Slang dictionary
issa
[is-uh]
黑料网 does听issa mean?
Issa is a contraction of听颈迟’蝉听补苍诲听a, as in “issa contraction of it’s and a.” The term was made popular by a 2016 interview with rapper 21 Savage.
Related words:
- gonna
- imma
- tryna
- wanna
Where does issa come from?
笔谤辞苍辞耻苍肠颈苍驳听it’s 补苍诲听a into issa has听long been a feature of dialectical English.听Consider gonna for going to, recorded in the 19th century and almost certainly used in speech before it was ever written down. Imma, for I’m a,听补苍诲 tryna, for trying to, are other examples that have gained mainstream attention in the 2000s.
In the 1999 film听Star Wars: Episode I 鈥� Phantom Menace, the Gugans, a race of creatures that included the notorious Jar Jar Binks, spoke in a kind of pidgin English which treated听it’s a as issa, calling to mind crude imitations of Italians speaking English.
Issa’s听15 minutes of fame came in July, 2016, when a celebrity and hip-hop news site asked Atlanta-native rapper 21 Savage (Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph)听about the tattoo on his forehead, which looks like a cross. 21 Savage replied “Issa knife,” explaining that he got the tattoo in memory of his younger brother, a victim of gang violence.
While you might not think that response would spark a meme, you underestimate the internet, which took the phrase and ran with it, from Harry Potter to Super Mario Bros to, yes, Jar Jar Binks.
21 Savage milked the meme, too, claiming听issa was “the most used new word of 2017″… in January, 2017.
I made a new word "ISSA" and it's the most used new word of 2017! we're is my recognition ?馃槀
— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage)
In February, 2017, the rapper announced his tour, called Issa Tour, and released an album, Issa Album, in July, 2017.
Examples of issa
Who uses issa?
Though many references to听issa are firmly tied to 21 Savage, the term’s meme status has helped popularize it as a useful contraction.
In some cases,听the second syllable in听issa doesn’t stand in for the article听a but for another unstressed A sound (e.g.,听issa nother story for听it’s another story).
Issa party! , and are available NOW at , , and ! 馃彎
鈥� Rihanna (@rihanna)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of issa like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of issa that will help our users expand their word mastery.