In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re highlighting some of the masterful word choices that exemplify music’s most language-loving genre.

🎤 My Pop told me be your own boss
Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez, Mississippi
Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin' busy
Bridging the gap, from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track

Nas, "Bridging the Gap (feat. Olu Dara)" (Street's Disciple, 2004, Columbia Records)

✏️ Honor suggests that you have a strong sense of what’s right and that you act accordingly. Having integrity is very similar. Describing someone as having integrity particularly suggests that they stick to their moral principles, even when the personal cost of doing so is very high.

Tune in to tomorrow’s Synonym of the Day for a perfect word choice from a track by Salt-N-Pepa.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re highlighting some of the masterful word choices that exemplify music’s most language-loving genre.

🎤 Now tell me your philosophy
On exactly what an artist should be.
Should they be someone with prosperity
And no concept of reality?

Lauryn Hill, “Superstar” (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998, Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records)

✏️ While success broadly refers to the accomplishment of one’s goals, prosperity is often used more specifically to refer to a flourishing or thriving condition, especially in relation to financial status and material gain. The word prosperity is usually used positively, but a person can have prosperity without necessarily feeling like they’ve achieved success—or happiness.

Tune in to tomorrow’s Synonym of the Day for a perfect word choice from a track by Nas.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re highlighting some of the masterful word choices that exemplify music’s most language-loving genre.

🎤 Again, respect, I come correct
The rhymes I select are nothing short of perfect
Vernacular's pure and I can ensure
Life or death with my breath, my voice is a cure

Kool Moe Dee, “How Ya Like Me Now” (How Ya Like Me Now, 1987, Jive Records)

✏️ The word vernacular is often used to refer to a distinct form of a given language used by a certain group or that is specific to a particular place. Vernacular indicates that the language being used has unique qualities that set it apart from all of other forms of the language.

Tune in to tomorrow’s Synonym of the Day for a perfect word choice from a track by Lauryn Hill.

In the meantime, learn why word love is the beating heart of hip-hop: