Sunday, August 9, 2020

What The African American Vernacular English Words "Cap", "Cappin", And "No Cap" Mean

Edited by Azizi Powell

 This pancocojams post provides some information about the African American Vernacular English words "cap", "no cap" and "cappin" mean. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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SHOWCASE DICTIONARY EXCERPT
From https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/no-cap/#:~:text=The%20expression%20no%20cap%20is,about%20something%20hard%20to%20believe.
"no cap
[ noh kap ]

WHAT DOES NO CAP MEAN?
The expression no cap is slang meaning "no lie" or "for real," often used to emphasize someone is not exaggerating about something hard to believe.

WHERE DOES NO CAP COME FROM?

In Black slang, to cap about something is “to brag,” “to exaggerate,” or “to lie” about it. This meaning of cap dates back to the early 1900s.

History lesson: In the 1940s, according to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, to cap is evidenced as slang meaning “to surpass,” connected to the ritualized insults of capping (1960s). These terms appear to be rooted in the sense of cap as “top” or “upper limit.”

So, no cap has the sense of “no lie,” “no joke,” “for real,” or “not bragging.” The expression is closely associated with slang in Atlanta-area hip-hop. It appears on Twitter by at least 2012, though it was almost certainly in use in spoken English before then.
[...]

No cap was popularized in 2017 when Atlanta-based rappers Young Thug & Future released the track “No Cap.” In the song, the rappers boast about all the wealth and swag they’ve acquired, no cap, including clothes, cars, and jewelry."....
-snip-
The term "Black slang" in this definition means "African American Vernacular English". Note that the term "Ebonics" is no longer used.
 
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SELECTED COMMENTS
from the YouTube  video entitled "No Cap Comments on Future Allegedly Inventing the Term "No Cap" (Part 2)"

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0qRTYMwB8Y

 Djvlad, Jun 9, 2019
-snip-
"No Cap" and "Future" are names of two Hip Hop rappers.

WARNING: This YouTube video interview contains profanity and a four letter form of "the n word".
Because pancocojams is a family friendly blog, these words aren't completely spelled out in this post although for documenting purposes the words can be easily deciphered.
. 
Numbers are added to these selected comments for referencing purposes only.

A number of Hip Hop artists are mentioned in these comments. This post doesn't include any biographical information about any of these artists.

I want to call particular attention to the fact that in the comments African Americans from various cities and/or regions claim that their area was where the terms "cap", "cappin" and/or other forms of those slang words (and in certain comments, also some other African American Vernacular English terms) originated.   

All of these comments are from 2019.
1. Heat Bringa Beats
"The term No Cap has been around forever"

**
REPLY
2. Ving Rhames With Hair
"Most of the slang used these days have been used in the past. Including broccoli, lit, and rachet"

**
3. Bushkay BMZ
"“I Don’t be barking or even high cappin “ e 40 da bumble"
-snip-
This is a quote from "Da Bumble", the title of one of Rapper E-40's well known (among Hip Hop fans) tracks.  

 **
4. G Nem
"E-40 said no cap in the 90s😂😂On “Da Bumble” And been saying “Ball cappin” before that

Look at all the young boys mad 😂😂"

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REPLY
5. Jeff Banks, 2019
“G Nem I love that song. He probably said it on accident. He be talking gerberish"

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REPLY
6. G Nem
"Jeff Banks N-gga as a died hard 40 fan he been saying that sh-t since 1993"

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REPLY
7. JesseLD3
"@G Nem
And Houston dudes shortly thereafter."

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REPLY
8. 1TH1NKEVERY1SATR0LL
"@JesseLD3 I remember them Texas boys saying high cappin back in the day"

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REPLY
9. Sambo92
"@Jeff Banks 😂😂😂 no cap.."

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REPLY
10. Teshoma Calkins
"@Jeff Banks we've been saying cap and no cap in Oakland /Bay Area/ Northern California since the 80s"

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REPLY
11. Ismail McDuffey
"All slang comes from Oakland straight up. And I'm from Miami and I know this"

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REPLY 
12. "G Nem true but he didn’t popularise it. It’s not always about who does it first it’s about who did it the best."

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REPLY
13. too.hazey

"@M 360 ay you woke forreal "on ma mama" and "hella" and a whole buncha other shit came from oakland"

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REPLY
14. B WanE
"G Nem 💯 Bro.... just told my  nephew and his homeboys that same thing ,  lil dudes had never heard Da Bumble  I was amazed ..... thought everybody heard that E40 song"

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REPLY
15. Unc Tay
"@1TH1NKEVERY1SATR0LL thats what it really is. just a short version of "high cappin""

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REPLY
16. Slopoke
"Jeff Banks gibberish? You just to stupid to keep up. 40 spit game, u should listen up."

