MyRhythmNSoulTV,
James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 -- December 25, 2006) was an American recording artist and musician. One of the founding fathers of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century popular music and dance, he is often referred to as "The Godfather of Soul". In a career that spanned six decades, Brown profoundly influenced the development of many different musical genres."... -snip- Notice how James Brown is sweating profusely while he's singing and dancing. Sweating while he's "working out" results in funkiness (in more ways than one.) James Brown can be truly said to have "Put some stank" on his singing and dancing. **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post presents definitions of the African American Vernacular English originated saying "Put some stank on it". This post also includes some online examples of that saying. The content of this post is presented for linguistic and cultural purposes. All copyrightts remain with their owners. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/11/what-african-american-originated-phrase.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "What "Put Some Stank On It" REALLY Means ("Impractical Jokers: Inside Jokes - Put Some Stank On It | truTV")."
****
WHAT "PUT SOME STANK ON IT" MEANS
"Put some stank on it" means "to make something that you're doing funkier".
"Stank" in that African American Vernacular English originated saying is a noun. However, the word "stank" comes from the past tense verbal form of the word "stink" (i.e. "stink, "stank, "stunk".)
Here's some information about how the noun "stank" came from the word "funky":
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk#Etymology
..."In 1784 "funky" meaning "musty"
was first documented, which, in turn, led to a sense of "earthy" that
was taken up around 1900 in early jazz slang for something "deeply or
strongly felt".[8][9] Ethnomusicologist Portia Maultsby states that the
expression "funk" comes from the Central African word
"lu-funki" and art historian Robert Farris Thompson says the word
comes from the Kikongo term ; in both proposed origins, the term refers to body
odor.[10] Thompson's proposed Kikongo origin word, "lu-fuki" is used
by African musicians to praise people "for the integrity of their
art" and for having "worked out" to reach their goals.[11] Even
though in white culture, the term "funk" can have negative
connotations of odor or being in a bad mood ("in a funk"), in African
communities, the term "funk", while still linked to body odor, had
the positive sense that a musician's hard-working, honest effort led to sweat,
and from their "physical exertion" came an "exquisite" and
"superlative" performance.[11]
In early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another
to "get down" by telling one another, "Now, put some stank on
it!". At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky.
The first example is an unrecorded number by Buddy Bolden, remembered as either
"Funky Butt" or "Buddy Bolden's Blues" with improvised
lyrics that were, according to Donald M. Marquis, either "comical and
light" or "crude and downright obscene" but, in one way or
another, referring to the sweaty atmosphere at dances where Bolden's band
played.[12][13] As late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when "funk" and
"funky" were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the
terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite
company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer
"was the first to use the word 'funky' to explain to other musicians that
their music should be made more syncopated and danceable."[14] The style
later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more
carnal quality. This early form of the music set the pattern for later
musicians.[15] The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented and
danceable."...
-snip-
I added italic font to highlight those sentences.
In the context of this quote "having worked out"
means to exert yourself so hard (to put so much of yourself into your actions)
that you sweat, and therefore smell earthy. "Earthy" is a smell that
is considered "stinky" (odorous), but it is proof that you "returned
to fundamentals". Another way of saying "returned to
fundamentals" is that "You got down to the real nitty gritty"
(the essence, the heart and soul of the matter").
Also, theoretically, people who "have returned to fundamentals" don't mind how they smell or look. At that point, they aren't pretending to be sophisticated, or formal, or something that they aren't. Instead, they are "being for real" (They're the "real deal"). This meaning is the source of the phrase "Don't fake the funk" = Don't pretend to be something that you're not.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-funky-came-to-mean-something-good.html for the pancocojams posts entitled "How "Funky" Came To Mean Something Good (African American Vernacular English Meanings)".
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/online-excerpts-about-song-funky-butt.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Online Excerpts About The Song "Funky Butt" (Also Known As "Buddy Bolden's Blues") with YouTube examples"
****
SOME EXAMPLES OF THE SAYING "PUT SOME STANK ON IT"
ONLINE SOURCE #1:
[background]
What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American
biographical film based on the life of American music icon Tina Turner. It was
directed by Brian Gibson and written by Kate Lanier. The film stars Angela
Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as her husband Ike Turner.
