Hip-Hop’s Obsession With Slime and Snakes
What up, slime! The meaning of the popular term of endearment in hip-hop has evolved from simply referring to your homies into an entire movement. After the "Slimefather" N.O.R.E coined the term in the early 2000s, hip-hop artists like Vado and Young Thug took the phrase and ran with it in their respective hoods, from Harlem all the way down the ATL, respectively.
With the word gaining more popularity in 2019, with everyone from Gunna to Trippie Redd dropping it in their lyrics, there's been debate over who actually brought the word to the forefront. But hip-hop history leads back to N.O.R.E. "Using the word slime y'all funny just pay respect were respect due… swagga jacking me crazy got love for y'all tho pow," N.O.R.E tweeted back in 2010. "I started this slime shit !!! Is this the mother fucking thx I get !!!"
N.O.R.E. used “slime” in the title of two songs on his 2002 album, God’s Favorite. On the album’s intro track “Hit Me Slime,” Nas, Ice-T, former Def Jam executive Mike Kyser, Nelly and Tyson Beckford all refer to Nore as “slime” in recorded phone calls. The closing track, “Holla Back Slime,” features Busta Rhymes and Jadakiss also in recorded phone calls referring to Nore as “slime.”
Once "slime" took off, the word "slatt" got brought into the mix too. Young Thug is most recognized as the rapper using the word in his rhymes. Listen to tracks like "Audemar" featuring Tracy T or "Slime Shit" featuring Yak Gotti, Duke and Peewee Roscoe to get familiar. And with those two words being used both in music and across social media, the snake became the unofficial mascot for the terms.
Thugger has honed in on his obsession with snakes and made them a part of his everyday life. He uses the green snake emojis on Instagram and Twitter, has been featured in countless videos with snakes and even sent green garden snakes to media outlets to promote his Slime Language project in 2018. But he's not the only one with a snake obsession. Newer artists like Lil Mosey have even gotten tattoos with the Gucci brand snake. And Tyga and Desiigner have even named songs like "Gucci Snakes" after them.
Watch up top as XXL takes a look at hip-hop's obsession with slime and snakes.
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