“Pump It” by Black Eyed Peas

Note: Reader discretion is advised. The “N” word, and other potentially-offensive language, is quoted in the lyrics below.

Black Eyed Peas is a Grammy-award winning hip-hop and pop rap group from Los Angeles, California. They are made up of William James Adam, Jr. (also known as “will.i.am”), Allan Pineda Lindo (also known as “alp.de.ap”), Jaime Luiz Gomez (also known as “Taboo”), and Stacey Ann Ferguson (also known as “Fergie”).

Black-eyed peas are a type of “soul food,” or “food traditionally eaten by African-Americans in the U.S. in “the South,” or “Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.” On the cover of their album Monkey Business, will.i.am explained why they chose the name “Black Eyed Peas” by writing it was “food for the soul,” which can mean “a band that provides nourishment for your mind or heart.”

Black Eyed Peas have sold 27 million albums and singles around the world. Each of the group’s members have different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Will.i.am, although born in Los Angeles, is of Jamaican descent. Alp.de.alp was born in the Phillipines to a Filipino mother and an African-American father. Taboo is of Mexican and Shoshone (a Native-American people) descent. Last, but definitely not least, Fergie is of Irish, Scottish, and Mexican descent.

We end the Pop Music English series with “Pump It” (2006) by Black Eyed Peas. However, in the tradition of “rap” music that this new genre of “pop rap” music comes from, the lyrics are often not grammatical and are composed of street slang, crude language, and, even, profanity. I decided to include this song, anyway, because it is obviously popular all around the world; and, as such, you might want to know what is meant by the lyrics.

“PUMP IT” (2003)

[Girl:] I thought you said the Black Eyed Peas were gonna be here.

Huh! Huh! Haaa!
Pump it!
Huh! Huh! Haaa!
And, pump it! (Louder!)
Pump it! (Louder!)
Pump it! (Louder!)
Pump it! (Louder!)

Turn up the radio.
Blast your stereo right.
Huh! Huh! Huh!

Nigga wanna hate on us. (Who?)
Niggas be envy us. (Who?)
I know why they hatin’ on us. (Why?)
‘Cause our style’s so fabulous. (What?)
I’m a be real on us. (Cool.)
Nobody got nothin’ on us. (No.)
Girls be all on us, from London back down to the U.S. (S.S.)

We rocking it. It’s (contagious.)
Monkey Business. (Outrageous.)
Just confess: Your girl admits that we the shit.

F-R-E-S-H: We fresh.
D-E-F: That’s right. We def. (Brah!)
We definite: B-E-P. We reppin’ it.
So, turn it up. (Turn it up.)
So, turn it up. (Turn it up.)

Come on, Baby, just
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)

And say: Oh oh oh oh!
Say: Oh oh oh oh!
Yo, yo!
Turn up the radio.
Blast your stereo right now. (Ho!)
This joint is fizzlin’—
It’s sizzlin’—right.

(Yo, check this out right here.)

Dude wanna hate on us. (Dude.)
Dude need to ease on up. (Dude.)
Dude wanna act on up.
But, dude get shut like flavor shut. (Shut down.)
Chick say she ain’t down.
But, chick backstage when we in town. (Hah!)

She like man on drums. (Boom.)
She wanna hit n’ run. [tire screech]
Yeah, that’s the speed.
That’s what we do.
That’s who we be.

B-L-A-C-K-E-Y-E-D-P to the E.
Then the A to the S.
When we play, you shake your ass.
(Shake it. Shake it.) Shake it, Girl.
Make sure you don’t break it, Girl.
(Cause we gonna …)

Turn it up. (Turn it up.)
Turn it up. (Turn it up.)
Turn it up. (Turn it up.)

Come on, Baby, just
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)

And say: Oh oh oh oh!
Say: Oh oh oh oh!
Yo, yo!
Turn up the radio.
Blast your stereo right now. (Ho!)
This joint is fizzlin’—
It’s sizzlin’—right.

Damn! (Damn!)
Damn! (Damn!)
Damn! (Damn!)
Damn! (Damn!)
Damn! (Damn!)

Apl.de.ap. from the Philippines,
Live and direct, rockin’ this scene,
Breakin’ on down for the b-boys
And b-girls waitin’ to do their thing.
Pump it louder. Come on.
Don’t stop. And, keep it going.
Do it. Let’s get it on. Move it.

Come on, Baby. Do it. (Ha!)

La-da-di-da-da-di-die
On the stere-ere-ere-ere-o. (Ha!)
Let those speakers blow your mind.
(Blow my mind, Baby.)
Just let it go. Let it go. (Ha!)
Here we go.
La-da-di-da-da-di-die (Come on. We’re there.)
On the rad-adi-adi-adi-o. (Ha!)
This system’s got me feel so fi-(ei-ei-ei-ei-ei)-ne.
(I’m fine. Yeah, I’m fine. And, you?)

Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)
Pump it. (Louder!)

And say: Oh oh oh oh!
Say: Oh oh oh oh!
Yo, yo!
Turn up the radio.
Blast your stereo right now. (Ho!)
This joint is fizzlin’—
It’s sizzlin’—right.

