"Bootylicious"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 11/7/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
> adjectival "booty":
> LL Cool J, "It Gets No Rougher" (1989)
> Big Daddy Kane, "Down the Line" (1990)
> A Tribe Called Quest, "Scenario" (1991)
>
> adjectival "booty-ass":
> GangStarr, "Take a Rest" (1991)
> MC Serch, "Daze in a Weak" (1992)

If Usenet is any indication, "booty" didn't really take off as a
pejorative adjective until early 1992. The first cite below is a bit
ambiguous and the second is really for "booty wack", but all the rest
are clearly negative:

-----
alt.rap, Aug. 6, 1991
He used to be associated with Fila Fresh Crew (booty).
-----
alt.rap, Oct. 22, 1991
Though I will have to agree that "Fly Girl" song is booty wack.
-----
alt.rap, Feb. 24, 1992
The bottom line is: NWA's tracks are wasted on booty rhymes.
-----
alt.rap, Feb. 28, 1992
Yes, their lyrics are kinda booty, but the production slams!!
-----
alt.rap, Mar. 3, 1992
Basically....Sex and Violence is booty.  I guess it'll have to grow on me.
-----
alt.rap, Mar. 4, 1992
Thus, KRS-ONE's only real appeal is through rhetoric, as far as I'm
concerned.  His last four albums have been completely BOOTY.
-----
rec.music.reviews, Mar. 15, 1992
All in all, this is probably his best album. ... A bit uneven in
places, but never booty.
-----
alt.rap, Mar. 21, 1992
Record company execs often don't understand what will sell and what
won't. From what I've seen they're usually really booty people.
-----
alt.rap, Apr. 7, 1992
This just means that White folx are three years behind the cultural
curve, discovering the "down" thing two years after it has been
declared booty.
-----
alt.rap, Apr. 10, 1992
It's up to you...but the alblum is not as booty as old boy Eric would
present it.
-----
alt.rap, Apr. 11, 1992
As I was leaving I heard a black fan remark to his friend "That show was Booty!"
-----

Though the usage may have peaked in the early '90s, it lingers in
certain forms. For instance, there's "booty chatter" = 'B.S.', used in
the 2001 song "Ugly" by Bubba Sparxxx: "Cause y'all been bullshittin,
spittin that booty chatter."


--Ben Zimmer

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