is another one of New York’s most famous landmarks, which was destroyed in 2001.
• The city that never sleeps – New York is often called the “the city that never sleeps”, referring to the fact that there are always people awake and doing things, even late into the night.

Other Useful Words and Phrases

• to make it – If someone “makes it”, they have achieved fame or success. When Jay-Z says that he “made it here”, it means that he achieved success in New York.
• most definitely – “Most definitely” is an adverbial expression that signals intensity. For example, if you strongly agree with something, you can say that you “most definitely agree”.
• Let’s hear it for + noun – When Alicia Keys says “Let’s hear it for New York!”, she’s speaking in praise of New York, and asking for applause. It’s a way of saying, “Let’s cheer and applaud New York”.
• brand new – If something is brand new, it’s not just new, it’s completely new. A brand-new car, for example, is one that has just been produced.
• It’s a pity – If you say that something is “a pity”, it means that it has caused you sadness or disappointment. For example, if you can’t see a Jay-Z concert because tickets are too expensive, you can say, “It’s a pity that Jay-Z tickets cost so much”.
• to step out of bounds – Literally, “to step out of bounds” is used in sports, and means “to step outside the area where a game is played”. However, you can also use the expression to describe situations in which somebody is behaving inappropriately. For example, a teacher might warn you that cheating on a test is “out of bounds” and will result in a failing grade.
• act like + noun/sentence – The phrasal verb “act like” can mean two things: “behave” or “pretend”, depending on context. For example, if your brother is “acting like an idiot”, he’s behaving stupidly. If your friend is “acting like he doesn’t understand”, she’s pretending that he doesn’t understand something, even though she does. As you can see in the previous examples, “act like” can be followed by either a noun or a sentence.
• addicted to + noun – If you’re “addicted to” something, you’re unable to stop using it. It usually refers to harmful substances like drugs.

Writing Task

Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are from New York. We’ve heard their song, so now, let’s hear it for wherever you’re from! Where are you from? What are some of the positive and negative aspects of your hometown? Leave a comment below!

The post New York Slang with Jay-Z appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

Songs are known to be powerful memory devices, and through the genre of hip hop, we can discover meanings of idioms and slang, learning about the English language at a deeper level. Music is one of the most entertaining and effective ways to learn a new language because it keeps your communication natural and fluid, but there are plenty of other learning platforms, including language apps for smartphones and tablets. So much learning comes from these gadgets, more than we may believe.

“There were an estimated 1 billion Smartphone users at the end of 2012,” reported the operators of the recently launched online casino Spin Genie, and the number continues to grow every year as app developers revolutionize the functionality of this device. From exploring new foods, mastering new languages, and simply learning the lyrics of songs, we literally can do anything with our smartphones. You can even educate yourself on rap slang and idioms using the Rap Dictionary on Google Play.

The app is basically a compilation of terms and phrases related to the music and artists in that genre. While Rap Dictionary is more used for entertainment purposes rather than a learning app, this is still a fun resource for your English education. According to customer reviews, some users have even written their own rap songs using this app as a reference.

Another app that could be useful for your language learning is HIPHOP Radio (or any other radio app dedicated to the genre, for that matter). Tuning into this mobile radio station will give you access to new and old tunes, both hip hop and RnB. The great thing about this app is that you can have it playing in the background, so in case you want to look up lyrics of the song, you can do so without stopping the music. Reading the lyrics themselves won’t help you figure out the hidden meanings, but listening to the passion and delivery of the songs will give you a better idea of this kind of vernacular.

About the contributor: Boo has been a freelance tech journalist since graduation from university in 2010. However, his true love lies in hip hop. His favorite artists are Biggie Smalls and Lil Kim. He also likes to eat ice cream for breakfast.

The post Get Educated with Hip Hop Apps appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

You best believe I’m the illest!

My name is Steve. You best believe I’m the illest English teacher that you’ve ever seen!

I’m going to break down (explain) my lyrics very quickly. We can use “You had better” in order to give very direct advice or warnings. For example, “You had better shut up. You’d better leave me alone!” In informal slang, especially in hip-hop songs, people sometimes say “You best” to give direct advice and warnings.

Subject + best + base verb.
You best believe I am the best!
You best leave me alone, or I’ll call the police.
You best get home before your wife gets too angry.

Subject + best + be + ~ing. 
You best be joking!
You best be doing your homework!
You best be moving your ugly face out of here!

• ill; to be the illest – It means to be very cool and excellent. If you are the illest, you are the best. Do you think I’m the illest

Writing Practice

Do you like listening to hip hop music? Who is the illest rapper or hip hop artist? Can you make some recommendations? Please write your comments below!