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REPLY
17. Slimkidd730
"What does it mean tho? What was 40 saying it for in meaning?"

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REPLY
18. CALICOTV301
"@Slimkidd730 in the song he says "I don't be cappin'"

It means the same thing today. Cappin is lying. New guys think they just started what e40 been saying. Listen to his ever word he's spitting straight game and slang. He was the slang king,  period!"

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REPLY
19. jedadius Russell
"G Nem before the 90 people said u were (high cappin) if I were lying in the 60 s.  And 70s... on my momma !beat that"

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REPLY
20. A Account
"G Nem Right.  And Pharcyde said cappin on their first album in ‘92."

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21. James Redic
"Yall out of towners late. We been sayin kappin for the last 25 years. Rap ninjas always swagger jack Texas. Shout out to the Bay tho. Yall boyz word play is throwed too. We ain't trippin. We love to see dez young boyz recycle the game nomsayin."

**
22.  Aaron Joseph"People in Houston said “high cappin” "

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REPLY
23. Flight Risk ENT
"Facts"

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24. yung elplaga
"No cap came from ball cappin"

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25. BigTone
"Sayin' Future invented the term "CAPPING" is the same as thinking Michael Jackson invented MOONWALKING!  No Cap!!"

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REPLY
26. Mauriice Kiing
"BigTone facts"

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REPLY
27. A1 Savage
"I was saying no cap wayy back in the 70s wayy before any of these clowns! N-ggaz* out here taking credit for my lingo & sh-t* 👎"

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REPLY
28. Last Trip.
"King Savage tell em cut the check g.😂"

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29. Boss Man
"this new generation swear they came up with every word, term, or phrase 😂😂 people been saying sh-t since the 90s"

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REPLY
30. F And
"Before that"

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REPLY
31. Boss Man
"@F And yep really since the 70s hell pimps made up a lot of word play"

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32. Ross Nowlin
"A lot of old terms an saying old heads starting idk why my generation do that constantly"

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33. EricTheYoungGawd
"Literally nobody has alleged future invented no cap lmao"

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34. Tee Jay
"Exactly in Florida we been saying stop capping or you capping. Rappers swear they start trends"

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35. king sosa
"High cappn or stop capping  been a term used since the 90's...im from tha bay an the first time i heard it was on e40 in a major way album"

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REPLY
36. Stuck in the 90s"@king sosa I'm from philly we was saying no cap or stop capping me up since the early 90s. It pretty much means no bullsh-t."

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37. Dug Nice
"I'm 40 and have NEVER heard anyone use "cappin'" as slang for lyin', fakin' or  frontin' in the 90s. 🤷"

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REPLY
38. Slopoke
"80’s"

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REPLY
39. Lioness Beloved
"@Dug Nice right"

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REPLY
40. Dug Nice
"@Slopoke

Never heard it in the 80s either. It obviously wasn't popular slang back then and was probably a regional thing, not widespread across the country."

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REPLY
41. A14rmdaview
"Dug Nice I’m from Cleveland and capping has meant that since forever"

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REPLY
42. Dug Nice
"@A14rmdaview

I don't doubt you, just saying it wasn't popular slang nationwide.

I don't doubt that it was used regionally."

**
43. Spencer Fairley
"Bankroll Fresh made “No Capp” what it is now"

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REPLY
44. ray cray
"Spencer Fairley 🧢"

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45. Anthony Frazier
"Y'all put anybody on here claiming something... Capping was and always been an Houston area slang.. I'm from Ohio and heard legends say It Geto Boyz to Flip, 50/50 twin.... Facts

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REPLY
46. Dug Nice
"I'm 40 and at one point owned all of the Geto Boys' albums.

I don't recall ever hearing them use the term as slang for lyin', but if they did, it wasn't very popular outside of where they were, so if I heard it, I didn't know what they were talking about."

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REPLY
47. Anthony Frazier
"@Dug Nice yea homie you need to rewind those tapes.. High capping..pimp c used it more"

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48. Ro 2
"preciate u bro .. n-ggas gotta recognize wat city originated wat slang  IN TEXAS we been sayin HIGH CAPPIN since tha late 80s  n am 25 i stay listenin to legends in my city n been sayin how otha rappers been swackin our style/lingo 💯

**
49. Walter Sanders
"Two different terms"

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REPLY
50. Anthony Frazier
"@Walter Sanders How? Capping and High Capping... Yall need to listen to how it was used ...smh..lol"

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REPLY
51. Tremayne Jones
"Anthony Frazier exactly"

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52. CheeZyyGoKu
"They not taking about the term “cappin” they talking about “No Cap”

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REPLY
53. Teddy Brosevelt
"Cappin=lying

No cap= I'm not lying
No cap came from cappin and Future definitely didn't start it"

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54. bradlit
"Future never said he invented No Cap he tweeted saying he made it a popular phrase."

