What "OG" Means In The United States & How The Meanings For That Term Have Changed

Edited by Azizi Powell

Lastest Revision - January 21, 2021 [title changed]

 
This is Part III of a four part pancocojams series on the term "OG".

Part III presents some online definitions of term "OG". Those definitions along with some sentences that include that term demonstrate how the meanings of "OG"  have changed in the United States since it was first used in the early 1970s.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/2010-pdf-excerpt-history-of-los-angeles.html for Part I of this four part pancocojams series. Part I is a preface to information about and examples of the term "OG". Part I provides an excerpt about the history of the Crips and the Blood gangs in Los Angeles, California from https://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/content/documents/history-of-street-gangs.pdf National Gang Center Bulletin, May 2010 (no. 4) by James C. Howell and John P. Moore.

Part I also includes an excerpt of an insert in that article that is entitled "Gang Names and Alliances" attributed to Miller, 2001, pp. 43–44.

The Addendum to this post presents an excerpt of  a March 2020 article about a Los Angeles gang truce after rapper Nipsey Hussle's shooting death.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/complete-reprint-of-2006-essay-making.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II of this pancocojams series provides a complete reprint of  the 2006 essay entitled"The Making of an O.G.: Transcending Gang Mentality". This essay was written by San Quentin Death Row prisoners Steve Champion and Anthony Ross.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/08/kenyan-rapper-khaligraph-jones-referent_15.html for Part IV presents information about Kenyan rapper Khaligraph Jones. This post also presents examples of comments from the discussion thread of a Khaligraph Jones music video. Most of these comments show how the term "OG" is often used in Kenya as a referent for Khaligraph Jones.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SOME DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES OF DEFINITIONS FOR THE REFERENT "OG" IN THE UNITED STATES

These quotes are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Quote #1
From http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/10/18286768.php

"A Brief History of the Term "O.G." written by San Quentin Death Row prisoners Steve Champion and Anthony Ross, July 10, 2006
"The term "original" was first used by Crips in 1972. It meant "we're the first" and was used by all Crips regardless of age. In 1974 the word "gangster" was added. It derived from the Original Gangster Crips (now known as Eight Tray Gangster Crips). Initially, Crips only used the term "O.G." when writing their name or neighborhood; it was not customarily used in everyday speech. No one, for instance, would say "Cuz is an O.G." or "What’s up, O.G.?" This is because, in those early years, Crips understood it to mean, "This is the 'Set' I am originally from"—an Original Westside or Eastside Crip. But with the expansion of the Crips came many individuals who had once belonged to other gangs; consequently, the term "O.G." inevitably broadened.

In the mid '70s the term "O.G." also came to represent one who was fiercely loyal and "down" for his or her Set. It was akin to calling a person a patriot or nationalist. By the end of the 1970s, all of the Blood neighborhoods had adopted the "O.G." term. Its transformation was evident among the younger generation of gang members, who began to refer to their older homeboys as "O.G." This new connotation elevated the word to a status or title of respect and it became synonymous with a specific age group. Consequently younger gang members excluded themselves from this elite club because now one had to be of a certain age in order to attain "O.G." status. Today, this is the more accepted usage, and herein originated the misconception."...

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Quote #2
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=OG

[WARNING- Some of the content of that page includes explicit sexual references. That content isn't quoted on this pancocojams blog.]
1, "OG

OG used to mean Original Gangster allthough some poeple these days use OG as a quicker way of saying Original

Oh man that was so og what you did back there

by Saxo_Broko August 16, 2016

-snip-
All of these urbandictionary.com entries were retrieved on August 15, 2020. These definitions are given in the order that they were found on that page. The entry that is given as Quote #2:1 is still the top definition for that term as of that date. 

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2. "G

Acronym for original gangster. Means you have a classic style or stay with the older ways instead of newer.

