20 iconic slang words from Black Twitter that shaped pop culture

20 iconic slang words from Black Twitter that shaped pop culture

If you're not a Black American, there was likely a time when you didn't know what "tea" meant—and no shade, you're likely not alone. It's only in recent years that slang words and phrases from Black culture began to spread into pop culture across demographics. Suddenly, young people from all races and backgrounds are using distinctly Black slang without knowing its true origin.

African American Vernacular English, or Black American English, is one of America's greatest sources of linguistic creativity, and social media has played a pivotal role in how words like "pressed" went from obscurity to mainstream. Much of this occurred on Twitter (since renamed X), where a community popularly known as "Black Twitter" made its mark