The post You best believe I’m the illest! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

Hip Hop Slang

Oh snap! It’s hella cold outside! If you are very shocked or surprised by something, you can say “Oh snap!” If something is very cold or really cold, you can say hella. “It’s hella cold!” Oh my god! It’s so cold in Korea right now. I’m hella angry because I’m hella cold right now!

• Oh snap! — Use this expression if you hear or experience something shocking or surprising, especially if something bad has happened to you.
• hella — It means very or really. This word is very common in California, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. In New England (the Northeastern United States), many people say wicked instead.

Writing Practice

Where do you live? What’s the weather like right now? Is it hella hot or cold? Does it make you want to say “Oh snap!” Please write your comments below!

The post Oh snap! It’s hella cold outside! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I was going to clean my room
but then I got high.
I was going to get up and find the broom
but then I got high.
My room is still messed up, and I know why.
Because I got high. Because I got high. Because I got high.

high (adjective) — If you are high or stoned, you have taken drugs and are intoxicated. If you drink too much alcohol, you are drunk.

Grammar: The Future in the Past

Afroman says, “I was going to…” many times in this song. We can say, “I am going to… You are going to… He is going to…” for future plans, but what exactly does “was going to” mean? This is known as the future in the past.

Imagine that you talked to your friend yesterday.

YESTERDAY:

You: “What are you going to do today?”
Your Friend: “I am going to watch a movie in the evening.”

Your friend made future plans. He wanted to watch a movie later that evening.

TODAY:

You: “How was the movie that you watched yesterday?”
Your Friend: “I was going to watch a movie at the the theater yesterday, but I didn’t have enough money to buy a ticket.”

So your friend made plans to watch a movie at the theater yesterday, but he didn’t watch a movie because he could not buy a ticket. His plans did not work! 

Subject + was/were + going to + verb.
Subject + was/were + not + going to + verb.
Was/were + subject + going to + verb?

Afroman made many plans in the past. He made plans to clean his room, go to school, and do many other things, but he smoked weed and got high!

Vocabulary

• blunt (idiom) — a very big and thick marijuana cigarette, rolled with brown cigar paper
• messed up (adjective) — to be dirty and untidy; to spoil and make worse
• child support (noun) — money paid to young children who no longer live with their mothers or fathers, usually ordered by a legal court system
• pull over (verb) — to stop driving a car and park on the side of the road
• paraplegic (noun) — a person who has suffered an injury and cannot feel his/her lower body
• make love (verb) — to have sex
• jack off (verb) — to masturbate

2014 Positive Remix

ESLhiphop.com will not condone or condemn using marijuana because it is a personal choice, just like using alcohol or tobacco. Using marijuana is a controversial issue, especially in the United States, so it is only fair to present both sides of the issue. “Because I Got High” shows the negative consequences of using the drug, but a positive remix of the song was released in 2014 highlighting the health and legal benefits of the drug.

Writing Practice

What are your thoughts about drugs and alcohol? Do you think all drugs should be illegal? Do “soft drugs” such as marijuana pose a threat to society, or is it harmless like a glass of wine? Please write your ideas in the comments below!

The post Getting Into Trouble with Afroman appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

Take this job and shove it.
I ain’t working here no more.

Vocabulary

These words and phrases are related to jobs and working. Review the vocabulary and then listen to the song to hear it in context.

• employment (noun) – a job or work that you do for money. What is your place of employment?
• coworker (noun) – a person who you work with. My coworker is meeting me for drinks later tonight.
• occupational performance (noun) – the quality of work that you do at your job. If your occupational performance is not good, you might get fired!
  • occupation (noun) – a job that you do for money
• work load (noun) – the amount of work that you have to do at your job. I don’t have enough time. The work load is too much!
• lay off / laid off (sep. phrasal verb) – to fire somebody; to terminate somebody’s job. The company laid off many employees because of low profits.
• chips (slang) – money. I want to find a new job with more chips.
• stick it out (phrasal verb) – to continue doing something, especially if it is difficult or boring. I hate my job, but I have to stick it out to pay my bills.
• shove it (idiom) – a very rude phrase used to say you don’t appreciate or accept something. I hate business meetings! The boss needs to take these meetings and shove it!
• S-O-B (slang) –  an abbreviation for “son of a bitch”
• 9 to 5 job (idiom) – a typical office job that normally begins at 9:00 AM and ends at 5:00 PM. I hate my 9 to 5!
• unemployment (noun) – not having a job. I lost my job last week, so I am receiving unemployment benefits from the government.
  • If you lose your job, you might qualify for unemployment benefits. You have to visit a government office and usually wait in a long unemployment line.
• boss (noun) – a manager or supervisor at work who tells other people what to do. I don’t like my boss because he’s so rude.
• gig (idiom) – a job that you do for money, especially a temporary job. I have a pretty good gig right now. I hope I can be hired as a full time employee.
• cubicle (noun) – a very small office. There are usually many cubicles in one large room. I wish I didn’t work in a cubicle all day.
• picnic in the park / walk in the park (idiom) – very easy to do. This job is a picnic in the park.
• to stay wired (idiom) – to be very alert and awake, especially after drinking a lot of coffee. I’ve had three Red Bulls. I’m so wired right now.