Mr. Pollard is an OG because of his style and manner.

by MDMBoss777 January 22, 2016

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3.
"O G

O G means original gangsta

those tru gangstas from way back in the day that jacked ya and left nothing but you boxers and socks

Biggie and tupac were both OG's"

by James White July 10, 2004
-snip-
Biggie (also known as The Notorious B.I.G and Biggie Smalls)  was a very well regarded African American rapper.

Tupac (Tupac Shakur) was a very well regarded African American rapper.

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Quote #4
From   https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/og/

…"WHERE DOES OG COME FROM?

While OG has come to be a hip way of referring or showing respect to someone who’s an expert in any facet of life, its origins lie in gang culture. According to Steve Champion and former South Central Los Angeles gang member Anthony Ross in 2006, the term first started being used in the early 1970s by the LA-based Original Gangster Crips. The term original gangster was derived from the gang’s name and initially stood for “we’re the first.” Crips members would use the OG abbreviation as a shorthand when writing which part of the gang they belonged to (e.g., Original Eastside Crip or OG Eastside).

As the Crips expanded in the 1970s, and many new recruits were coming form different gangs, the definition of the term began to change. An OG became someone who was deeply devoted to their subset gang, and younger members of the gangs began to use it in reference to the elders. The term became so popular that even the Crips’s rival gang, the Bloods, started using it.

During the 1980s, OG began to enter the mainstream with its use in commercialized rap music. In songs and music videos, an OG was seen as someone in gang culture who was hip and impressive (an exceptional badass), and soon the term was used to describe people in the real world who exemplified those characteristics even when they had no gang affiliations. At the same time, the term continued to carry on its initial meaning in the sense that something was OG if it was the first of its kind or unique—that is, original.

One notable example of OG in the context of commercialized rap is in LA-raised rapper Ice-T’s single (and album) “O.G. Original Gangster,” which, at its peak, was #7 on 1991’s Billboard rap charts”

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Quote #5

From https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/14223330
1. Peppeper, 2 Sept 2019
Korean
"Question about English (US)

‎what does "og"(original gangster) mean? how is it used?"
Answers
2. Alyssabrooke, 2 Sept 2019
English (US), Korean near fluent
" OG is a slang term for someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or "old-school"

Micheal Jordan is an OG because of playing basketball for years."

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3. laura654, 2, Sept 2010
English (US)
"I mostly see this in movies when people are talking about an older man who's really dangerous, like a gangster. It would be used like this.

That guy is OG! the last guy that didn't pay him him up got its neck broke!"
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4. Peppeper, 2 Sept. 2019
Korean
"@laura654 @alyssabrooke05 I think it can be used when something is awesome. similarly to "killing/kick-ass/banging"

eg-
I know an OG bugger place.(the bugger joint is awesome)
he showed me to an OG soul food diner.(the diner is awesome)

is that wrong??"-snip-
"bugger"; is a misspelling of the word "burger" (an abbreviation of the word "hamburger".

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5. Alyssabrooke, 2 Sept 2019
English (US), Korean near fluent
"Yes, it can be used for killing(not actual murder)kick-ass and banging.

OG is short for original or original gangster so the examples you gave me are correct"

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Quote #6

[WARNING: This twitter account contains profanity. That content isn't included in the tweet that is quoted below.]

From https://twitter.com/search?q=Kissanime

 ally💫 is crying because of IAL

@shouyoslovebot

2h [August 15, 2020]

i dont watch here but goodbye kissanime 😢💔 you will always be the og”
-snip-
The Japanese government took down KissAnime and KisManga as a result of its stricter copyright law regarding pirate websites. According to the tweets in that August 15, 2020 trending United States twitter account, from 2012 to 2020 Kissanime was a site "that allowed users to watch high quality Japanese anime online for free". According to a tweet that I read in that trending twitter account That website also contained a number of porn ads.

The word "og" in that tweet refers to KissAnime being the first website to feature Japanese anime along with the description of that site featuring high quality anime.

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This concludes Part III of this four part pancocojams series.

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