Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Chin-Up, Dap , or Dap+Pat?

In a public setting (i.e. college campus) you are bound to see a lot of people. Most of these people consist of those who are your friends; who are not your friends, but you know them from that one party; people you hoop with, but don't really talk to; and people you don't want to know so you keep them at a distance. So when should you dap someone up? When should you just do a chin-up? When is there a mutual understanding between two men that lets each other know the extent of their relationship?

Lets start with the mutual long-distance acknowledgment/greeting.

Chin-Up: the slight nod of your chin upwards to say "wassup" without the use of words. Often times the words "what's good" or "whats up" may be uttered softly to indicate that you know each other.
USED WHEN: You and the receiver (pause) are either going in different directions or are too far apart from each other and mutually do not want to go out of ones way in order to physically make contact. Also use when you are multi-tasking(on the phone) and do not want to expend too much energy acknowledging their presence.


Dap: the physical connection through a brief hand lock to show a notable relationship and acknowledgment. Usually, a dap is accompanied by a vocal "what's good?" "how you livin?" "wassup" and could even involve a chin-up as well. When approaching a group of people whom you may know most of, but are unfamiliar with a few, dappin up each person is very acceptable. Also, after hooping with people, even if you didn't get their names, it's a courtesy to dap em' up too. This shows sportsmanship and good character even though they may have been the reason why you lost. It is important to note that when walking more than an arms length away from your acquaintance, committing to a mutual dap is key.

USED WHEN: you are in close proximity of someone you know and care to show love for. When you are about to exit the conversation or vicinity.

Slide+Pound: This is the white person and sometimes-Hispanic version of the dap. It consists of sliding the palms off of each other followed by a quick fist pound. When a non Slide-Pounder is approached by a Slide-Pounder it can make for a bit of an awkward situation. Both persons want to perform their respected greetings, but the dap does not work in sync with the slide+pound. There have been reports that "bros" are so set on completing a full Slide+Pound that when greeted by a Dap, in which interferes with the Slide Pound, that the "bro" will naturally perform the Slide+Pound AGAIN. In these cases there has been two handshakes for one greeting....OD!

Dap + Pat: The utmost respectful of greetings. Performed mostly to ones of older age or authority(mentors, teachers, music artists). The combination of a well connected dap followed with a pat on the shoulder with the opposite hand shows respect and/or the fact that you just happy to the see the person. Just because you don't do the dap+pat, it doesn't mean you don't respect the receiver, but it could be that you see the person often and it's unnecessary to exert that much effort.

USED WHEN: you want to show 'love' for someone or when you want to congratulate someone on a good job.

So next time you see a homie, what are YOU gonna do?

- Inglish

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