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| Where them girls at? (David Guetta) |
 |
(Black) |
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Or select some text and then click on play.
(featuring Minaj & Flo Rida) "Where Dem Girls At?" is the new eurodance summer hit for 2011, by French music producer and DJ David Guetta. Singers are the American rapper Flo Rida and Nick Minaj, from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Both show marked features of black American accent, which got quite fashionable first in rap and now in different kinds of music too (though usually quite softened). See explanations below for some comments on the black dialect used in this song.
This song is a bit too wild for this family site, but it's a good oportunity to have an introduction to black American English.
So many girls in here, where do I begin?
I seen this one, I'm 'bout to go in
Then she said, "I'm here with my friends"
She got me thinking, and that's when I said
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
So go get them, we can all be friends
Hey, bring it on baby, all your friends
You're da- and I love that body
You wanna ball, let's mix it, I swear you’re good, I won't tell nobody
You got a BFF, I wanna see that girl, it’s all women invited
Hair do’s and nails, that Louis, Chanel all up in the body
Presidents in my wallet, no rules I'm 'bout it
Blow the whistle for the hotties
I got it, shawty, it’s never too much, can’t be doing too much
10 to one of me, I can handle that love
Outta of my reach, we can all get buzz
Holla cause I'm free, no matter it's no rush
So many boys in here, where do I begin?
I seen this one, I'm 'bout to go in
Then he said, I'm here with my friends
He got to thinking, and that's when he said
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
So go get them, we can all be friends
PB, PB, who's Peabo Bryson?
Two years ago I renewed my license
Anyway why'd I start my verse like that
You can suck a -guh-, you can suck on a –oh-oh-oh-
No no I don't endorse that, pause that, abort that
Just the other day mi go a-London, saw dat, kids down the street
Paparazzi, all dat
Hey hey what can I say?
Day day day da-day day
Coming through the club all the girls in the back of me
This ain't football why the --- they tryna tackle me?
Really, I peek dude at the bar like really
Looking like he wanna good time like really
Said he had a friend for my home girl Lilly Lilly, Lilly, Lilly
So many girls in here where do I begin?
I seen this one, I'm 'bout to go in
Then she said I'm here with my friends
She got me thinking, and that's when I said
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
So go get them, we can all be friends
Day, day, day-day-day-day
Day day-day-day-day, day day-day-day
Day, day, day-day-day-day
Day day-day-day-day, day day-day-day
Day, day, day-day-day-day
Day day-day-day-day, day day-day-day
Day, day, day-day-day-day
Day day-day-day-day, day day-day-day
Yo, where my girls at uhh, hmm, uhh
Yo, where my girls at uhh, hmm, uhh
Yo, where my girls at uhh, hmm, uhh
Yo, where my girls tryna get to jumpin’
So many girls in here, where do I begin?
I seen this one, I'm 'bout to go in
Then she said, I'm here with my friends
She got me thinking and that's when I said
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
Where dem girls at, girls at?
So go get them, we can all be friends
Black American English
First, a few considerations about this dialect. Black American English is the variety of English spoken by many blacks in the Americas, with a strong African influence. It's not simply an accent (see more here), it's a dialect. Most blacks in the USA speak today standard English, but most of them still have a little or a big influence of this traditional black dialect. Since rappers were originally black people from poor districts, they all sang in black American English. When rap (or hip-hop) became mainstream, this marginal dialect started to influence other music styles too, like R&B and pop music in general. Today, even white singers often use black American features in their songs, and that influence can sometimes be traced even to British singers. Let's make just a few remarks to help you understand the song a little better:
The sound TH /ð/ is pronounced D (and /θ/ turns /t/), so we get things like:
- Where dem girls? = Where them girls?
- Da = The.
- Saw dat= I saw that.
They use the African form "mi" instead of the subject "I":
- Yesterday mi go a-London = I went to London yesterday. (you can also notice that the past is expressed by the adverb, not by the verb)
They can use the past participle instead of the past tense:
- I seen this one = I saw this one.
They have some vocabulary of their own:
- Shawty = Hot girl, hottie, cutie.
- Holla = pick up someone from the opposite sex (to have a romance); hit on someone.
They often drop the sound R /r/ when not followed by a vowel (same as in British English). Actually, this is what we can see in the two words above, which come from the original words "shorty" (a cute short girl) and "holler" (to shout at someone to say hello).
Since the black population in America was (and many still are) living in poor areas, their English is even more colloquial than average, so they use many colloquial constructions and expressions such as:
- Them/dem = Those (Where dem girls at? = Where are those girls? /the verb "to be" is often dropped in colloquial expressions)
- Ain't = The negative form of the verb "to be" and "to have" (I ain't rich, I ain't no money)
- Wanna = Want to, want a (I wanna friend coz I wanna go party)
- Outta = Out of (in the song we see "outta of my reach", which is in fact a reduplication of the preposition)
- Tryna = Trying to.
- 'Bout = About.
- the use of double negatives such as: I won't tell nobody.
Some black things are now mainstream in colloquial English and everybody uses them, black or white, for example:
- Yo! = Used as a greeting or to attract someone's attention.
Some other things you can find in this song:
BALL= A party for dancing (like the royal ball were Cinderella and the prince met). Well, actually, in Amercian slang "a ball" means something quite different. You can use your imagination.
BFF= Best Friends Forever = A very close relationship, a very good friend. It used to be an acronym written in notes and letters, but now it's getting common in conversation too.
HAIR DO's= Hairstyles.
CHANEL ALL UP IN THE BODY= All their bodies covered with Coco Chanel's fragrance.
PRESIDENTS IN MY WALLET= I have a lot of money (dollar notes/bills have the image of different US presidents on it).
HOTTIES= Hot girls (very attractive girls).
10 TO 1= female~male standard rate of pleasure (so they say)
BUZZ= Alcoholic drinks.
PB= Peabo Bryson, an American R&B and soul singer.
ENDORSE= To give personal approval to something, to support it.
IN THE BACK OF ME= Behind me.
TACKLE ME= In American football, to tackle someone is to run and jump on top of him to make him fall down. In sex language, to tackle is to try to get a girl (usually in a pub), to pick her up. So she is making a pun with the two meanings: "this is not fooball, why are they trying to tackle me?".
I PEEK DUDE AT THE BAR= I saw a man at the bar. (DUDE is colloqual for "man").
LIKE REALLY= A very colloquial expression used in many ways but generally expressing a superlative idea. For example, if you say "I met a pretty girl like really" that means that she was really pretty. In the song, this expression is used after the man (dude) she saw at the bar (he was a fantastic specimen) and after "he wanna good time", "he wanted a good time", so he really wanted to have a great time with her.
MY HOME GIRL= A very good friend of yours.
If it's a boy you can also say "home boy". You can also say "homey", which derived from "home boy".
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