Contemporary Meanings For "Vibe", "Issa Vibe", It's A Whole Mood" And Similar Words & Sayings

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: August 31, 2021

This pancocojams post provides some contemporary definitions for the words "vibe"", "issa vibe", "It's a whole mood" and similar words and sayings.

The Addendum to this post presents selected comments from the discussion thread for Jaden (Jaden Smith)'s YouTube video "Ninety" that include the word "vibe" or "vibing".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Jaden for his musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/05/jaden-ninety.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Jaden- Ninety (information, video, & comments)".

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DEFINITIONS FOR THE WORD "VIBE" & THE SAYING "IT'S A VIBE" ("ISSA VIBE") 

From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Vibe

"vibe
noun 1. rhythm 2. any musical aspect or quality indicative of a genre 3. mood or atmosphere; feeling; aura 4. (plural) signals or messages sent out to someone

1. Jamaican vibes.
2. It has a commercial vibe.
3. The place had a nice vibe to it. It gave me a nostalgic vibe.
4. A stranger who gave off bad vibes. He just doesn't know how to pick up vibes."

by hotdog January 02, 2005
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Pancocojams Editor: I believe that #3 and #4 given in this quote are the definitions for the word "vibe" that are the best fit for the colloquial use of  that word as it is often used nowadays in the United States-and by extension- elsewhere.

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From https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-s-a-vibe-mean
Janet Hale Tabin
Answered August 22, 2019
"Vibe" is a clipping of the word "vibration" but it is used to mean specifically a feeling or a sensation, a reaction of one person to another person or an event or a place.

So, ‘it’s a vibe’ means ‘it’s a feeling, it’s a sensation.’ So, maybe I walk into a place I’ve never been before and somehow something feels ‘off’ to me. I might say, ‘It’s just a vibe but I don’t want to stay here.’ Or I get a call from an old friend and I get a vibe … maybe a good vibe, maybe a bad vibe. If it’s a good vibe, it’s a pleasant feeling or sensation; bad vibe: not pleasant."...

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Louise Hudson
Answered November 30
" “Good vibes" is a slang phrase for the positive feelings given off by a person, place, or situation. Related words: positive vibes. bad vibes.”...

When you have either a good or bad impression about a person but nothing you can explain, you mights say “It’s a vibe” [that’s causing the impression]."

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ADDITIONAL MEANINGS OF "VIBE" AND "VIBES"
1. The saying that "a person [or song] has [insert another person's] vibes or "__" gives me [another person's vibes" means that person [or song] reminds someone of [another person's] vibe/s, i,e. sound, style, energy, spirit, looks, persona, and/or the way that person [or song] makes others' feel.

Example: "He gives me Prince vibes". [This means that the person- and/or his singing- reminds someone of  (calls into mind) the artist known as Prince.

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2. Referring to a person or thing [such as a song or a music performance] as "a vibe" means that person's or thing's vibes (vibrations, looks, persona, demeanor) set them apart as being out of the ordinary (remarkable, extraordinary) and memorable in a good way.

Describing someone or something [such as a song] as "a whole vibe" is the same thing as saying that person or thing is "a complete package" (or "a total package"), meaning having all the desirable traits or components.

"Mood" is sometimes used instead of "vibe", for example "He is a mood" or "He is a whole mood". That said, "whole vibe" may also just mean a person's "entire vibe" (the complete way that he vibes i.e. all of his vibrations).

Also,someone or  something who/that is "a vibe" or "a whole vibe" means that they or it is something that is really special (because of their/its vibes/vibrations).
  

Here's a quote from https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-s-a-vibe-mean (with italics added to highlight those sentences)

Stuart Banks, Answered November 11, 2019

“Issa Vibe”

“Issa vibe or “it`s a vibe” can mean that something is relatable, a big mood, or a shmood. It can be used as a synonym for “it me”. Issa vibe can also be a way to say that a song is good, that it’s a bop. More generally, the phrase can mean that something is good overall.”

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In contemporary vernacular English, a "bop" is a song that is very good (It makes a person "bop" i.e. dance.)

In reference to a song, "it's a vibe" ("issa vibe") means the same thing or has a very similar meaning as "it's a bob".

When used to refer to music or a performer, the term "issa vibe" ("It's a vibe") means that that song, video, etc creates/evokes positive vibes (vibrations/feelings/energy). In that context, "issa vibe" is a superlative statement that means that the song is a "bop" (is very good). In this context, synonyms for "It's a vibe" ("issa vibe") are "It's sick", "it's fire", "it's the bomb" , "It's slaps hard" etc.

The fact that the music is a vibe (is "sick", "fire", and other superlatives) means that people can easily relate to it (or people can easily relate to it because it's "sick", "fire", and other superlatives.)

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WHOLE VIBE / WHOLE MOOD 
Another way of saying that a person is a whole vibe (or a whole mood) is that the person is "everything". An older way of saying that is that the person is "the complete package". 

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ADDENDUM: SELECTED EXAMPLES OF COMMENTS THAT INCLUDE THE WORD "VIBE" OR "VIBING" FROM THE YOUTUBE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR JADEN'S VIDEO "NINETY" 

  

(Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. All comments are from 2020.)

1. PrinceChinda
"I love how Jaden’s whole vibe is different to a lot of these very popular musicians, if more people were more open-minded to being different and wanting to stand out, the world would be so much more beautiful..."

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2. Matt Jay626
"Keep up this music thang bro bro, you riding that snare with them flows! Feeling the vibes! Keeping it humble 🙏🏽 "

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3. happy carti
"Jaden gives off such cosmic vibes man , he got drip , he got depression , he got creativity , and mad originality too. Jaden looks and acts like he's from Mars . He just does his own thing , got a vibe of his own.He could be doing nothing in life and splash his dad's bands but he's doing something beyond the understanding of most people . This guy is too good to be hated . His persona is truly euphoric.

Edit : I know there's nothing cool about depression but it's a part of the persona showcased in syre . I just think the mellow sadness makes it more of a masterpiece . And that's just my opinion cause I feel like I have a hype personality but a part of me is always mellow and on the ground , so I'm just tryna vibe to this my way so I can get the best out of it"

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REPLY
4. Jacob White
"happy carti i don’t think he has depression, I mean I’ve never heard him say that. SYRE is just a persona of his, the emotional side of him. I agree with everything else you said tho"

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5.  Amad Samara
"0:45 that beat drop had me vibing"

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6. Mike Alder
"I love the vibe of this song."

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7. Cruz Nunez
"The flow, the melodies, the beat changes, prose. They're all good and he uses all of them and changes it up so it doesn't get stale after while. This song is one of my favorites from SYRE and all of music. Definitely a vibe."

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8. Joshua Valdez

"2017 vibes man 😢"

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9. Prince
"Jayden gives Odd Future /The internet vibes before they fell off. School Boy Q without the hood element."

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10. Theodore Cruz
"JADEN ninety

    ↗↖↗↖↗↖↗↖  ♨

edgey hip hop rap vibin⚫"

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11. tymarrie
"This is a vibe. Definitely"

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12. Liam Thomas

"Who else got a XXXtentaction vibe from this?"

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13. Ramiro Tomas Espino Cordero

"A lot of childish Gambino vibes here... But with "that" ever fading Jaden style, loved this video/song."

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14. Adnan shaikh
"Its kinda got that J.cole vibes😍🔥💯"

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15.  Luis Espino

"He should be giving y’all Jaden vibes; he’s doing his own sh-t.*
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*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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16. Liam Thomas

"Who else got a XXXtentaction vibe from this?"

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17. Ramiro Tomas Espino Cordero

"A lot of childish Gambino vibes here"...

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