The African American Meanings Of The Words "Sing" & "Sang" (Using The Example Of The Gospel Song "How Excellent" As Sung By Lecresia Campbell & The Soul Children Of Chicago)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part series that showcases the Gospel song "Perfect Praise" (most widely known as "How Excellent").

Part II explains the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) meanings of the word "sang". This post also showcases the Gospel song "How Excellent" (actual title "Perfect Praise") as sung by Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago, featuring soloist Lecresia Cambell as an example of that AAVE meanings of "sang".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/walt-whitman-and-soul-children-of.html for Part I of this series. Part I showcases a video and sound file of Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago's 1991 rendition of "Perfect Praise" ("How Excellent"). The lyrics to that song and selected comments from those two YouTube examples' discussion threads that focus on the song itself are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for linguistic and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Brenda Joyce Moore, the composer of this song. Thanks also to Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago, with special thanks to soloist Lecresia Campbell. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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DEFINITION OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH MEANINGS OF THE WORD "SANG"
DEFINITION
Here’s the definition that I’ve written for the word “sang” and the other vernacular forms of that word that are the subject of this post:

“Sang” -African American Vernacular English (AAVE) verb; a present tense of "sing"- to sing very well, particularly to sing soulfully very well

"Sang" refers to not just a singer's voice, but the singer's delivery of the song (the way the vocalist sings).
Example: Patti LaBelle can sang any song she gets a hold of.

"Sang!" can be also be used as an exhortation for the soloist (or choir/group) to continue singing powerfully and soulfully.
Example: "You betta sang!" [This is the most commonly heard or read exhortation that includes the African American use of the word "sang".]

"Sangin'" is another AAVE form of "sang"
Example - They are sangin that song,
or
They are really sangin that song.

The word "sangs" is also used.
Example He sangs this song.

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SOURCE FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR MEANING OF "SANG"
I believe that the extended meaning of “sang” as defined above comes from African American Vernacular English via Black Pentecostal/Church Of God In Christ (COGIC) churches. I also believe that this vernacular use of “sang” is an updated form of the African American Vernacular English meaning for the word "sing" and the exhortation “Sing!”.

The word "sing" has the same meaning as "sang" i.e. to sing very well, particularly to sing soulfully very well. Also, the exhortation "Sing!" as in "Sing it!" means to continue to sing very well, particularly to sing soulfully very well.

A person who is said to "sang" religious songs vocalizes in an anointed manner (i.e. is full of Holy Ghost fire). That person sings with intensity, but without showy theatrics, and also sings without concern for performing in a tightly controlled manner.

Although "sang" may have first been used to describe religious vocalists, people can "sang" religious or non-religious songs.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Perfect Praise - Lecresia Campbell Soul Children



Kim Johnson Uploaded on Jan 10, 2007

Soul Children of Chicago
Walt Whitman
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread which include the African American Vernacular English use of the word "sang" or "sing" or provide information about the meanings of those words. These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.

1. Marcus Norville, 2007
"This song made me want to run around the office at work! Sang choir!"
-snip-
The commenter describes that as a result of hearing this song, he felt the Holy Spirit and couldn't just sit still.

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2. Shawn Ezell-Davis, 2008
"I don't care how old the song is. It still is and will always be the bomb. Ms. Lecresia does her thang. Now this is sangin"

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3. Dexter Dowell, 2008
"Ms.Campbell took this song to the next level, her and them children. Thankya Jesus!!! Lashadaboshundelabasha!!!"

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4. PIANO75, 2008
"You betta speak it! Bababosay!"
-snip-
The last words at the end of comments #3 & #4 are examples of "speaking in tongues" (because the person has been touched by the Holy Spirit.)

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5. uwish365, 2008
"chills! this is one my favorite gospel songs and she and the choir perform it beautifully."

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6. Okebaram E, 2008
"LAWD!! These kids are SANGING!"
-snip-
I believe that the word "Lawd" in this comment was purposefully written to evoke the spirit/flavor of (old school Southern (down home) African American Vernacular English. I refer to this on purpose form of code switching on online discussion threads as "putting on the Black". Click that tag to find pancocojams post on that subject.

My guess is that the use of the word "chirren" (instead of "children") in comment #14 below is another form of "putting on the black". And there are other such examples in the selected comments for this Example and for Example #2 below.
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7. jeremy watkins, 2008
"...These kids sound better than some of the adult choirs!..You all better SING!"

