“English, Baby!” is a website that takes an irreverent angle to teaching the English language. Their blog, www.englishbaby.com, offers lessons that ostensibly break down an English word, phrase, slang term, or custom. But the posts on the site generally put as much emphasis on getting a good laugh as they do imparting wisdom, which has actually proven to be a decent teaching method for many teachers. For example, the use a pull quote from an US Weekly story about Justin Timberlake to explain what the phrase “the buck stops here” means.
So what does this have to do with Hip Hop? Recently, the site recorded interviews with E-40 and Tech N9ne that has the respected emcees breaking down some of the slang and phrases they use in their lyrics. 40 Water breaks down some new slang he’s been trying out, “for the energy, here. And in this video he helps foreign viewers understand what revenue retrieving on the day shift and night shift is all about, there is also a further discussion of the terms by the people behind the site. Here you can watch Tech N9ne help non-English speakers figure out what “far out” mean. The videos are also worth a look as the interviewer goes a little deeper with the rappers than simply going over some words and phrases.
With regards to the two emcees day jobs, there is plenty going on to report. E-40 released the double disc set Revenue Retrieving: Day Shift and Revenue Retrieving: Night Shift earlier this year and plans to repeat the feat next year with another double dip entitled Revenue Retrieving: Overtime Shift and Revenue Retrieving: Graveyard Shift. Those albums are scheduled for a February 2011 release. Tech N9ne dropped Seepage today and is preparing the follow up, All 6s and 7s, for 2011.
(October 26, 2010)
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UPDATE: Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony are the latest rappers to school people on the English language via Englishbaby.com.
The Cleveland emcees spoke about the “crossroads” and what it meant to them.
Layzie Bone also went on to talk about the “first of the month,” the concept of another of their hit singles from the 90’s.
