RAP GLOSSARY: You can’t tell the players...

RAP GLOSSARY: You can’t tell the players without a score card and you can’t talk the talk unless you know the local slang. Hanging around the Music Factory, we heard an assortment of hip-hop argot that was completely alien to Pop Eye’s West Coast ears. Here’s an update on the latest New York rap patois, courtesy of Lynch and Dante Ross, a former Rush Management staffer who now helps book rap tours for GTI, the leading black music booking agency.

Monster cables (also see dukie rope) : huge gold chains (worn by most rap fashion plates).

Really dope (also see fat) : Very cool.

Really hype : Better than dope.

Bumps: Cute girls.

Not goin’ out like a roach: No one’s going to take me for a sucker.

He’s gettin’ real expensive: Very successful.

They’re lampin’: Someone who’s very hip (has replaced chillin’).

Who’s riffin’? : A retort--who’s got a problem?

It’s the monkeys: Really awful or great, depending on the usage.

He’s real bugged: Someone who’s wild or crazy, but in a good way.

We’re in effect: Hanging out, having a good time.

He’s gettin’ paid: Someone who’s just had a hit, who’s hot.

Look at those Gumby s : Rap fans who wear their hair like the Gumby cartoon character, with the sides shaved (a fadeaway ) and the top high in the air, but tilted to one side.