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55. Rambo Savage
"Future ant invent that that’s prison lingo"

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56. OleDirtyBZA
"Bankroll Fresh started the term w/ ball cappin.. evolved to no cap"

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REPLY 
57. Jarrett Harris
"Yep"

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REPLY
58. Demario Wright
"Facts"

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59. Greedytycoon media group
"That been around..  cats used to say dude capping off at the mouth...and drip. Nothing new under the 🌞"

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REPLY
60. Lurn Well
"The phrase "no cap" is new...and even if something already exists, there is still something that inspired you...To not acknowledge it is just pride and ego."

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REPLY
61. Greedytycoon media group
"@Lurn Well  your gen inspired by mines to recalibrate and bring back certain things and I thank y'all for keeping sh-t lit!!
-snip-
"gen" = a shortened form of the word "generation".

**
62. Dread John Doe
"Let me give y'all some game...Future ain't make "No Cap" we been saying dat in Ga. It was another way 2 say finesse or juug... When you cap'd on somebody you were Finessing em... No Cap jus simply mean you not tryna juug or finesse or in other words you not lying..."

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63. DaRehabCntr LLC
"Cats have been saying "capping" since way back on the days. How about inventing something that helps society."

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64. Taylor Cane
"Bankroll fresh made the term"

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REPLY
65. STRIKEGANG
"Taylor Cane he ain’t make the term but he did make it hot again"

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66. ron g
"Bankroll made ball cappin big ball cap no cap famous"

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67. Raheen Thomas
"no kapp is bankroll's lingo"

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68.  randy pendleton
"Bankroll fresh started sayin ball kap or ball kappin he popularized it in atl go back n look at old bank interviews fr the term been out but bank made it popular in atlanta"

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69, Antonio Smith
"Bankroll fresh started that term  no  cap...facts"

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70. S T
"Am I the only one who used to cap on ppl and sig?"
-snip-
ppl= people
“Sig” = "to signify" ("play the dozens", “rip on” people).

**
71. ty collins
"High capping was bragging or showing off.No capping is a dude on the low getting money."

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72. Knows Music
"No cap started in Jacksonville"

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73. Hannibal Bean
"Man Baltimore been saying "no cap" since early 90s"

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REPLY
74. Michael Uche

"Catch me at the cool table nah bmore been saying youuuuuuuuuuuu since the 90’s 😂😂😂"

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75. James Redic
"Yall out of towners late. We been sayin Kappin for the last 25 years in Texas. The rap game always jack our style but never give us our dab for being trendsettaz."

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76. The 1 wit it all
"Cappin was used in the early 90s across the south as a term for taxing or juugin plays 💯"

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77. Illy Dee
"The argument between the origin of urban slang words is one that is endless and meaningless to me .."

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78. OsamaBeenMobbin
"here come all the 40 year old slang term police, imma just guess yall said it in the bay area in the 80's, riggght?🤔"

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79. Deezy CaSh
"Ok. #1 Cap started in Texas years ago, before Atlanta niggaz got to it. Atlanta is iconic, but I feel like Atlanta need to pay homage for some of that lingo they use all the time. Cappin, Drip, Splash, that Texas Sh-t. I love ATL, but They been doin this type of sh-t for years, go back and listen to pimp c, Sauce twins, slim thug, Z-Ro, lil flip... And that n-gga T.i better stop saying he started Trap music, he helped it get bigger. IDK but ATL rappers are now longer original, besides a handful of them.

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80. Jesus Shuttlesworth
"Cap came from Chicago no 🧢"

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81. Michael Uche
"Future actually never said he invented the term he actually said he made the term “OFFICIAL”."

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82. street scholar
"In the 80's the word high capping was in...so u just using a different way of sayin"

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REPLY
83. Tevin Turner
"Facts!!!! And I wasn’t born in the 80s"

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84. Brownieman Scrilla
"The bay area been saying no cappin and high cappin, we've been saying that since the 80's. We too fast for the rest of y'all when it comes to slang and how we use words."

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85. Dug Nice
"Not sayin' it ain't true, but I'm 40 and I've NEVER heard ANYONE use the term "cappin'" as slang for lyin', fakin' or frontin' in the 80s or 90s. 🤷"
 
If so, I don't think it was very popular or widely used.

