English Insights

Welcome to the English Insights page!

Here you’ll find some advanced tips and tricks for perfect contributions. Nothing here contradicts our Writing Guidelines, so remember to stay up to date with them too. Think of the Insights as English transcription issues which are specialized and niche enough to deserve their own space; a supplement to the guidelines for our most committed and dedicated contributors!

Extended Guidelines

Ever had a question about lyrics contribution that's not covered in the Writing Guidelines? The Extended Guidelines are community-built and provide an extra depth that's bound to clear up all of your doubts. Check them out!

Brand Love

It's very common for artists to give 'shout-outs' to their favorite brands in their songs. This is great for them, as they can show off how much money they have, and great for the brands as they get free advertisement, but it can be tricky for us if we don't know the brand already. To help out, here's a list of commonly used brand names in songs.

Cars	Drinks	Clothing/Accessories
Rolls-Royce	Hennessy (Cognac)	Gucci
Cadillac (Cadi)	Patrón (Tequila)	Prada
Ferrari	Grey Goose (Vodka)	Louis Vuitton (Louis/Louis V)
Lamborghini	Jack Daniels (Whiskey)	Red Tops
Chevrolet	Cîroc (Vodka)	Balenciaga
Mercedes-Benz (Benz)	Dom Pérignon - (Champagne)	Rolex
Bentley	Cristal (Champagne)	Jordans
Porsche	Mumm (Champagne)	Versace
BMW Car (Bimmer)		Adidas (Addies) (Addy can also be used to mean 'Email')
BMW Motorbike (Beamer)

British Bits and Bobs

English is a very diverse language and as English contributors we’re lucky to be able to hear songs from all over the world. Some of these songs, however, can be pretty tricky, as they use English in ways we may not be used to. Songs in British English can be difficult for American or second language speakers of English, and so we’ve decided to prepare a list of common British specific slang for reference when needed.

Word	Meaning	Example
Aggy	Angry, aggressive	“You’re being bare aggy”
Baccy	Tobacco	“Got any baccy?”
Bait	Glaringly obvious	“I know you like me, look at how bait you’re being”
Bare	A lot of	“There’s bare people here”“I’m bare tired”
Bevvy	Alcoholic drink - short for beverage	“Met her at the club then took her for a bevvy”
Bruv	Brother (‘Bro’ in American slang)	"You alright, bruv? What’s up?"
Chat	Used as noun to mean good at talking (specifically to a date)	“I’ve got the money, I’ve got the chat”
Chav	Derogatory term, usually for a young, lower-class person.	“Yeah, he’s fit, but he’s a little bit chavvy”
Chuffed	To be extremely happy/proud	“I’m well chuffed with that!”
Cuppa	Cup of tea	“Fancy a cuppa, mum?” (Remember, ‘mum’ instead of ‘mom’)
Fag	Cigarette (in this context it’s not offensive)	“Mate, I need a fag”
Fit	Attractive (not only in shape)	“He’s well fit” “Look at that fitty over there”
Grafting	Equivalent of ‘Hitting on’ - trying to gain the attention of a desired partner OR trying to make something up to an existing partner	“Stacy is well pissed with me, I’m gonna have to graft all day”
Gutted	To be extremely disappointed - opposite of chuffed	“I’m proper gutted we lost the football last night”
Innit	Short for ‘Isn’t it’ - used to seek confirmation	“You heard this song, bruv?”“Yeah mate, good innit?”
Mugging someone off	To disrespect someone. To make someone look stupid/pathetic. Also used as noun (to be a mug) or an adjective (muggy)	“You’ve proper mugged me off” “You’ve made me look like Sa mug now” “Mate, that’s proper muggy”
Peng	Attractive	“She’s peng, bruv”
Pint	Used to mean ‘Beer’, usually Lager specifically	“Can I have a pint please mate?”
Piss	Urine/Urinate	“I need a piss"
Take the piss	Making fun of someone in a harmless manner OR disrespecting someone	“Don’t get upset, mate, I’m just takin’ the piss!” “Nah, it’s not funny, you’re takin’ the piss now”
To be pissed	Either to be drunk, or to be angry”	“You’ve pissed me off”
Quid	Pound - currency	“Ticket to Madrid, only cost me 20 quid”
Racket	Noise	“I’m ready to party, ready to make a racket”
Shag	To have sex with	“Goin’ out to town, lookin’ for a shag”
Sick / Bangin’ / Mint	‘Good’	“Yo, that’s sick, mate!”
Slag / Sket	Derogatory term for a female - connotations of sexual promiscuity	“She’s a slag, she’s a sket, the worst girl I’ve ever met”
Trackies	Track-suit	“Walkin’ ‘round in her trackies”
Wasteman	Someone you don’t respect - connotations of laziness	He ain’t got no ambition, he a wasteman
(In order of severity) Tipsy, Wobbly, Pissed, Hammered, Smashed, Plastered, Sloshed, Trolleyed	Drunk (almost any noun can be used to describe a very drunk person by adding ‘ed’ to the end of it)	“Did you see Dave last night? Mate he was absolutely leathered”

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list, but it's a good place to start if you're having trouble deciphering a word. We've also got a British Content Editor, Tim, so you can feel free to contact him via Slack should you need further help.

Nigerian Slang

Many Nigerian songs are counted as English in our catalogue but feature some pretty heavy slang that not all English speakers will recognize. Here's a list of some of the most commonly occurring words to help you out in such cases:

Word	Meaning	Example
Sapa	Hunger or broke-ness	we are facing a sapa problem
Lamba	False information / lie	I don give am lamba / all she told me was lamba
Kolo	Crazy / insane	I dey kolo for your love
Lepa	A slim person	I met this lepa girl at the club
Kayamata	A sort of love potion	I believe she used kayamata for her boyfriend
Banana	Penis	she said she wants my banana
Wahala	Trouble/Problem	I don enter wahala/ This project is giving me too much wahala
Wetin / weytin	What	Weytin dey happen?

As with the British slang, this list is not exhaustive, but you can always reach out to our Nigerian community on the Slack channel for further help!

Piece ah Patois

Songs from Jamaica also make their way onto the English list and can be very difficult to decipher for many users. The general advice is to leave Patois songs for those who can complete them confidently, but here's a list of some words and terms to keep an ear open for:

Word	Meaning	Example
Likkle more	See you later	Mi see you likkle more den
Wah gwaan	What’s up?	Wah gwaan felicia?
Weh yuh a seh	How are you doing/where have you been?	Weh yuh a seh Tobi? Mi look fi yuh a long time
‘Pon	Upon	Look ‘pon mi now
‘Member	Remember	‘Member Jah is watching you
Gi’	Give	Gi’ dem
Lef’	Left	Mi lef’ the gun
Hol’	Hold	Hol’ a vibe
Iration	Creation	Jah Iration
Cah/becah	‘Cause/because	Cah mi unh give up/becah mi unh give up
Haffi	Have to	Haffi give thanks and praises
Nuff	Enough	Nuff a dem badmind
Dutty	Dirty	Get away with yuh dutty mind
Pickney	A toddler/a child	Mi member when I was a pickney
Likkle	Little	Got to have likkle patience
Bakkle	Battle	Mi dey ‘pon di bakkle field
Woulda	Would have	Who woulda think of it?