The GS Boyz were a group of rappers from Arlington, Texas who made their first big break with the single “Stanky Legg” in 2008. Although they are no longer performing as a group anymore, the Stanky Legg dance is still used at parties and by athletes at sporting events today. It’s a simple, multi-step dance in which a person shakes and rotates one leg and then switches to the other leg.
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