EXPLANATION OF PHRASES

1. “Pump it!”

“Pump it” usually means “move it up and down.” However, the slang verb means “give it your full strength” or “turn the volume up full.”

2. “Blast the stereo right.”

“Blast,” as a slang verb, means, again, “give it your full strength” or “turn the volume up full.” “Right” seems to be used here as an adverb to mean “correctly.”

3. “Nigga wanna hate on us.”

“Nigga” is an abbreviation of “nigger,” also known as “the ‘N’ word.” This word is considered by some individuals to be the most offensive word in the English language. It is an insulting and degrading name that racists—mostly white people in the U.S.—used to call blacks. However, some blacks still use this term amongst themselves, even referring to one another, sometimes affectionately, as niggers.

“Wanna hate on us” means “want to hate us” or “want to put their hate on us.”

4. “Niggas be envy us.”

“Be envy us” means “are envying us.” Or, this line might be “Niggas be envious,” in which case, it means “are being envious,” or “are envious.”

5. “I’m a be real on us.”

“I’m a be” means “I’m going to be.” “To be real” is slang for “to be honest” or “to be true to yourself.” So, this sentence might mean “I will tell the truth about us.”

6. “Nobody got nothin’ on us.”

“To have something on somebody” is a slang phrase that usually means “to know embarrassing or even harmful secrets about someone.” It can also mean “to have as much of something desirable—such as talent, skills, power, or valuable possessions—as somebody else.”

7. “Girls be all on us, from London back down to the U.S.”

This means “women are interested in [or mobbing] us, from London to the U.S.”

8. “We rockin’ it.”

“We rockin’ it” loosely means “we are great” but can also mean “we are doing great.” In the context of this song, it probably means “we are making great music.”

9. “It’s (contagious).”

This probably means “our music is contagious.”

10. “Monkey Business. (Outrageous.)”

“Getting into monkey business” or “monkeying around” is usually slang for “acting like fools” or “doing something unfair, deceitful, or illegal.” However, in the context of this song, it probably means the Black Eyed Peas’s fourth album, titled “Monkey Business,” on which you can find both “My Hump” and “Pump It.”

“Outrageous” is an adjective that usually means “shockingly bad.” However, as slang, it can mean “remarkably good,” which is probably what is meant here.

11. “Just confess. Your girl admits that we the shit.”

“Your girl” is slang for “your girlfriend.” Although “shit” is a slang and offensive word for “feces,” used primarily as a profanity expletive, “to be the shit” is slang for “being great in general” or “being the best at something.”

12. “F-R-E-S-H: We fresh.”

Although “fresh” was once used as slang for “flirting too strongly,” it is now used as slang for “new,” “exciting,” or “sexy.”

13. “D-E-F: That’s right. We def.” (Brah!)

“Def” is being used here as an abbreviation for “definite.” Therefore, “we def” means “we are definite.” It’s unclear if “definite,” in the context of this song, means anything more than the usual meaning of the word, which is “certain” or “sure.” “Brah” might be an exclamatory interjection with no particular meaning, used simply to mark a beat in the lyrics, like the “huh huh’s” and the “oh oh’s” in this song. Or, it might be an abbreviation for “brother,” which is slang for “friend,” “guy,” or “hey.”

14. “We definite: B-E-P. We reppin’ it.”

“B-E-P” is “Black Eyed Peas.” “We reppin’ it” is an abbreviation for “we are representing it.” “To represent” is a slang verb for “showing the best side of a people, a group, or a movement.”

15. “Come on, Baby, just …”

“Come on” is slang for “do it.” “Baby” is a term of endearment used to address loved ones, especially romantic partners.

16. “This joint is fizzlin’—”

“Joint,” as it is used here, is a slang noun that means “place.” “Fizzling” is usually a slang verb or adjective that mean “to slowly diminish in value or importance.” However, this word seems to be used here to rhyme with “sizzling,” and, in the context of this song, “fizzling” must be interpreted as something similar to “sizzling.”

17. “It’s sizzlin’—right.”

“Sizzling” is a slang verb or adjective that means “very exciting, popular, or sexy.”

18. “Yo, check this out right here.”

“Yo” is a slang noun for “hey, you.” “Check this out” is a slang phrase used to get the attention of someone, as if to say, “[Listen to/look at/feel/taste/smell] this.” Therefore, in the context of this song, “check this out right here” means “listen to the next part of this song.”

19. “Dude wanna hate on us.”

“Dude” is slang for “man,” “guy,” or “boy.” See above for “wanna hate on us.”

20. “Dude need to ease on up.”

“To ease up” means “to relax.” So, “dude need to ease on up” means “this guy needs to relax.”

21. “Dude wanna act on up.”

“To act up” means “to start a disturbance or commotion.” So, “dude wanna act on up” means “this guy wants to start some trouble.”

22. “But dude get shut like flavor shut. (Shut down.)”

“Shut like flavor shut” might mean “shut down,” based on the words immediately following that phrase, and “shut down” means “stopped.” Therefore, this sentence probably means “this guy will be stopped (by us).”

23. “Chick say she ain’t down. But, chick backstage when we in town.”

