[Ads-l] Antedating of "Props" (Due Respect)

[Ben Zimmer]

I let Matt Kohl know about this discussion, and he's revised the entry for
"props" on his site. The 1988 Biz Markie example is gone, and the 1989
example from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince is now dated as Oct. 17, 1989.

https://therightrhymes.com/props/

On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 12:53 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Here are a few examples of "props" from rap songs released in 1989:
>
> ---
> 1989 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, "Jeff Waz On The Beat Box"
> But straight up, man, you gotta give him his props
> ---
> 1989 Freddie Foxxx, "Stop, Look & Listen"
> Kill your brain, give you no props
> ---
> 1989 Freddie Foxxx, "The Master"
> Come strong, and you might get props, son
> ---
>
> Via Matt Kohl's site The Right Rhymes: https://therightrhymes.com/props/
>
> The site gives the release date of "Jeff Waz On The Beat Box" as Apr. 17,
> 1989, but that might be an error. The song was on DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
> Prince's album "And in This Corner..." released on Oct. 17, 1989. (It was
> also on the B-side of the "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" 12", released
> around the same time.)
>
> https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/d_j-jazzy-jeff-and-the-fresh-prince/and-in-this-corner/
>
> The two Freddie Foxxx songs are from his album "Freddie Foxxx Is Here,"
> released on Oct. 13, 1989.
>
> https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/freddie-foxxx/freddie-foxxx-is-here-2/
>
> The Right Rhymes also lists a purported example from 1988, Biz Markie's
> "Make The Music With Your Mouth, Biz." (Some sites date the song to a 1986
> EP.) A line from the song is transcribed as "It's not all the props,
> spittin', breathin hard, and doin." That transcription appears to come from
> the Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive:
> https://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/bizmark/goin_off/make_msc.biz.txt
>
> But on Genius, that line is transcribed as "It's not all about spittin',
> breathin' hard and chewin'."
> https://genius.com/Biz-markie-make-the-music-with-your-mouth-biz-lyrics
>
> From a quick listen, the Genius version seems to be correct.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t1zgmjBRjA&t=152s (at 2:32)
>
> --bgz
>
> On Wed, May 13, 2026 at 7:14 AM Shapiro, Fred <
> 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
>> props (OED 1990)
>>
>> 1989 Chicago Metro News 3 June 4 (GenealogyBank)
>>
>> In a school system 65 percent Black, no one can expect the Black
>> community to sit back and watch the superintendency snatched away and,
>> secondly, Dr. Byrd should be given all his props and allowed to compete for
>> his own job in the same manner that other candidates will.
>>
>> Fred Shapiro
>>
>>

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