Why Do Rappers Say Opps In Their Songs
Many fans who listen to rap music often ask Why Do Rappers Say Opps In Their Songs? The answer is simple, this word is street and rap slang used majorly by those within urban communities.
A rapper’s favorite term to refer to their rivals or opponents is the word “opps” or “Op.” Opposition is referred to by the acronym “Opp,” which has been used in hip-hop since the 1980s, especially in songs like LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” from 1985.
However, the use of the shortened “opp” in hip-hop lyrics is relatively new. Mentions were in the dozens from 2011 to 2015, but they skyrocketed into the hundreds after 2016—likely as a result of the drill music scene in Chicago.
The song “John Madden” by Chicago rapper Chief Keef featured the first lyrical reference in 2011.
Rappers from the Windy City, many of whom lost their lives in Chicago’s ongoing gang violence, predominated use of the word “opp” from 2012 to 2014.
People in their own communities, rather than just online trolls, were the “opps” for artists like Lil JoJo. Therefore, even though Chicago isn’t the only music scene with a violent scene, the term has come to represent a culture that has real-world repercussions.
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The Ops – Urban Dictionary
Why do rappers say opps in their songs? As mentioned earlier the word “OPPs” can also be spelled “Ops” both refer to the same thing. The urban dictionary describes the “Ops” as the opposition, opponent, the opposing party; in short, the enemy.
An example of how to use this word in a sentence would be “Don’t trust him, he hangs out with the ops.” or “Don’t get caught slippin’ by the opps.”
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Who Are Rappers’ Main Opps
It’s important to note that not all rappers have “opps”. There are many rappers that don’t have any contention with other rappers, and because of it they are able to run their rap careers smoothly without getting into any violence.
On the other hand there are rappers that come from gangs, or are connected to gangs and because of it have many “ops”. The majority of rappers that yell in their songs “I’ll kill my opps” are the ones that have tension with rival gang members from other neighborhoods.
This hate and tension leaks into their music and videos and is used to mock the rival gang. The rival gang not to be out done, responds with their own music and videos, and the cycle continues until they happen to see each other on the street. When that happens guns are drawn and you know how the story ends.
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What Are Opps In Drill Music
The term “opps” is frequently used in Drill music from street rappers referring to their enemies. Well, what is Drill music? Drill music is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in Chicago streets in the early 2010s.
It is sonically similar to the trap music subgenre and lyrically similar to the gangsta rap subgenre. There is Chicago Drill music, which is the original birth place of this sub-genre, and there is also U.K. Drill, which surfaced in 2012.
The most recent type of Drill music is Brooklyn Drill. It is exploding in Brooklyn New York, and causing a lot violence between gang members. So much so that Mayor Eric Adams wants to ban the music from being played in New York, and any social media platform.
This type of rap music is extremely violent and is mostly used to promote neighborhood gangs, and to call out or mock any opposition.
Popular Drill Music Artists
- Chief Keef
- G Herbo
- Lil Durk
- Pop Smoke (Deceased)
- King Von (Deceased)
- Fivio Foreign
- Kay Flock
- Sheff G
- 22 Gz
- Bizzy Banks
- Lil Reese
- Digga D
- Fredo Santana
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T.I. Oddly Says The Word Opps Comes From Call of Duty
Rap legend T.I. surprised and confused everyone when he said in an interview that rappers got the term “Opps” from a popular video game Call of Duty.
He was basically trying to say that rap music didn’t invent the word “opps” society is trying to push that word onto us as a way of saying everything that is bad, violent, and evil comes from rap music.
Although I understand where he was coming from, he is wrong about the word “opps” coming from a video game. The word Black Op in the video game Call of Duty stands for Black Operations not opponent.
Conclusion
This concludes my article on “why do rappers say opps in their songs?” Hopefully you gained more understanding about the slang term, who uses it and where it came from. See you on the next article, and don’t forget to share this article on all your social media pages!
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