Street-Conscious Copula Variation in the Hip Hop Nation

In 1994 when hip hop artist Guru rapped about Black street speech— what he called “the code of the streets”—he did so with outright defiance to a standard language ideology that stifles those without access to formal education. His rhymes, as it has been said of all rap lyrics, constituted more than just a resistance discourse; they created a context where issues of identity and in-group solidarity took center stage (Spady and Eure 1991). Guru fiercely rapped that he was never afraid to let loose his speech, because his brothas knew that he spit ‘rapped ’ the code of the streets. In this proclamation—as with the lyrics of many socially conscious Hip Hop artists (Smitherman 2000a)—Guru attempts to resist the dominant culture with words—but he ain’t gon do it alone. He and his brothas are rappin in a code of communication that reflects both the ideational and the material aspects of what has come to be known as Hip Hop Culture.1 Kickin ‘speak-ing in rhyme ’ the code of the streets is essential to the notion of a Hip Hop Nation (HHN).