In the best musical news story of the year, it has emerged that Rostam Batmanglij, the keyboardist with Ivy League worldbeat hipsters Vampire Weekend not only has the word "Batman" in his actual name, but quite literally defined "crunk". On an internship at the Oxford English Dictionary! Before he formed the band he spent the summer writing the actual definition of the musical form, along with the entries for "mash-up" and "partyfoul". Not only that, he reveals that his former boss sent him an email shortly after the band's debut album was released. "I for one do give a fuck about an Oxford Comma". Genuis. Here's his handiwork:
CRUNK, adj. and n.(2)
A. adj. Exciting or fun; (of a person) extremely energized or excited, esp. as a result of listening to (usually hip-hop or rap) music. Freq. in to get (it) crunk and variants.
1995 Totally Unofficial Rap-Dictionary (
Bi-weekly Posting, part 1/2)
in
rec.music.hip-hop (Usenet newsgroup) 1 Dec.,
Crunk,..Hype, phat. ‘Tonight is going to be crunk.’
1996 J. D
UPRI et al. Tonite's tha Night (song, perf. ‘Kriss Kross’) in Hip-hop & Rap (2003) 422 We came here to party. Gitty crunk, get drunk, and leave your house with somebody. 2000 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 24 Feb. 9
JD, We were just too krunk (too fired up) for that..game. 2002 Vibe July 26/2 They were urban-music feminists: sexy, beautiful, strong women who..stood up for their rights, got it crunk on the dance floor, and educated people about safe sex.
2004 Philadelphia Feb. 64/2 Get crunk with some raw hip-hop.
B. n.2 A style of hip-hop or rap music originating in the American South, characterized by repeatedly shouted catch phrases and elements usually found in electronic dance music, such as prominent bass, handclaps, and beeping or buzzing synthesizer noises. Freq. attrib.
2000 So, why do we all listen to what we Do? in
rec.music.hip-hop (Usenet Newsgroup) 12 Mar., For me, crunk and most southern beats are horrible.
2002 Indianapolis Recorder (Nexis) 17 May 1 Shorti Short Kut's music style is a blend of West Coast hip-hop mixed with the energy of the East Coast and down South Krunk music.
2004 Observer 21 Mar. (Rev. section) 13/2 ‘Yeah’, is a revelation. Featuring rapper Ludacris, ‘crunk’ bawler Lil' John, booty bass and an irresistible, acid-hued hook, it is one of the best singles of the year so far.
2005 New Statesman 7 Mar. 43/3 Crunk (combining ‘crazy’ and ‘drunk’) is a supposedly new hip-hop sub-genre that prizes hedonism, bling and no-brainer party rhythms over all else.
If its a choice between gettin' low down and dirty or dancin' to harvard nerds bring on tha crunk juice yo!
Posted by: Lil' John | 05/03/2008 at 05:23 PM