Adapted from Tina Turner's autobiography I, Tina (1986), the
film follows her life from a rural upbringing to her rise to stardom, along
with her abusive marriage to Ike Turner."...
-snip-
[movie quote]
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMSD151_oko for a clip of that scene. WARNING : That clip is full of curse words.
-snip-
In a profanity laden scene from that movie, R&B singer.guitarist Ike Turner lambasted his wife Anne (who later changed her name to Tina) for the way she was recording a song. Ike told her that she had to sing that song like she meant it and put some stank in it.
****
ONLINE SOURCE #2: Liar Liar Movie Clip
Maxwellhouser66, Sept. 10, 2014
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar_Liar for information about the 1997 movie Liar Liar.
This clip from the comedy movie Liar Liar references the "Put some stank on it" words that Ike Turner said to his then wife Anne (who later changed her first name to "Tina").
Here's a transcription of this clip from https://able2know.org/topic/347052-1
SMickey, Tue 4 Oct, 2016
"I got this expression from the movie 'Liar Liar'.
and this is what he said.
And how does he repay you ?
By dragging you through a painful litigation process !
No, no, no, no ! This can't happen !
With all due respect, this isn't about you and Mr. Cole
anymore.
This is about all women.
Where would Tina Turner be right now if she'd rolled over
and said,
"Hit me again, lke, and put some stank on it ?"
Rollin' on the river, that's where she'd be.
But she's beyond Thunderdome,
because she decided to send a message.
Wake up, sisters !
There's no-o-o-o-o-o... such thing as a weaker sex !"
-snip-
The commenter asked about the meaning of "put some stank on it" and the meaning of the line "She's beyond Thunderdome".
Here's the only reply to this query (as of June 28, 2022).
PUNKEY, Oct, 2016
"http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stank
-snip-
Several urbandictionary.com entries for the saying "put some stank on it" are given in the Online Source #3 section immediately below this one.
Also, in that transcription about Tina Turner from the movie Liar Liar, the phrase "Rollin On The River" cleverly refers to the title of a hit Tina Turner song.
****
ONLINE SOURCES #3 [THREE POSITIVE URBAN DICTIONARY .COM DEFINITIONS FOR "STANK"]
There are fourteen urban dictionary.com pages for the vernacular meaning of "stank". Most of the urban dictionary.com entries for the word "stank" refers to stinky, malodorous body smells. Here are some entries from urbandictionary.com that refer to positive definitions for "stank".
These entries are given in chronological order according to the urbandictionary.com pages where they were found. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
WARNING: There are lots of profanity, sexual explicit content, and the n word references in urbandictionary.com's pages about "stank" and "put some stank on it". The entries that are quoted in this pancocojams post don't include any sexually explicit comment or the n word. These entries may include profanity, but those words are given with modified spelling.
1. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stank&page=6
"stank
a person or thing that is cool, popular, amazing, awesome,
ham, hard, the sh&t*
damn jessica yo shoes so stank
Jessica is the stank
by inyofacejessica December 15, 2010"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
**
2. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Stank&page=7
"stank
The quality of being extremely cool, awesome, and/or above
average with the humorous connotation of being dirty.
That model's stank. Watch her walk: stank, stank, stank.
by stank hole marc January 31, 2011"
**
3. "STANK
When something is dope as f&&k* and just sauce
That new mixtape is STANK af you gotta listen to it
by Ady💜🐼😏🍕☮️
February 6, 2017"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
-snip-
Here’s an excerpt that helps explain the use of the term “just sauce” in that
comment:
https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/too-much-sauce/#:~:text=Hip%2Dhop%20artists%20have%20been,might%20impact%20a%20performer's%20image.
WHERE DOES TOO MUCH SAUCE COME FROM? "too much sauce know your meme"
"Hip-hop artists have been using the term sauce as slang for
swagger and luxury-branded clothing and accessories since at least 2013. This
sense probably came from the meaning of sauce as “something that adds piquance
or zest,” as a designer watch might impact a performer’s image.
