By: Vincent L. Hall
Way, way down in the jungle deep
The badass lion stepped on the signifying monkey’s feet.
The monkey said, “MOFO, can’t you see?
You’re standing on my god “darned” feet!”
– The Signifyin’ Monkey by Rudy Ray Moore
Now, for those of you who are old enough to recall, Rudy Ray Moore made a name for himself by signifying, rhyming, and cussing. His ability to verbally castigate in cadence while spitting spite was unparalleled.
The “Signifyin’ Monkey” is a Black cultural classic that many Baby Boomers are familiar with.
Rudy’s prowess was evident while watching then-candidate Donald Trump foot-whip and dismember his opponents. Donald “appropriated” this Black cultural commodity we call signifying to stain his adversaries with tags that either disgrace, humiliate, or otherwise cause them to become the laughingstock.
I haven’t caved into the newfound luxury of using AI and Chat GPT as a crutch. I still read books and periodicals, and I still read people.
In the words of Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, some of our grandmothers couldn’t read, but they could read us. They had a gift!
Here’s how AI defined signifyin’ as part of our cultural demeanor.
“Signifyin’, a key element of African American culture, is a verbal strategy of indirect communication that uses irony, humor, and playfulness to convey meaning or express opinions. It involves understanding the connotative, context-bound significance of words, which is accessible only to those who share the cultural values of a given speech community. Signifyin’ is often used in playful word battles, insults, and toasts, and is considered a form of covert resistance and survival from the past.”
That’s a pretty good explanation but let me break down the process. See, when we are signifyin’, we be takin’ yo weakest, most vulnerable trait and make it a label to hang around your neck. It’s the Black “Scarlet Letter!”
Great example.
When U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett colorfully called Greg Abbott Governor Hot Wheels, she struck a nerve. Actually, there are millions of Texans of all races who call him that, she just took it to the big stage.
That ability is the only cultural nuance that Trump shares with Black folk. Him be signifyin’!
Go back and recall how he made it out of the primaries and into his second round at the presidency. Think about how he diminished his strongest contender, Marco Rubio, by insulting his height and genitalia by calling him “Little Marco.”
And that was just for starters.
Now follow this string of victims whose reputation has been tarnished or diminished. “Crooked Joe and Hillary, Lyin Ted, Liddle Adam Schiff, My Bush, Kamabla, Tampon Tim, and Low-IQ Maxine Waters”
That’s why it’s so vital that we keep the tag given to Trump by a columnist at The Financial Times. Robert Armstrong coined the term “TACO” using the acronym “Trump Always Chickens Out!”
Trump is pissed! Nothing infuriates a bully like being bullied. He doesn’t just chicken out on tariffs, he backs down on everything other than racism, hatred and his personal greed.
As the poem ends, Moore’s Signifyin’ Monkey saw his climb come to a halt when his foot missed the limb of the tree, and his “Blessed Assurance” hit the ground.
“Nothing he could see and nothing he could hear, but he knew that was the end of his BS’ing and signifyin’ career! President TACO is always appropriating and talking trash, now it’s our turn.
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.
