Technically, swag was first used by William Shakespeare. But then hip hop band Brand Nubian used “swagger” in their single “Slow Down” in the 1990s. However, Jay-Z rapped it with his chest saying “I invented swag” – he included variations of the word in his albums The Blueprint and The Black Album. Many artists were quick to follow. T.I., Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, Cali Swag District, and Soulja Boy knew to “turn their swag on.”
Over time, The New Yorker confirmed swag had become “a noun, an adjective, a verb, and an all-purpose expression of agreement or endorsement.” Historically, arrogant white men used “swagger” to flaunt themselves. Hip-hop turned swag into energy.
We’re constantly reinventing ourselves, Black culture, and the world's culture. So many non-Black people would do anything to exploit the coolness of Blackness without actually having to be Black.
While some claim swag means “Stuff We All Get,” as we know, not everybody can be Black. The essence of swag remains seductive because we make it so.
Real swag is Black pride and creative genius. So let’s all hop up out the bed, turn our swag on, and keep building Black, liberated futures.