What Is This Shiznit?

Somewhere in the past month, hip-hop/urban vocabulary became the new thing for companies, news anchors, and any other person who desperately wants to demonstrate that they’re “hip” with the teenagers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the continued development of the English language, but this is a load of shiznit that the vernacular could do without.

This stuff sounds like some kind of pig-latin for morons. Just look at the words: Shiznit. Hizzouse. Nizzle. Heck, some of the words don’t even have a real definition, just look at dizzle.

Now, I’m all for expanding the use of the letter “z” in the English language, if for no other reason than additional legitimate uses of “z” could boost my Scrabble score, should I ever actually choose to play the game. But if there’s one thing the black community doesn’t need, it’s yet another white boy or company ripping off black culture in a vain attempt to look cool, make money or get laid.

On the other hand, I might have just passed the point where youth culture, and companies’ desperate desire to profit from it, no longer makes sense to me. Oh God, at twenty-eight I can no longer relate to teenagers! Yes! I’m old!