**
REPLY 
86. street scholar
"Yea I'm 43...might not been used widely but im from Texas...and we would always say..."aw man he high cappin..." Meaning we know he was lying...then it morphed into "stuntin" then so on...but you right can't speak for everyone...on wax it was E 40 n Willie D from the getto boys i first heard it"

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REPLY
87. Tevin Turner
"street scholar I’m from Texas too I’m only 26 but I remember hearing that when I was a kid I try and tell people that word not new lol"

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88. yung elplaga
"Ball cappin is the original term for nocap...e40 invented it"

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89. OG Mackmizzle323
"First time I heard, “no cap” was by them glo gangs guys. After capo died. And I feel Atlanta ran with it."

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REPLY
90. Relly B
"Naw. I feel Chicago took a lot of Atlanta early 2000’s style and ran with it. Back when Gucci mane was was hot with them mixtapes."

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REPLY
91. OG Mackmizzle323
"Relly B that’s me personally when I started hearing No Cap was when capo died but yeah true, before all the Chicago drill movement it was Atlanta with the Gucci’s and wake flockas"

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92. Blowdown Toppianna
"They recycle the lingo and because they never heard it the first person they hear say it they claim the person made it up"

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93. RealRoadRunner
"We been saying “you cappin’” in Tampa. Idk why the term is always up for debate. Ppl have been saying it for years"

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94. Dietrich Williams
"Man i swear you cats in the south be hella late, with y'alls slanguage!, actually yall using it wrong!, like most of the stuff, yall steal, then say yall invented! cap actually comes from the term "high capping" which we were using in 83, 84, but sometimes we would just say cap for short!, either or!, but we use ta hear the pimps, an players, from chicago, Milwaukee, Pennsylvania, an new york, talking real slang like, when they would come out west ta hustle!, in 79,80, 81, an we would adapt stuff from them, since we was considered slow as hell, at the time!, most of our west coast verbal gymnastics, that yall just now getting up on! we borrowed from real slick talkers, but unlike yall, we ain't claiming to invented nathin!!!, jive talking been around since slavery, you idiots!!!
-snip-
"Slangage" is probably a purposely spelled word that combines the "s" from the word "slang" with the word "language".

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95. K Griffin
"Philly guys been using the phrase cappin for as long as I can remember and I’m 35. You use like as if “someone is cappin you up to believe a lie”

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96. James Wade Jr.
"Wow. We’ve been sayin no cap since the early 90’s in Philly. Most of the slang used in hip hop today is Philly slang. Sometimes they may change a letter."

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97. jason jones
"That word capping is about 25yrs old or older. Yall yung boys stop capping"

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98. Tee Jay
"we been saying cap or cappin in Florida.. rappers didn’t make it up they just made it popular"

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REPLY
99. Elle L
"Cappin," been a Palm Beach county Florida thing for years. Broward and Miami Dade never said unless we moved. I feel like somebody from Palm Beach took it to GA and now it's blown through music.

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REPLY
100. Tee Jay
"Elle L exactly"

**101. GOLDY MACC Gmacc
"I remember cappin or get capped on ment you was getting clowned on or getting roasted. Or get shot at oh how times changed."
-snip-
“Ment” is a typo for “meant”

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102. Corey
"Old folks always talking bout we was saying dat back in the day 😂 but knawl fr outta this generation the first person I heard say no cap Bankroll Fresh"

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103. FlyBoy James
"Bankroll Fresh started No Cap in Atlanta Put respect on Bankroll #Streeet"

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REPLY
104. Jarrett Harris
"Yep"

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105. J James
"These comments are hilarious 🤣. They tellin the truth tho."

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106. Willie Ross
"Nothing is new. Just reused. That word was used before the 90's. My uncle would use that word."

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107. ryanJ simon
"I heard it started on Twitch livestream...evolved through memes loooong before future and others."
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitch_(service)
"Twitch is a video live streaming service operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.[2] Introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform Justin.tv, the site primarily focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to music broadcasts, creative content, and more recently, "in real life" streams. Content on the site can be viewed either live or via video on demand."...

**108. ryanJ simon
"I know e40 was saying it..but no cap = no lie is what I'm talking about"

 **
109. nelsonjrvidal
"Cappin has been a term used since the late 80’s early 90’s in NYC maybe was used before as well."

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110. Stuck in the 90s
"We were saying it in philly in the 90s. It's pretty much a hood slang in damn near every city."

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111. Anwar
"Cap was a saying or slang in 80’s being used in Philly."

