drip (original) (raw)

If you have the drip, it means you have swagger, especially in how you look. You’re hot. You’re cool. You’re on point. You’ve got the sauce. You’re, you know, [insert “awesome” slang term here].

Drip appears to be a metaphor: You’re dripping with money, designer clothes, or confidence. Or as Bruno Mars sang on his January 2018 “Finesse (Remix)” with Cardi B: “We out here drippin’ in finesse /
It don’t make no sense.”

Its origin is disputed, including among rappers. The hip-hop blog HipHopDX claims that the word originates in the 2000s Atlanta rap scene while a 2018 Urban Dictionary entry argues it comes from early 2010s Jersey City, New Jersey slang. However, it might also be a teen TV show from the late 2000s, Zoey 101, that introduced dripping as slang for “cool.”

Ima say this one time only ! I Don’t Give a Flying Fucc about The Word DRIP ! Or Who ever say Dey created it ! BuT I make HITS and i really put dat Shit On 🤷🏾‍♂️ No Capp !

— Yung Gunna (@1GunnaGunna) October 21, 2018

The drip was popularized by the rapper who herself we’ve already seen dripping: Cardi B. Her 2018 hit “Drip” drips with rapper bravado: “Came through drippin’ (drip drip) / Diamonds on my wrist, they drippin’ (ice).”