“Chick” is slang “woman” or “girl.” “Ain’t” is slang for “[am/are/is] not.” “To be down” (with or for something) is usually slang for “to support,” “to approve of (a suggestion, idea, or movement),” or “to agree with.” However, it is used here to simply mean “to like.” So, “chick say she ain’t down” means, in the context of this song “your girlfriend says she doesn’t like us.” “But, chick backstage when we in town” implies his girlfriend must be lying because she was or will be backstage with the Black Eyed Peas after a performance in town.

24. “She like man on drums. She wanna hit and run.”

“Man on drums” means “the man who plays the drums.” So, in the context of this song, the first sentence means “your girlfriend likes the man who plays the drums.” “Hit and run” usually means a car accident that involves the driver who caused the accident fleeing the scene of the accident without stopping to help in any way or leaving any information. In this song, this sentence means “your girlfriend only wants brief sexual encounters with the drummer.”

25. “Yeah, that’s the speed.”

“That’s the speed” is slang for “that’s the truth” or “that’s how things are done here.”

26. “That’s who we be.”

This means “that’s who we are” or “that’s how we are.”

27. “B-L-A-C-K-E-Y-E-D-P the to E. Then the A to the S.”

He is spelling out the name of their band and boasting about it.

28. “When we play, you shake your ass.”

“Ass” is slang for “buttocks.” “Shake your ass” can mean “move quickly.” However, in the context of this song, it means “dance.” So, this sentence means “when we play our music, you will dance.”

29. “Make sure you don’t break it, Girl.”

People said “shake it, don’t break it” about people dancing energetically. It implied either admiration for good dancing or, the opposite, ridicule for bad dancing.

30. “‘Cause we gonna … turn it up.”

This means “Because we are going to turn up the volume or speed of the music.”

31. “Alp.de.ap from the Phillipines, live and direct, rockin’ this scene.”

“Alp.de.ap” is Allan Pinedo Lindo from Black Eyed Peas introducing himself. He is from the Phillipines. “Live and direct” is another way of saying “I am right here talking to you.” “To rock a scene” means “to impress everyone present,” usually by dancing, singing, or playing music.

32. “Breakin’ on down for the b-boys and the b-girls waitin’ to do their thing.”

“To break it down” is usually slang for “to explain it slowly” or “to explain it in a step-by-step process.” However, in the context of hip-hop music, it means “to slow the tempo, beat, or rythym of the music.” “B-boys and b-girls” means “break-boys and break-girls” or “people who love hip-hop, especially breakdancing.” “To do your thing” means “to do the thing you are known to have special talent in doing.” So, the entire sentence means “I am slowing the beat of the music to let the breakdancers start breakdancing to this song.”

33. “Let’s get it on.”

In the 1960s and 1970s, “to get it on” was slang for “to have sex.” However, this expression has evolved to mean, more generally, “let’s do this.”

34. “La-da-di-da-da-di-die”

“La-di-da” is nonlyrical singing along to a tune, similar to humming.

35. “On the stere-ere-ere-ere-o.”

This is a sentence fragment saying only, “on the stereo.”

36. “Let those speakers blow your mind. (Blow my mind, Baby.)”

“Speakers,” as used here, are “loudspeakers” that transmit sound, such as music being played live or on the radio. “To blow someone’s mind” is slang for “to shock someone,” often in a pleasurable or positive way.

37. “Just let it go. Let it go.”

“To let go” is slang for “relax and enjoy” the music or other new pleasurable experience.

38. “Here we go. … (Come on. We’re there.)”

“Here we go” is slang for “we are starting” or “it’s starting.” “Come on” can mean “come along” or can be a slang command for “hurry” or “be quick.” “We’re there” means “we have arrived at our destination.

39. “On the rad-adi-adi-adi-o.”

This is a sentence fragment saying only, “on the radio.”

40. “This system’s got me feel so fi-(ei-ei-ei-ei-ei)-ne.”

“This system” might be referring to the song, the stereo system, or the radio. Hence, this sentence might mean “this song has me feeling so fine.”

41. “And, you?”

“And, you?” is an abbreviated form of the question, “And, how about you?”

CONCLUSION

We began our lessons in Pop Music English words and usage by studying the lyrics of three popular songs from from the 1960s: “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. Then, from the the 1970s, we studied the following three pop hits: “Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennille, “Dancing Queen” by Abba, and “Emotion” by Samantha Sang.

Next, we moved to the 1980s with “Flashdance, What a Feeling!” by Irene Cara, “True” by Spandau Ballet, and “Holiday” by Madonna. Then, we entered the 1990s and 2000s with “Vogue” by Madonna and “Get the Party Started” by Pink. Finally, we ended this entire series with “Pump It” by Black Eyed Peas.

I hope you enjoyed this Pop Music series of Easy Steps to Success with English, which, I admit, were not so easy, but, I hope, at least, fun. These lessons also included a lot of information about American culture, pop icons, and slang phrases. Keep studying English using whatever methods inspire you because the more you enjoy the means of studying a subject, the more you will study it. If you like music, use music. If you movies, use movies. Be awesome! Be your own hero!

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