As an enormous spike in Google searches suggests, the phrase too much sauce was boosted in popularity by the August, 2016 release of the hit single “Too Much Sauce” by DJ Esco, Future, and Lil Uzi Vert. The single stayed on the Billboard Top 100 for 20 weeks, peaking in January, 2017 at number 50, a date that corresponds to an identical peak in Google lookups. The lyrics of the song describe the numerous designer brands worn by the performers. Though fans of hip-hop music might have heard the phrase too much sauce before 2016, the phrase was uncommon enough before the song that singer Future released a video to explain the meaning of the phrase. There are also no entries for this sense of the phrase in Urban Dictionary before 2016.
The sauce in the phrase has expanded beyond its original meaning of designer accessories to confidence and swagger. Men in particular, who are especially confident, are said to have too much sauce, as are cool or impressive songs, sports plays, or items.
[…]
WHO USES TOO MUCH SAUCE?
Too much sauce is often used by young people, particularly
young black people, to compliment confident, talented, or attractive people or
things in the same way bad is used to mean “good.”…
ONLINE SOURCE #4 [URBAN DICTIONARY.COM DEFINITION FOR "PUT SOME STANK ON IT"]
In contrast to the multiple urban dictionary.com pages for the word "stank", there are only two urban dictionary entries on one page for the saying "Put some stank in it". One of those entries can be discarded as it appears to be a diss at the actor Owen Wilson. And I believe the other urban dictionary.com entry for that saying (which is given as the top definition) approaches the actual meaning but misunderstands the actual meaning a "Put some stank in it".
Here's that entry from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=put%20some%20stank%20on%20it
"put some stank on it
(phrase), (sl) - Phrase meaning to add a personal flare, or
special ability to any given task or action. As in throwing an especially fast
fast-ball, or making a difficult billiards shot. This can be applied to almost
anything where talent is a factor in achieving the desired result.
I've never seen such a shot pulled off under those conditions! He really put some stank on it that time!
by Haywood Jablomy 2 December 28, 2017"
****
ONLINE SOURCE #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-hqiIbPx64&ab_channel=CCo.262ndQMBNCHARLIEROCKS "Thanksgiving Cadence Charlie Rocks
Style" published by C Co. 262nd QM BN CHARLIE ROCKS on Nov 24, 2016
1. J D, 2017
"Thats how you call a cadence! put some soul into
it!"
2.
"Oh the PVT grew up in the deepest/blackest part of the
Deep South Church. 😂"
-snip-
"PVT" = Private
Gijane S, 2019
"He put some stank on it....!!!! Go head
troop...!!!"
-snip-
As explanation, a number of commenters referred to the way
that the African American Private called (sung the call part of) the cadence) was a reflection of his Black church choir background. Several commenters wrote that he added some "flavor" to the candence.
ONLINE SOURCE #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbaFXjr41vI "LEVEL UP AKA POP YOUR FANS" published by TOPSHELF 67 Nov 15, 2017
Here are some commetns from a discussion thread for a YouTube video about African American (Soul) line dancing with a folded fan
1. Tajauna Thompson, 2018
"Ok so I'm sorry it took me a year to see this
particular line dance but you'll killed that !
I've seen several different ones to this song and I have enjoyed them
all but the use of the fans added some flavor and made it special . And to The
young lady in the front that had on the black t shirt you're in a class by
yourself I really enjoyed watching you . Your performance was smooth thanks"
**
Reply
2. TOPSHELF 67, 2018
"Tajauna Thompson Good Morning...Juice aka Roll With It
sends her deepest gratitude. She says
that it was actually the Ambassador who encouraged us to put some STANK on it
if you will. Thanks for viewing and
responding. Have a great day. The BEST way."
-snip-
I added italics to highlight this sentence. The "Ambassador" is probably the nickname for one of the line dancers in that group. The words "if you will" at the end of that italized sentence probably means "if you don't mind my use of that slang phrase".
**
Reply
3. Tajauna Thompson, 2018
"Nice ideal it worked. Very well done it makes yours
unique you'll have a good day as well .
I'll keep watching for more from you'll "
****
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