NBC Findings Show Black Language at the Center of Modern Slang Trends as Appropriation Conversations Continue
There is a noticeable shift happening in how language is used, shared, and repurposed in real time. From the N-word to everyday slang to political terms like “woke,” language rooted in Black American culture continues to move into the mainstream, often without the same understanding of its history or meaning.
Black American culture has long shaped what is considered influential, from music and fashion to speech and expression. “Black American culture has always been one of America’s greatest exports, particularly throughout the 20th century,” said Mark Anthony Neal, a scholar of African American studies.
That influence extending beyond aesthetics has now become a part of how people communicate.
In a recent NBC article about how Black culture is shaping Gen Z slang, terms now widely used across social media and everyday conversation, including “rizz,” “cap,” “lit,” and “drip,” have origins in African American Language, also known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Linguists emphasize that AAVE is not informal or incorrect speech, but a structured dialect developed over generations, shaped by history, culture, and resilience. As these words become more widely used, critics point to a pattern in which their origins are often overlooked or erased.
That tension becomes more pronounced with words that carry weight.
From AAVE to “Woke,” Black Language Is Being Repackaged for Everyone Else
In more recent discussions, the word “woke,” originally rooted in AAVE term “stay woke”, which referred to awareness of social injustices, racial threats, and political realities within Black communities. Over time, it expanded during movements like Black Lives Matter to encompass broader social awareness.
Today, the term has been repurposed in political discourse by Republicans and MAGA supporters as a pejorative, often detached from its original meaning and used to criticize progressive policies or cultural shifts.
At the same time, the term continues to evolved even within progressive spaces. What some have labeled “dark woke,” or “woke 2.0,” reflects a more aggressive communication style, where traditional restraint is replaced with direct confrontation, meme culture, and public callouts aimed at countering conservative messaging.
The evolution of “woke” highlights how a term rooted in the Black American experience can shift across outside cultural and political lines, taking on new meanings that move further from its original context.
The N-word remains one of the most complex examples. Inseparable from its origins and derogatory use, yet its mainstream presence through hip-hop and rap has contributed to its normalization, at times creating a perceived “license” for use beyond the Black community.
Black Language Became Trendy, But Its History Didn’t
Within that context, its use operates differently. In group, it can reflect endearment or cultural identity. Out of group, it can carry the weight of its original harm or culture appropriation.
This distinction in usage, rooted in context, is frequently disregarded, driving the repurposing of these terms without acknowledgment of their origins, a pattern seen in the rise of Gen Z AAVE slang, the evolution in the term “woke”, and N-word use in music debate.
This reality is not new. The expressions created within the Black community have long been criticized or labeled as improper can be- packaged to the right consumer, from an anti-DEI/Woke supporter to an AAVE-using Gen Z audience- repurposed, monetized, and widely adopted as something else.
As the new generation continues the appropriation cycle, the question is no longer whether Black culture will influence the mainstream, but how this dilution of language and meaning will continue to affect the Black community.
