# What is it with the spelling in rap/hip-hop music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968 "2003-05-23T03:39:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/1 "2003-05-23T03:39:25Z")
I’ve been curious about this for awhile, but after getting the latest Weird Al CD I’ve finally gotten around to asking. What is the reason for the deliberate misspellings in rap/hip-hop song names and artist names? I’m talking about things like “Hot in Herre” and “Tha” for “The” and that sort of thing. I thought perhaps it might be a dialect thing (spelling it “tha” because it can be pronounced that way) but I see no reason at all for spelling “here” “herre” (unless I’m missing something really obvious). I can’t think of any other specific examples at the moment, but I know that every time I glance over the rap section at the local Tower Records I see way too many examples of this for it to be coincidence or random. Any rap/hip-hop fans out there who can answer this one for me? ---
**Author:** ![Payton\_s\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@Payton\_s\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Payton_s_Servant)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/2 "2003-05-23T03:42:03Z")
Illiteracy has become mainstream and accepted by the masses. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/3 "2003-05-23T03:43:36Z")
I dunno…maybe looking stupid is cool in those circles? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/4 "2003-05-23T04:01:21Z")
Wow, I hope you two are just kidding. It is an attempt to spell things the way they are pronounced. For a non-rap example see the “Nomaaaa” posters around Boston , capital of the US’s “r-less” accent, for Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciapara. Other examples include Chrissake for Christ’s sake and hangin’ out instead of hanging out. It is also an attempt to make the lyrics look different. It puts one in a different frame of mind. For a non-rap example see “cum.” It is something that is only related to one topic, sex. The “rap spellings” relate to rap. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/5 "2003-05-23T04:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wolfian \* > \*\*Wow, I hope you two are just kidding. > > It is an attempt to spell things the way they are pronounced.\*\* I hope you’re kidding. What’s wrong with spelling things _the way they’re supposed to be spelled_? Looking like one dropped out of elementary school might sell to a certain target audience, but it’s not impressing the mainstream any. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/6 "2003-05-23T04:27:10Z")
Yea, rap and hip hop isn’t popular at all. ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/7 "2003-05-23T04:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > **I dunno…** :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/8 "2003-05-23T05:04:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by QueerGeekGirl \* > \*\*:dubious: \*\* And this is a commentary on what, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/9 "2003-05-23T05:06:45Z")
Oh, I get it. Never mind. Shut up, I spelled it that way on purpose, to make a point. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/10 "2003-05-23T05:09:40Z")
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![mishaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@mishaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mishaa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/11 "2003-05-23T05:13:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by winterhawk11 \* > \*\*“Hot in Herre” and “Tha” for “The” and that sort of thing. I thought perhaps it might be a dialect thing (spelling it “tha” because it can be pronounced that way) \*\* While not a huge hip-hop fan, I understand this. I have know people who talk about getting their “hair-a” done, tell their kids to get “ench-erre” (in here), etc. Yes, it is an example of spelling it the way it is pronounced. As for those who question why they can’t set an example and spell it correctly, I’d rather they set an example and not rap about selling drugs, or their bi-atches and ho’s and shooting people. Let’s work on those things, then we can nitpick over their spelling. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/12 "2003-05-23T05:21:38Z")
It’s all about marketing. They break the rules and all the kiddies find that so cool, and buy all their CDs in droves, just to be hip. Thank God all the bands in my day knew how to spell correctly. You’d never see such cheesy sheenanigans from such class acts as Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Megadeth, the Beatles… ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/13 "2003-05-23T05:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\* as Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Megadeth, the Beatles… \*\* Who _never ever_ sung about having sex with women or doing drugs, too. Good spellers and good, clean ways of life. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/14 "2003-05-23T06:44:57Z")
…and those songs in the old days had words you could sing along with…and meaningful lyrics! -Wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop-bam-boo Tutti Frutti, all over rootie, A-wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop bam boo ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/15 "2003-05-23T08:06:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by winterhawk11 \* > \*\*I see no reason at all for spelling “here” “herre” (unless I’m missing something really obvious). \*\* **mishaa** already touched on this. It looks to me like how I hear some southern ebonics. I am no authority on this, but the “r” sound to end a word can sometimes come out sounding more like “arruh”. Specifically, Hearing people talk about the “Arruh Kelly” sex tape and how “Arruh Kelly” is such a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/16 "2003-05-23T14:03:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KGS \* > \*\* > Thank God all the bands in my day knew how to spell correctly. You’d never see such cheesy sheenanigans from such class acts as Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Megadeth, the Beatles… \*\* Led Zeppelin was spelled that way so that it would be pronounced correctly. They worried that if it was spelled Lead Zeppelin it would be pronounced Lead as in Follow the LEADer. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/17 "2003-05-23T16:57:35Z")
> [@](#): > > -Wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop-bam-boo > Tutti Frutti, all over rootie, > A-wop-bop-a-loo-lop a-lop bam boo Little Richard’s original lyric was “Tutti Frutti, loose booty.” ---
**Author:** ![NormanConquest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@NormanConquest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NormanConquest)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/18 "2003-05-23T17:10:28Z")
This isn’t new… remember how unintellegible Mark Twain’s books about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were? ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/19 "2003-05-23T17:19:13Z")
You’re going to get so confused if you try to read an Irvine Welsh book. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968/20 "2003-05-23T17:42:08Z")
In the song “Hot In Herre” they pronounce it “HERRE” and that’s why it’s spelled as such. (sort of like “HER” but with a different sounding E) Nelly, the artist who did that song, is from St. Louis and pronounces alot of things like that. I cannot claim it to be true but I’d bet that the place in St. Louis where he grew up pronounced it like that. They also pronounce “scared” as “skerred”. Yes, it is much like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-with-the-spelling-in-rap-hip-hop-music/176968.md?page=2)