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8. Mama Ash, 2008
"she better sang....my God she is blessed with a great voice"

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9. Javon Blain, 2009
"i LUV THiS SONG SHE CAN SiNG
AND THE CHOiR CAN 2"

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10. Fetuani Atapuai, 2009
"I'll have to say, Amen to that!"

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11. Tanya Lake, 2009
"those children and the lead singer betta SANGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! THE LORD IS TRULY EXCELENT!!!!!!!!!"

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12. Calvin Hulittle Jr., 2009
"Alrite yall betta, I mean yall betta sing! lol"

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13. Kenneth Anderson-Jasper, 2009
"Lecresia is a BEAST WITH THAT VOICE.... soulful and still hit that operatic..... !!!!! ANOINTED!!!!!"
-snip-
In this context, it's a high compliment to refer to someone as a "beast". That means that she or he is more powerful than any mere mortal.

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14. loopyman76, 2009
"Now see this is that kind of singing that even though the vocals are off the hook, you never focus too much on the singer but the focus is on the LORD because the singing is actually ANOINTED!!! Ain't nobody trying to be a CELEBRITY and take the focus off of God. Sang chirren and sang LaCresia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
-snip-
"off the hook" (or "off the chain") = something that is very good or someone who is very good at what she or he does

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15. saphirejewelscoward, 2009
"i skipped a few seconds right......... and it landed right on that high note part lol.. i jumped right out of my seat; that woman can sing"

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16. laceyvj21, 2010
"Lady can blow, get outta here!!"
-snip-
In this context, "blow" means to "sing very well".

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17. Jay Lee, 2010
"ok ummm, her vocals are incredible! She builds throughout the song and hits the notes right on point! Praise GOD, very anointed song!"

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18. wepopalot, 2010
"That is an absolutely beautiful clip, and those are truly some "soulfully" sangin' children."

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19. David Clark, 2010
"I love this song, and Lacresia is a skilled vocalist! The Lord is excellent!!!"

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20. michael Dowdell, 2010
"sang lacresia"

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21. James Jefferson, 2010
"Maybe the most powerful gospel song ever written or performed."

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22. Loud Tenor
"wow i wish sololist would sing like this NOW....jus pure... isnt it funny most female soloist dont wanna sing high anymore (SOPRANOS WHERE U AT???? )???? everybody wants the "kim, jasmine" raspy tones and runs....

ITS SO PLAYED. SINGERS PLEASE BE ORIGINAL and find ur own voice lol"
-snip-
Something that is "played" (also given as "played out") has been done so much that it's no longer popular or well regarded. Another vernacular way of saying that something is played out is that it has been "run to the ground" because it has been used or repeated too much. The phrase being "run to the ground" may have been coined as an opposite of something being held in high regard.

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23. klouise, 2010
"She betta sing! and those kids are tearin' it up too! This video blessed me!"

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24. Bbgunn325, 2010
"Hell is on fire and Heaven is having a praise party, because is is Excellent. Sing mother out of the belly of your soul, and the children to."

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25. Jeoffrey M. Woods6 years ago
Sing Children !

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26. Havin, 2011
"OMG When they got to 4:10 I was getting ready to stand up, shout out, do a couple flips and praise Him! ...But I forgot I'm at work so I praised Him in a different way. LOL"
-snip-
Read my note about comment #1.

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27. Ms.Min.S, 2012
"Oh what memories. I remember singing this precious song in the choir. Of course no one has the 1st and 2nd soprano like Ms. Lecresia Campbell. She has a "beast". She has a glorious and angelic voice. She is strict but good. The Soul Children are/were anointed."

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28. Ms.Min.S., 2013
"Oh, I miss these days. Sing it Ms. Lecresia! JESUS!! The days one had to sing before the instruments were played."

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29. MrStoneyh, 2013
"Lecresia sangs!!!"

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30. Ashleigh Coleman, 2013
"sang babies!!!"

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31. loridori, 2013
"Now this is real sangin!"

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32. cjb23cool, 2014
"Sang"

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33. Theresa Smith, 2015
"I've listened to this literally hundreds of times....gotten me through some times...I think it's amazing that I receive such a blessing from this even after decades of them singing this :)"

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34. Monte' WELLS, 2016
"YES!!!! GLORY!!!! SANG CHILDREN!!!!!!"

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Example #2: How Excellent Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago



David Miles Jr. Uploaded on Oct 30, 2007
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread which include the African American Vernacular English use of the word "sang" or "sing" or provide information about the meanings of those words. These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.

1. fostaboy156, 2009
"everytime i hear dis song it does somethin to me i get dis chill down my spine man i truly love dis song!!!!"

