The Cultural Identity Associated with African American English

American hip hop group OutKast uses African American English in their song “Elevators” to emphasize the cultural identity associated with AAE.

African American English (AAE) has a rich history of development, though scholars cannot seem to agree on its origin. Its features can be connected to English, West African languages, and some Caribbean Creole English varieties. Despite the disagreement on its origins, one idea remains clear: AAE follows its own system of rules, categorizing it as an English dialect with its own cultural identity.

There are features of AAE that OutKast uses in their song lyrics. John Rickford discusses elements like changes in pronunciation of th, deletion of final consonant sounds, and dropping b, d, and g at the front of auxiliary verbs. He also recognizes the use of invariant be, as in “we be goin to work every night”, in cases of habitual action. 

In “Elevators”, for example, OutKast writes: “Now, everyday we look up at the ceilin' / Watchin' ceilin' fans go around tryin' ta catch that feelin'”, demonstrating a deleted ending consonant g.

These AAE rules highlight its role as a dialect rather than the view that it is an incorrect, uneducated manner of speaking. In the cartoon below, this inaccurate assumption is demonstrated by a woman attempting to teach "proper English" instead of AAE.

This cartoon represents the incorrect perspective that

Mainstream American English is "proper" and AAE is not.

Despite the rules that speakers of AAE follow, its use varies across the United States, creating regional differences in pronunciation and spelling. Many successful hip hop artists were from the east or west coasts while OutKast originated in the south, making their use of language significant to their identity. Taylor Jones determines the four main regional boundaries of the dialect in his study on AAE use across Twitter. The northeast, south, west, and the expanse of land between former slave states and the Northern cities Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland are the regions Jones emphasizes with their own spellings and slang terms.

The regional dialect distinctions highlight OutKast’s unique identity. Howard Rambsy claims that Andre 3000, one member of OutKast, demonstrates control over AAE and the culture associated with the dialect through his language. He even wrote lyrics, such as in “Elevators”, that refer to African American politics and their struggles at the time he was writing. This use of dialect helped OutKast succeed in the hip hop world despite their southern origins.

OutKast’s lyrics seem to push negative perceptions of AAE out to foster a more accepting culture surrounding southern blackness. Their use of regional language helps them show that AAE is not used only by lower classes. Cecelia Cutler argues how all listeners are submerged in AAE by listening to hip hop, helping them more fully understand that it is a proper dialect used by many speakers. In this way, OutKast is participating in the AAE conversation, recognizing its cultural importance.

While AAE’s origins are widely contested, the cultural identity it supports is undoubted. It is up to the non-AAE speaking public to recognize its role and accept its place in language.