Passive Voice with ‘Get’

The boss’s favorites get placed in something spacious
while the most hated get placed in some small cubicle spaces,
or get thrown down in the basement. Get your stapler confiscated.

To make the passive voice, we usually use a form of the verb be and the past participle. In informal spoken English, you may substitute the be verb with get.

Subject + get/got/gotten + past participle.

Subject + negative auxiliary + past participle. 

Question auxiliary + subject + past participle. 

• I get paid on the first day of every month. I don’t get paid on the 15th. Do you get paid on the 1st?
• I got paid last week. I didn’t get paid yesterday. Did you get paid last week?
  
• I will get paid next month. I won’t get paid tomorrow. Will you get paid tomorrow?
• I am going to get paid next month. I am not going to get paid in four days. Are you going to get paid in four days?
• I am getting paid in cash right now. I am not getting paid by direct deposit. Are you getting paid in cash now
• I have gotten paid. I haven’t gotten paid yet. Have you gotten paid yet?
• I had gotten paid. I had not gotten paid. Had you gotten paid at that point?

These forms with get are not possible with be.

• I will be getting paid tomorrow at noon. I will not be getting paid at noon. When will you be getting paid?
• I had been getting paid by him. I had not been getting paid by her. Had you been getting paid by him, too?
• I have been getting paid for several months. I have not been getting paid for years. How long have you been getting paid?

Writing Task

Have you ever had a bad job? What did you dislike about it? If you saw your old boss today, what would you say to him or her? Please write your ideas in the comments below!

The post If you hate your job, you’ll love this song! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

This lesson was inspired by MC Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock‘s 1988 hit “It Takes Two”. As with a lot of hip-hop songs, “It Takes Two” boasts their ability to rap, rhyme, and get the ladies! There are a lot of great expressions and slang words in this song, but I will discuss five very easy speaking tips that will help make you fluent!

I am going to highlight REDUCTIONS, which are two or more words slurred together in natural speech. Try these five reductions to start sounding more natural!

Pronunciation: Using Reductions

OUTTA = OUT OF

It takes two to make a thing go right.
It takes two to make it outta sight.
Hit it!

We can hear this reduction in the track’s chorus, which is commonly called the hook in hip-hop. The female vocalist tells us that Rob Base and EZ-Rock make good things happen. In other words, it takes two… two rappers… to make good things happen. It also takes two good rappers to make it outta sight. If something is “out of sight”, it is extraordinary and incredibly good!

A few months ago, I featured a song called “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A., and you can find a lot of great examples and different meanings of the reduction outta in this lesson.

WANNA = WANT TO

I wanna rock right now.
I’m Rob Base, and I came to get down.

Rob Base is ready to party and make some good hip-hop! He is also ready to get down! If you are ready to get down to business, it means you are ready to start some serious work.

Wanna is a very common reduction in spoken English. The word to, used as a preposition or  as part of an infinitive, is almost always unstressed in spoken English. Because it does not take stress, it blends in with the word before it. Don’t worry about sounding too informal either! Wanna and other reductions are so common that you will even hear it by company CEOs and university professors. It is perfectly fine to use in any social situation, and it actually makes speaking English easier.

Be careful! You cannot always use wanna as a reduction for want to. In very few cases in English, it is actually incorrect! POP QUIZ! Read the following questions below and decide which question uses wanna incorrectly.

What do you wanna eat?

Who do you wanna hit Stephen with a football?

GOTTA = GOT TO / GOT A / GOT AN

My name is Rob. I gotta real funky concept.

In this sentence, I gotta also means I have a/an. We normally use this verb in the present perfect aspect, and it’s very common to hear:

• I’ve gotta
• You’ve gotta
• He’s gotta
• She’s gotta
• They’ve gotta

Rob Base is telling us that he has a real funky concept. In other words, he has a very unique style that makes him special and different from other rappers.

We can also use gotta to mean have to, ought to, and must for obligations. Check out my lessons with EPMD’s “You Gots to Chill” to see more examples.

GONNA = GOING TO

Listen up! Because I’m gonna keep you in step.

Rob Base is a very good rapper, and he wants us to listen up and pay attention to him as he raps! He’s going to keep up in step, which means he has us under control. Another common expression is keep in check, and this specifically means to prevent something from getting worse.

We use gonna to talk about our future plans that we have made in the past. Be going to is used differently than will, and I discuss it in detail with a song by Bone Thungs ‘N Harmony.