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112. Big Meach Gordon
"Cappin" been a slang term for years before the rappers and youngsters made it part of the culture. It comes from the original slang term "Hi-Cappin" which just means bullsh-ttin, making up a story, lying etc. Hats off to the youngboys for coining it  though through the music. Got everybody saying it like it's new haha"

**
113. Stackztootrill
"iono bout " no cap" but in texas the ogs was tombout cappin and high-sidin
-snip-
"tombout"= an African American Vernacular English way of saying the words "talkin about". This word is also given as "talmbout" as in Janelle Monae's song socially conscious song "Hell You Talmbout".

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REPLY
114. Aaron Joseph
"Stackztootrill they would say “high siding or High cappin"

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115. Unc Tay
"No cap is the short version of "high cappin" from back in the day"

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4 comments:

  1. Azizi PowellAugust 9, 2020 at 8:49 PM

    Notice that some of the commenters in this compilation spell "cap" and "cappin" with a "k" instead of a "c".

    One comment in this compilation mentioned that Twitch.TV used the word "kap". Here's a quote from https://genius.com/a/what-does-no-cap-mean
    What Is The Origin Of ”No Cap”?*, March 2019 [video]

    Anonymous, 2020
    "No cap in the same sense has been used online for years since Twitch.TV started rising to promenence. Kappa is an old reaction slang used on that site for sarcasm. E.g. “I’m a millionaire :Kappa:” meaning they’re being sarcastic. Many streamers shortened it to Kapp, and when they say something shocking or something generally not believable but it is true, they will say, “No Kapp” in reference to the Kappa term. Followers and viewers often use terms like that in common chat when on the website, but it gets said off of it due to habit."...
    -snip-
    *WARNING: That video and article contain profanity and uses the "n word".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Azizi PowellAugust 9, 2020 at 9:29 PM

    I admit that I wasn't hep to the African American Vernacular English terms "no cap", "ball cap", and "high cap", perhaps in part because Hip Hop isn't my favorite musical genre.

    That said, I knew about the term "cappin'" for "playing the dozens although I think that the term "rippin (on someone)" was and still is used instead of "cappin"' or "signifying".

    However, I started my online research on the term "no cap" because I just happened to find that term in a YouTube discussion thread about vacationing in the Kenyan coast. I guessed that the term "no cap" was from African American Vernacular English because of its similarity to the word "cappin'" and I wanted to find out more about its origin and meaning.

    Here's that comment from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tzGqbSiXqk WOW! I went to Mombasa🔥", That Fire LA, August 4, 2020

    [This is an African American vlog which presents reactions mostly to YouTube music videos of African contemporary music and other contemporary music, but also to travel vlogs such as the one showcased above. The host Big Ralph visited Mombasa, Kenya through the video and not in person.]

    Here's the comment I referred to:
    Mwikali Mutune, August 2020
    "If yawl wanna travel to the coast* and stay in the most epic places, I recommend Kilifi. It's underrated but one day I literally wanna retire there. Small population, fresh seafood, beautiful beaches and just a gem that people don't know much about."
    -snip-
    “The coast” refers to the coast of Kenya, East Africa.
    Abbas Ahmaad, August 2020
    "Kilifi is the best no cap🤷🏾‍♂‍"
    -snip-
    Kilifi is the best city on the coast of Kenya.
    -snip-
    I'm presuming that this commenter who used the term "no cap" is Kenyan. He might have gotten the term "no cap" from living in the USA or from the internet, or from communicating with someone who lives in the USA. But anyway, this comment probably documents that "no cap" has found its way to the African continent like so many other examples of contemporary African American Vernacular English.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Azizi PowellAugust 9, 2020 at 9:36 PM

      Shortly after publishing the above comment I again happened upon a comment that includes a form of the word "cappin" from yet another discussion thread for a That Fire LA video.

      In that video the the host Big Ralph is showcasing a YouTube video of a Kenyan woman teaching Sheng. Sheng is a Kenyan slang made up of Swahili and English, and some other Kenyan ethnic languages.

      Here's that comment:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAry4-nfjEY "WOW! My 1st SHENG lesson 😁😁👌", That Fire LA, August 4, 2020

      Lil_ D, August 2020
      "I’m from Kenya but her she’s cappin she can’t be a teacher for the sheng💯🤣🤣

      Delete
  3. Azizi PowellAugust 14, 2020 at 9:50 AM

    I just read this tweet that includes the African American Vernacular English word "cap":

    "NLE Choppa
    @Nlechoppa1
    Drake a goat for that video ian even gon cap Face with tears of joy
    12:21 AM · Aug 14, 2020·Twitter for iPhone"
    -snip-
    "goat" = "Greatest Of All Times"

    ReplyDelete