What does Will Smith say in the theme to Fresh Prince?

[pulykamell]

Here’s a page from New York Magazine, 1985 edition. (Scroll to the cover page, and you’ll see a much younger Trump there.)

Anyhow, this February 1985 edition has a letter to the editor:

Prison Rapping

ALL THOSE CHIC NEW SLANG WORDS IN Amy Virshup’s article “Getting the Word” [“Fast Track,” January 7] have been floating around New York and California prisons, where they originated, for the past ten, fifteen, or twenty years. As a denizen of these cages for the past twelve years (I claim innocence–but don’t we all?), I am well versed on the subject. For example, homeboy (a friend; variations: homey, home slice, home taste, home cat, home piece, etc.) and maxin’ (hanging out) were born in the early seventies on Rikers Island. Maxin’ referred to doing the maximum amount of your sentence. Crib (home) was sland for your cell […]

Italics in original.

So, we have an article from 1985 talking about the word “maxin’” and a possible source of prison slang dating back to the early 70s. The people on the other board claiming the word doesn’t exist are ignorant. They were known enough in 1985 to get a mainstream publication to write about it as “new slang.”