09-03-2011, 02:06 AM
"Word" is NY hip-hop slang from the mid-to-late eighties.
Its origins predate hip-hop, though, and are likely descended from the general businessman/mobster phrase "My word is my bond," which was shortened to "word is bond," then simply "word."
Least that's how I remember things from my formative years on the east coast.
The much-maligned Vanilla Ice bastard version "word to your mother" came from his mangling of the related phrase "Word to mother [land]," which in eighties NY hip-hop circles was a "shout out" to the speaker's African origins (the Motherland).
Since Vanilla Ice was not of African origin, he thought it unwise to use that phrase on his big hit, so he altered it slightly. Though he really should have left it off entirely.
Its origins predate hip-hop, though, and are likely descended from the general businessman/mobster phrase "My word is my bond," which was shortened to "word is bond," then simply "word."
Least that's how I remember things from my formative years on the east coast.
The much-maligned Vanilla Ice bastard version "word to your mother" came from his mangling of the related phrase "Word to
Since Vanilla Ice was not of African origin, he thought it unwise to use that phrase on his big hit, so he altered it slightly. Though he really should have left it off entirely.