ghetto pass

n. figurative or literal approval from Black Americans or the hip-hop music community (of a non-Black person or a now-successful Black person); the street cred of someone known for keeping it real. Subjects: English, United States, Hip-Hop

Etymological Note: This term was popularized by, if not coined in, the song “True to the Game” from the 1991 album Death Certificate by the hip-hop performer Ice Cube.

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Citations: 1991 Ice Cube Death Certificate (song) (Nov. 5) “True to the Game”: House nigga scum/Give something back to the place where you made it from/Before you end up broke/Fuck around and get your ghetto pass revoked. 1993 Vahe Gregorian St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Mo.) (June 14) “Open-Field Hits: Cox Tackles Tough Subjects” p. 3C: It’s like Ice Cube says: “You’re going to get your ghetto pass revoked.” 1994 Paul Beatty Next: Young American Writers on the New Generation (May 1) p. 48: Born and raised in the ‘hood, Todd didn’t need a Ghetto Pass or a black Family Circle Seal of Approval. 1995 Rebecca Edby Walker To Be Real (Oct. 1) p. 128: The first time I saw Latifah in person, I left my feminism and classical political theory class early so that I could hear her speak over the electric fence between a (white) feminism that many Harvard students and faculty wanted to hear her advocate, and a (black) womanism that the nebulous B-Boy council and many black students needed her to defend so that she could retain her ghetto pass. 1997 [Akiem Allah] Usenet: rec.music.hip-hop (Mar. 11): I never thought ice cube would give up his Ghetto Pass. 2004 Brian Smith Metro Times (Detroit, Mich.) (Dec. 12) “Champ’s town”: We gave Kid Rock his ghetto pass. We’re black, all about the love.

Posted 15 Dec 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend