OK.

I have a lot of these, but let's just start with the most obvious, shall we?

I pride myself on being down with the hip hop culture. I know all the songs, people. I am Destiny's Child. Me and Snoop? Personal frizends.

But... "H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay?"

Come on.

What the HELL does it mean? Does it have something to do with playing basketball in Virginia? ANSWER ME!!

Damn you, Jay Z. You've won this round.

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001

Answers

That song drives me crazy. I want to stab it with a spork every time it comes on. Usually Jay-Z does pretty well, c'mon, you know you liked "Hard Knock Life." I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, October 22, 2001

Our 12 year old nephew sat my husband down and translated every word for him, but he still claims to not know what the hell the song is talking about. At least, he won't tell me.

"skizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA" I think means "skillz my nigga used to dribble down in VA." But seeing as how that doesn't really mean anything, well, there you go.

-- Anonymous, October 23, 2001

Maybe the skillz dribbling nizzle in question is Mr. Iverson? He's from VA, and did used to dribble there.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 2001

Sophie, that made me laugh.

I am not in doubt as to the line about dribbling skillz. That has been clear to me from the bizginning.

I just want to know what HOVA stands for or means or whatever.

Several years back there was another, much less popular hip-hop song called, if I remember correctly, "Nan."

I can only recall that the main gist of it was "You're no Nan."

I don't think it was about a girl named Nan or anyone's grandmother, and I'd like to know what that means, as well.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Oh, that's easy, Al. NaN is a standard computer acronym for 'Not a Number'. That oughtta clear it right up. Can't help you with Hova, though...

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Al, I know that Omar knows the answer to this, because he told me the other day, but I do not remember what it is.

Clearly, he too good to answer on MATH forum.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay means H-O-V-A, which means Hova, which is supposed to be Jay-Z's nickname, even though Jay-Z is itself a nickname.

"Skizzles to my nizzles while we drizzle (dribble?) down in V.A." means: Skillz to my niggaz while we dribble down in Virginia. Basically, he's saying that his friends have indubitable basketball skills in that particular state.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

I would have answered sooner, I was just afraid AB would come in with the, "Fool!"

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Um, AB wouldn't do that. She's too polite.
Fool.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

People.

Has my current state of tragedy made me somehow unable to communicate the fact that I understand that Hova is a nickname and that Jay-Z's friends from Virginia are not to be messed when a basketball is involved?

I get that shit.

What I want to know is WHY he has the nickname Hova and WHY he thinks he has to write a song about it. WHY also, did he say "Not guilty, y'all have to feel me" and then plead GUILTY recently in court to a charge of... I can't remember. Weapons possession? I don't care. I sort of can't stand Jay-Z. I am not one of his nizzles, even though I have rather a few skizzles, on and off the court, if you know what I'm saying.

And I'm not from Virginia, either.

Maybe that's the problem.

Fred, I am laughing that "You're no Not A Number," could be the answer to my other question, but I don't believe that even the most "street" of hip-hop artists could pull off that double-negative and get away with it.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Um, AB wouldn't do that. She's too polite.

Damn right, my fool.

Al, maybe it doesn't mean anything, and you will just have to accept that. Maybe what Jay Z had DID was that he had just made it up one day, while he was drizzlin' with his nizzles.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Let me preface this by saying I've never even heard the song.

But. You're talking about basketball and HOVA makes me think hover and if you're a basketball player you want a lot of air time, i.e. hovering. Ya think?

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

i think at the time he really thought he WAS not guilty. Then his lawyer convinced him otherwise.

All i was doing was confirming your answer, Ally Giznee. You were right, as usual. :)

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

See, HOVA makes me think "Hoya," which makes me thing Georgetown, and I think they have a good basketball team, or something, and they're in DC, which is near VA. Right.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

People, I haven't heard the song and I must say it's got to be HOVA as in hover 'cause I've known some basketball playing fools and they cover the hover. Or cova the hova, whatever.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Ok, I just saw this Twix commercial during Smallville, so Omie help me out here.

Little Woof-Woof, or Lil' Shakespeare, or whoever he is, rappin' away starts talking abut how he needs a Twix for ballin'.

He means basketball, right? I don't want to see a twelve year old talk about candy bars and sex.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

Damn, I dunno. Ballin' kind of has two meanings. Let's hope he meant B-ballin.

I loves me some Li'l Bow-Wow.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001

I loves him, too, ya heard?

He's talking about B-ballin'. Of course, it's only a matter of time before he starts talking about the other.

-- Anonymous, October 31, 2001

So, I'm reading about the new features in Borland's new compiler (fascinating stuff, folks), and the first line reads, "Deliver business-to-business integration with Web Services using BizSnap", and I just thought, "Ah yeah... BizSnapping with my nizzles." Borland's ghetto-cool, folks. God I'm funny.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

So that's where Herbert Kornfeld works.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2001

Okay, my nizzles, I think I have solved the mystery.

I have it from a reliable source (I do live in Dirty South y'all) that H to the Izzo, V to the Issay stands for JeHOVAh. It sounds good to me.

I'll leave it to someone else to prove me right or wrong.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001

Jay-Z is also Jay H-O-V-A to his nizzles. (Not too much ego there, huh?)

And nizzles sounds more like some sort of nasty nipple oozing, but I guess I'm not street enuf to hiz-zang wit dat.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001

I'm going to have to stone anyone here who says Jehovah again.

OW!

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2001

HOVA in fact IS short for JeHOVA. J's now claiming to b the God of Hip Hop, hence the name Jay-HOVA.

out.

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

WOW. That is (almost) unbelievable. Although no more offensive than Old Dirty Bastard changing his name to Little Baby Jesus.

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

I guess all the other titles like "The King of" and "The Master of" were taken?

If he didn't suck so bad, it would be one thing. But he does. So it's another thing.

I mean, Jay-Z Unplugged? Unplugged from what? His bong?

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

Ohmigod I just spewed iced tea on my keyboard because that was so damn funny... "unplugged from his bong" I will carry that nugget of joy around the rest of the day!

-- Anonymous, December 20, 2001

So when we make the Baby Jesus cry, somewhere, ODB is all weeping like a small child?

This discussion is killing me. Jay HOVA is something that can't be ignored. I wish Jay-Z would get his sorry ass in here and let us know what the dizzle is.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 2001

Amazing. HOVA indeed stands for Jay-HOVA. This is the funniest discussion group I have ever seen. You guys are giving white people a bad name. Did you ever think that you might want to get some life experience other than typing one handed. The hip hop culture is a huge anomaly, i suggest you get used to it. Whats strange to me is that i bet most of this group understand 'select * from custom.tblTest' but the word HOVA has perplexed so many.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

Wait! Wait! I don't know what 'select * from custom.tblTest' means!

Oh, I am so culturally isolated. And so lonesome. I shall cry.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

I, too, am apparently ignorant in two separate fields. Alas and alack.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

Y'all - have we been schooled? I think we have! Kick ass.

MY! UH! DIDAS!

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

My Adidas, indeed.

JAWS, if that truly your real name, please, please don't stroll in here and act like you know anything when clearly you can't spell or read.

We are lovers of music, lovers of hip hop, confused by one man's mission to break down the foundations of rhythm and blues and, in the process, refer to himself as a diety.

Gods generally create things before they destroy them, is all I'm saying, and the only thing J-HOVA has created is a headache in my eye with his endless stream of beat-lacking songs about bling, ice, Cristal, hos, rims, dubs, balls, nizzles and bitches.

I think, in fact, what is happening is that Jay-Z and those born in his image are giving black people a bad name by propogating a stereotype that they are obsessed with nothing but cars, drugs and sex, and THAT offends ME.

So you can take your righteous indignation, JAWS, and use it to build a bridge to get over yourself.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

Al, I know your articulation must make your momma proud. The way you tell someone to kiss your ass brings a tear to my eye.

Jaws, before you start accusing a bunch of faceless forum users of giving white people a bad name, you might consider why the hell you would think all the posters here are white. Cracking the hip-hop code does not a sista make. Stereotype much?

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

In every generation, the popular culture of music has been deemed destructive to its genre by those who don't understand it. You claim that I stereotype unfairly, yet you broadly make the statement that these rappers are obsessed with nothing but cars, Cristal, hos, etc... You could count on one hand the bands and performers of the last 40 years that weren't immediately immersed in a life of booze, drugs, women and expensive toys. And I won't even comment on the attack on my grammatical abilities, needless to say, it shows your maturity. I certainly did not intend for my posting to be laced with pomposity. I only wanted to point out that the world is bigger than any one of us. It's easy to point to a rapper and say that what he says and does is wrong, but you can't possibly know how you would react to someone handing you ungodly amounts of money to do what you love and millions of fans reaffirming that you are good at it. Also, I'm sorry that I made the generalization that the majority of this group is white. However, were you to be black, you would have a greater chance of knowing the meaning of this song, only because you would be more likely than a white person to own the album, be a fan or have friends that are fans. The majority of Jay-z's album sales are to African American youth. That isn't a stereo type, its a fact.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

JAWS,

While I agree with much of what you have said, I will take issue with some points. First, it is relatively easy to find many bands that are concerned with more than booze, women, drugs, guns, Cristal, etc.., there is the entire straightedge movement within punk, several popular bands, such as U2, who seem to strive to write songs about significant issues, and within hip hop there has been Public Enemy and KRS-One, to name just a few.

What I found particularly offensive about your first post was that we are somehow lacking "life experience" by not knowing what Jay Z was saying, especially since you failed to provide a "life experience" that would have lead me to that knowledge.

I find a good life to be a combination of gaining experience and knowledge. If I choose to seek that knowledge by asking questions on this forum instead of hanging with Jay-Z, why does that make it a less valid method for seeking understanding?

And I think the very fact that the questions are being asked shows an interest in the hip hop community and not the ignorance you imply with your original post.

As far as showing maturity, I would refer you back to your "typing one handed" line.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

Also, I'm sorry that I made the generalization that the majority of this group is white. However, were you to be black, you would have a greater chance of knowing the meaning of this song, only because you would be more likely than a white person to own the album, be a fan or have friends that are fans. The majority of Jay-z's album sales are to African American youth. That isn't a stereo type, its a fact.

JAWS, could you tell me where to find that info? I was under the impression that Jay-Z, and artists of his fame (including OutKast, Lil' Kim, and Chuck D, three hip-hop artists whose work I, as a white girl, have enjoyed), become prominent when they "cross over" and white teenagers -- who outnumber African-American teenagers -- start buying their album.

For example: Ludacris's album sold 228,000 copies last week (according to Rolling Stone reporting Soundscan numbers). The US currently has a population of about 280 million. That means an average of 1 Ludacris album bought for every 1,228 Americans, approximately.

The population of African-Americans between the ages of 5 and 24, according to the 2000 Census, is about 12 million. Using the average above, if Ludacris sold exclusively (and I know this isn't what you're claiming) among African-Americans, he would have sold fewer than 10,000 copies of his album that week. If your claim is right, the average would be much higher among African-American buyers; but that still doesn't get us, demographically, anywhere near 228,000 copies. Now, the white population for that same age group is 55 million, and it's a lot easier, obviously, to sell 228,000 albums among a buying population of 67 million (white + black) than 12 million (black alone).

Obviously I have to do a lot of extrapolating and assuming to get to that conclusion; so if you could point me to the place where you found your data about race and buying patterns -- Soundscan doesn't seem to have a site of its own -- I could argue this point more coherently.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

Chris-

touche'

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

JAWS, if you think we are a bunch of ignorant white people who drive fifteen miles out of the way to avoid the ghetto and are flummoxed yet strangely entertained by those talented black people, you'll want to visit this thread where we talk about our favorite R&B and hip hop artists.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

Also, JAWS, you should be cool enough to understand that busting on something doesn't mean you hate it. I am not at all fond of Jay-Z, but I rock the box with Portia Fox here in Atlanta (home of SO SO DEF) every single day from 2-6.

-- Anonymous, January 04, 2002

MATH Plus One isn't the only place that's trying to find out the great Jay Z mystery. A Metafilter discussion has theories as well.

And, Vanilla Ice has a kangaroo.

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2002

this thread used to be about Jay and what HOVA meant, and it means J- HOVA, but someone said along time ago it reminded them of HOYA as in Georgetown and i was just wondering if anyone knew all the references to Allen Iverson.... i used to live in hampton roads and used to watch iverson play at the military base agains all the GI's when he was a kid. And his prison was right next to my school when he got arrrested for the bowling alley brawl, (dont hear much about htat do you?)anyway jay z talks alot about allen iverson "the truth like A.I" or on the Nas diss when he says something like "me and A.I. got it more in common, get it more in Carmen." or "dribble down in V.A" cause thats where he grew up, i was just wondering why Jay z has such a big crush on allen iverson?

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2002

Heh. I thought A.I. meant artificial intelligence. Jay Z's down with bots, yo.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 2002

http://www.hova-seals.com/

Obviously, Jay-Z is reprazentin Replacement Parts for Mechanical Seals. =)

-- Anonymous, January 07, 2002

'select * from custom.tblTest' - a SQL statement. The only reason I know that is because I program web pages. Not because I'm whitey- white or anything.

-- Anonymous, January 10, 2002

Hell Yeah, I know what you're sayin'. I'm glad you stopped to aks me dat, 'cuz i was cold lost.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2002

H.O.V.A. is an acronym, making it rather difficult to imagine that it stands for J-HOVA.

-- Anonymous, February 02, 2002

WOW, you people have made my day, I've never enjoyed reading so many people ruminate on rap lyrics before....ok, so I've never actually done that, but then again, I was the cracker who found this by typing "H.O.V.A. +means" into a search engine... I still busted a nut laughing...

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2002

Excellent.

Okay - who sings the And the whoooooole woooooooorld loves you when you're in the nude... bwa bwa da bwa bwa da da... song? Because as soon as I got Eddie Murphy's "Party All The Time" out of my head, that song found its way in.

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2002

That would be my best friends, OutKast. You really should get their album Stankonia. It's fantastic.

You might remember them from such hits as "Ms. Jackson" and "Bombs over Baghdad".

The whole world loves you when you're in the news? Nude? I don't know.

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2002

Oh! I should have known that song was by the Pride of Atlanta!

I think that one of the lines is "news," but I also swear that one is "nude."

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2002

I had to download the song after having this conversation.. which one do you think is "nude"? I always hear "news".

-- Anonymous, February 08, 2002

At the start of the chorus, I think they say "news," and in the last line of the chorus, I swear that it's "nude" - but who can tell? I guess that's the point of this thread.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2002

You guys have to watch for the video, they show lots of words to the song on the screen. Plus Andre has on skeleton makeup and I get scurred.

-- Anonymous, February 11, 2002

LMFAO!

I just skimmed thru this board in an attempt to figure out what "HOVA" means..

This was by far the funniest 3 minutes of my life.. Ok, well maybe not.

It is so fitting that the backround to this board is white! I think my favorite was the HOVA ---> HOVER ----> Basketball airtime!

Or the Twix and ballin' was pretty damn good too.

and I noticed someone claiming to be "Hip Hop Fans" Ummm how come you couldnt even break H to the izz O V to the izz A down to HOVA?

He says HOVA in half his damn songs!

Anyways, great reading!

Bill

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2002

Well, Bill, we realized he was saying HOVA (at least, I'm pretty sure we did. We did, right guys?). We just didn't recognize HOVA as a word.

-- Anonymous, February 16, 2002

I've gone on to be convinced that it IS short for Jehovah.

Because Jay-Z is practically Jesus, right?

-- Anonymous, February 17, 2002

Oh, Bill Gates. Sigh. I guess your money don't buy you funny, huh?

Man, we GOT that he was saying HOVA. We just didn't get WHY. And, frankly, now that it's been explained - several times - I still don't get why, but not for lack of understanding. I understand that he refers to himself as J-HOVA. I just find it unbelievably ridiculous. Or, RIZDIZCULUZ, if you will.

-- Anonymous, February 18, 2002

Ain't that the trizizuth!

You know, I have to agree with the ridiculousness of the true meaning of HOVA not to mention the fact that it's somewhat anti-climactic

I for one would heartily enjoy another theory, however off the wall, as to what the significance of HizzizazOVizAz is(az).

-- Anonymous, February 20, 2002

I was actually wondering about the ever-popular "Bombs over Baghdad" by OutKast.

What does it mean? I mean, I get the part about not pulling out a gun unless you plan to shoot it, and not shooting it unless you plan to hit something or someone or whatever, but what does that have to do with Baghdad?

Confused, I am.

(this is what I get for trying to listen to OutKast while doing homework, I suppose. I get all smartypantsy about them.)

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

See, I took it as a critique of George HW Bush's failure to destroy Saddam Hussein's government during the war in the Gulf.

(Once I actually got a chance to read the lyrics, at least.)

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

HOVA refers to jehova, j's old nick.

-- Anonymous, March 15, 2002

Nas is much better than Jay-z, he truly is the king of RAP, he brings it back to the ORIGNINAL lyricist style. He doesn't waste his time with silly acronyms to waste listeners time.... he is way better. ------NICK

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Word.

Oh, wait... WHAT?

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

Um........who?

And just what IS the original lyricist style?

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

It's OLS, dude. Like, "Just chillin' with my OLS, making CRAZY ASS music."

At least, I THINK that's what it means.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

oh my god. You guys are fucking crazy! I dont think he thinks hes god but he does have a big ego ( which big rap star doesn't? )

H.o.V.A. is an acronym like the guy said up there each letter stands for something.

He always says 'young H.O.v.A. ya heard' I dont know if that helps but i've noticed that :P

-- Anonymous, May 18, 2002

Fuck people, any y'all ever actually swung from a vine? I mean: played in jungle? Let me break it down;

Has one of you ever once walked the streets of a slum, slung some (dealt drugs), communicated with any of these people? Fo' shizzle y'all need to kick rocks (It is certain that you folks need take a walk). If there is one thing I know about this lifestyle, it's heavily about establishing your presence and bio so as to come up in this fight that has been our lives. When people recognize you, you get respect. When people respect you, you have your freedom and a lot less to worry about.

We're not vain, we simply have our own stories; many of them bloody. Bear in mindWe know who we are and tend to get offended when others tell us who we are or 'the way it is'. We, many of us, have learned our lessons and learned them fucking hard yo' (you).

Anywayz, moving right along...

"Fo' shizzle my nizzle, used to dribble down in VA." This clearly means "For sure my nigga, my bro'. I was there. I saw it. I was out there playing ball with the boys. Those you hear about. I saw the drama when a creeper (slow moving vehicle) rolled by for a clear look or sloppy shot; when 5.0 (cops used to drive mustangs, true story) put the drop on and brought pain to our game. I kicked it up in the mix. (I chilled with my home-boys out there in the boon- docks.)"

In essence, "I was there. Recognize."

"H.O.V.A." was probably his handle, his call siqn (his nick name). I think he's declaring his presence. He's probably saying, "What up? I made it and I'm in the house." Don't forget, out there your name is everything. Your identity determines what happens to you out there. What else do you think we really have?

Haven't you ever wondered? Call siqns (those gang, finger thingies), a nigga's tag (spray paint), the resounding authority in the command "recognize"? All of these things say, "I'm here, I'm strong, and I'll be DAMNED if I'M going away!"

Why talk funny, yo'? What up wit' da slang? 'Cause it brings individuality, 'cause it's fun, 'cause certain authorities find it difficult to understand what your saying, 'cause it pisses off those- not-wise to our way of life and that's funny. 'Cause they would piss us off daily and don't seem to "get it" anywayz, so what the fuck? They don't respect..... nobody respects..... rrrrrrrrr! In the ghetto- --people RESPECT. Well, that and WE understand each other.

-Robert Stiavetti

P.S. I have to agree with Bill, you guys are hella amusing.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

So, who wants to bet on the next random posting date?

I've got July 10.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

Can't stop laughing!

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

That depends, K. What does the winner get?

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

Why, a Jay-Z CD, of course!

Silly white girl.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

Of course.

I'll take June 30.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

June 22.

And they're going to break down for us what those "chickachickachickas" mean in the Eminem songs.

-- Anonymous, June 07, 2002

Some of yall seem to be very SLOW! I say that because though everyone is entitled to their opinion...some of yall sayin some funny yet stupid sh**. "H to the Izzo, V to the Izzay..." If you knew the slightest thing about slang you would know he is spelling out H.O.V.A. Which he has been calling himself since I basically heard of the cat. Being that my mom is a Jehovah's Witness, I think that he is referring to himself as the GOD of hiphop. Key evidence to me thinking so can be found on the HOVA OUTRO on S. Carter Vol. 3 in which he said 'It's HOVA the God!' at the end. 'Fo Shizzle My Nizzle' is a line that Snoop Dogg used in one of is songs that J took and ran with. Anyone that has heard the song 'What's My Name Pt. 2' (which was a popular single produced by Snoop and Timbaland) would know that. As for 'Dipple Down In VA' I could care less what he was refering too. Some of yall really need to stop analyzing this stuff so damn hard.....IT'S JUST MUSIC....meant to have fun with! Just bob ya head and stop bitchin! Now, as I bring my 10 cents to a close(my 2 cents was free), if you have any problem with what I've said or how I SPELT IT......I'm pretty sure my good pal Eminem could tell you better what to do better than I could. Thank you....and GOODNIGHT!

-- Anonymous, June 21, 2002

this is some funny shit

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2002