Strong Island

English edit

Etymology edit

While the exact date of the coinage is unknown, there are several claimants in the 1980's it was coined as a hip hop music term for Long Island. From Newsday: "To boost local black pride, Chuck D and the other WBAU DJs dubbed the Island Strong Island and gave special names to the emerging hip-hop strongholds."^[1]

Pronunciation edit

Audio (AU) (file)

Proper noun edit

Strong Island

(slang) Long Island in New York.^[2]
- 2007. Strong Island Underground, New York Times, Sept. 30, 2007:
  Not for nothing do bodybuilders and rappers brag and swagger about living on “Strong Island.”

Usage notes edit

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the "Strong Island Boys" were a mostly white, middle class "gang" or "posse" which tried to emulate the mostly minority gangs they saw in New York City.^[3]

The "Strong Island Sound", a US Basketball Association expansion team, uses Strong Island as part of its name. Its name is a play on the Long Island Sound.

References edit

^ Sounding Off in Suburbia: For its pop musicians, Long Island is a place to love, lambaste or leave. But it sets the creative juices flowing, Newsday, accessed June 1, 2006.
^ Rap Dictionary (part 3 of 4), dated May 1, 2004
^ “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], 2006 October 18 (last accessed), archived from the original on 22 August 2006

[1] Sounding Off in Suburbia: For its pop musicians, Long Island is a place to love, lambaste or leave. But it sets the creative juices flowing, Newsday, accessed June 1, 2006.

[2] Rap Dictionary (part 3 of 4), dated May 1, 2004

[3] “Archived copy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], 2006 October 18 (last accessed), archived from the original on 22 August 2006

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