Ratchet women persisted as a stereotype in the 2010s. Ratchet can be used like the slang ghetto, a term which can slur Black people.īitches really be mad that you not ghetto and ratchet like them.😂 bitches can’t even want more for themselves without y’all saying somebody “stuck up” “fake boujie” It has been particularly slung at Black women considered uneducated and whorish, accused of doing things like “hitting the club when pregnant.”Ĭity girls really bring the ratchet side of me out o- Nuskiii😝 December 10, 2018

Ratchet, as noted, was and still sometimes is used to insult women. It can also be considered positive or ironic, especially when used by women of women. It’s important to note that ratchet, depending on user and context, can be considered sexist or racist.

In 2018, Drake also released a song “Ratchet Happy Birthday” on Side B of his Scorpion album. They also noted that the hip-hop slang developed positive connotations, like cool or fierce.Ĭomedy duo Emmanuel and Phillip Hudson released a 2013 video titled “Ratchet Girl Anthem,” where the pair impersonate two, classless ratchet girls judging other ratchets. Many in the media called 2012 the year of the ratchet. ” In 2012, Nicki Minaj used it on her “Right By Side” as did Juicy J on his “Bandz a Make Her Dance” and LL Cool J on his “Ratchet”: “She’s so ratchet, she’s so ratchet / But she’s so bad we could throw cash at it.” Ratchet was notably used by Rapper Lil Boosie in his 2005 song “Do Da Ratchet.

It was especially used for a woman considered promiscuous or trashy. Ratchet may have originated in Shreveport, Louisiana, lovingly nicknamed Ratchet City. Rappers from there were using ratchet in songs since the late 1990s, based on a regional pronunciation of wretched. Another theory for its origin is that ratchet comes from ratchet up, or “bringing something up in intensity.”Ĭalling someone ratchet has historically meant you think they have no class and lack a proper upbringing but they don’t know it (e.g., trashy).

Ratchet urban dictionary image