KINDA = KIND OF

I’m kinda stingy that’s why I don’t want to lend
a funky rhyme to a foe or a good friend.

If somebody is a stingy person, they don’t like to share or lend anything. This is especially true of people who don’t like to spend money, and it is usually negative in connotation. Rob Base is stingy with his music. He doesn’t want to make music with other people and share his talent and success. It doesn’t matter if you are his foe (enemy) or if you are a good friend. He won’t share his funky rhymes with you!

Kinda is an adverb that means slightly or not very.

Pronunciation Practice

The best way to improve your speaking skills in English is to practice a lot! Record a short video of yourself, upload it to YouTube or Google+, and share it with ESLhiphop! I will listen to your recording and offer feedback and comments on your pronunciation!

In your video, try to use as many reductions as you can. Introduce yourself, talk about your friends and family, and tell us a secret about yourself! Your video can be long and short, and I will be happy to help you!

The post 5 Pronunciation Tips That Will Make You Fluent! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

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.

“The Breaks” is a song about bad luck and misfortune. Everybody has ups and downs in life, and when we are experiencing difficult and troubling times, then we can say, “These are the breaks!” It’s similar to the French expression que sera, sera or “whatever will be, will be.”

Clap your hands everybody
If you got what it takes.
‘Cause I’m Kurtis Blow and I want you to know
That these are the breaks.

Unfortunately, there’s no official music video to this classic hip-hop song, but I was able to find a live recording of “The Breaks” in his 1980 performance on Soul Train.

Vocabulary and Expressions

If you have what it takes, then you have the qualities, skills, and abilities to become successful. Kurtis Blow wants everybody to clap their hands if they have what it takes to handle the breaks.

But what exactly are  the breaks? Losing a job… losing a friend… having a fight with a lover… These are the breaks! Everybody in the world has problems and difficult situations, and sometimes there’s nothing we can do change it. We just have to deal with it as best as we can.

If you are an aspiring actor or musician, you are waiting for your first big break, which is a successful show or performance that launches your career.

And speaking of acting, there are also breaks on a stage, and breaks on the screen. In theater, it is a common superstition to say Break a leg! instead of Good luck!

Other expressions with breaks:

• brakes (noun) – This is a homophone. It has the same sound as the word break but with different spelling and meaning. Cars, trains, busses and planes all have brakes to help them slow down and come to a stop. It wouldn’t be very safe to drive a care without brakes!
• break up something (separable phrasal verb) – to make people stop doing something. If two people are fighting, you might scream, “Break it up!”
  • This phrasal verb can be both separable and inseparable, and it has many more meanings! Please check out Oxford’s Advanced Learners Dictionary to learn more ways to use this versatile phrasal verb!
• take a break (collocation) – If you work for a long time and stop to eat, drink, or relax, then you are taking a break. In English, we normally use this to mean short periods of rest and also longer breaks lasting days, weeks, or even months. If your life is hard and you deserve a break, Kurtis Blow wants you to say ALL RIGHT!
• break down (phrasal verb) – In the context of this song, break down! or break it down! means to stop what you’re doing and dance.
  • This phrasal verb also has many meanings. Check them all out on Oxford’s Advanced Learners Dictionary.

Writing Practice

Are you going through difficult times right now? Do you worry about your job or relationships? Does it feel like life is testing you every day and you can’t catch a break? In the comments below, write about a time when you couldn’t catch a break or discuss a time when your friend had a difficult problem.

This is a no judgement zone! If you write and practice your English, it will be appreciated! Hey, everybody deserves a break, don’t they?

The post Catch a Break with Kurtis Blow! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I’m the dopest female that you’ve heard thus far.

Grammar

And I’ll blind you with the science that the others have yet to find,
so come along and I’ll lead you the right way.
Just clap your hands to the words I say.

Yet is an adverb that means an expected action or event has not happened. We normally use yet with negative statements and questions.

• He hasn’t woken up yet.
• I haven’t started my homework yet.
• Did you call your brother yet?

Still is an adverb that means something has not finished. Something started in the past and it continues, perhaps to our surprise.

• It has been raining for  three hours, and it is still raining.
• He is still upset over the fight.
• Are you still hungry? I can make you another sandwich.

In most cases, yet is used in negative statements and questions. When yet is used in affirmative statements, it has the same meaning as still. This usage is considered to be formal.

Subject + has/have + yet + infinitive. 

• I have yet to hear from my brother. I am still waiting for my brother to call me.
• The scientists have yet to find a cure. They are still searching for one.
• He has yet to prove to be an effective leader. He is still gaining the trust of his team.

Writing Task

A common expression in English is The best has yet to come. Do you think this is true in some situations? Does the future always have something better for us? Please write your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

The post Grammar with MC Lyte: When ‘yet’ means ‘still’ appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.