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2. sentraejcs, 2009
"My College Gospel Choir use to rock this song back in the day when I was on the choir, our directress Shelly use to tare it up...!!!"
-snip-
"tare it up" = "tear it up" = same as "killed it", "murdered it" = to do something very well, in this case to sing powerfully and very well

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3. GoHard1102, 2009
"my high school choir killedthis!!!!!!!!!!"

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4. Anthony Spearman, 2010
"my church choir be killin this song!"

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5. Bbgunn325, 2010
"To God be the glory, The writer of this song, the chior and oh my God the pipes on the lead vocalist, Yes oh Yes how excellent is his name. To God be the glory!"

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6. gomikago, 2010
"2:47-3:02 There ain't Nobody like Jesus! 3:25-3:42 I searched the world!!! 3:56 Come on Tenors! 4:31 Alright altos! 5:03 Sing it strong sapranos! 5:33 No music just the kick drum while the choir claps!!! CLASSIC!!! & After ALL these Years...I STILL LOVE IT!!!!"

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7. dstsai1303, 2011
"THEY BETTER SANG!"

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8. Cheryl Coleman, 2012
"Soloist is Lecresia Campbell, college classmate,,, sista is off chain!!!!"

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9. Nyyota Holmes, 2013
"I use to sing this in the choir when I was younger. My absolute favorite. especially when they broke it down in three parts. Can never listen to this without crying. Tears of joy of course."

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10. Cedrick Mcwhorter, 2013
"Just Beautiful How she Mixes her Range up from High to Low I use to thought it was different women taking turns on the mic lol thats Lacresia all by herself"

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11. maleek mclaurin, 2013
"sing sista sing hallelujah"
-snip-
The word "hallelujah" in this comment is its own one word sentence.

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12. jmusic45, 2013
"That is the one and only Lacresia Campbell. The girl can blow. She had use to be with them when she was younger. Look for her on YouTube."

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13. GTEyez, 2013
"i sang this song with my church choir n tore it uuuuppppp the Holy Spirit had no choice but to reign n take control."

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14. babbina, 2014
"My goodness liv this song sends chills down my spine can't get enuf yes lawd!!"

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15. bellbl, 2014
"SANG.....not sing! But Sang. He is excellent in everything that do, has done and will continue to do. Thank you Jesus!!!!!!"

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16. Cameron Willis, 2014
"sang lacresia"

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17. rachelmm05, 2015
"Ms. Campbell's voice is awesome!! One of my favorite choir songs from back in the day thanks for posting. Where has full choir old school singing gone"

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18. t noodles, 2015
"yes lord... sing"

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19. Roses 4me, 2015
"Oh, how EXCELLENT is Ms. Lucresia Campbell's soprano vocals on this song!!! Lord, Jesus....this woman can sing like a bird!!! The background compliments her well."

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20. LaTonya M. Griffin, 2015
"One of my absolute favorite versions! Those babies SAAAAAANG this song."

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21. Kuri Chan, 2016
"Goodness this woman can SANG! Fantastic vocalist!"

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22. Judahray, 2016
"Lacresia Campbell set the bar high with her lead on this. Most choirs don't even attempt to have a lead. They simply sing it without one."

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23. The DealSeeker, 2016
"She destroyed this song but the choir behind isn't half bad either."
-snip-
In the context of this comment, "destroyed" is a high compliment and "isn't half bad" is a compliment.

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24. Felicia Chisholm, 2016
"She is completely untouchable on this song!!!!!!!!!! All I can do is cry..."

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25. newcreature2011, 2016
"This is the definitive rendering of this song. Lecresia Campbell's lead added something to this that just never got duplicated. It works VERY well without the lead, but it works even better with it and the song just seems to have been written for Campbell's interpretation."

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26. michael maxey, 2016
"May Lecresia soul rest in heaven."
-snip-
Lecresia Campbell died in 2016.

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27. Horace Griffin, 2017
"Yes, she and her voice will be missed. It is sad that Gospel music is not producing this kind and style of voice today. I miss the old Gospel music."

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28. da-rail smith, 2017
"Horace Griffin So true, the gospel music now is watered down, it has no soul or feeling!"

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29. Daniel Gray, 2017
"Horace Griffin I miss the old gospel music as well. They had much meaning to them"

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30. WBFbySteefen, 2017
"Ba-lack Woman Saenging."

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This is the conclusion of Part II of a two part series on the song "Perfect Praise" (widely known as "How Excellent")

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