You Might Be a Bamma If…

via Urban Dictionary

Growing up in DC during the late 80s and early 90s, I was privy to one of the best slang terms in the world: bamma. When I later moved to Connecticut it sort of fell by the wayside, but a few references in pop culture (The Wire, The Jamie Foxx Show, and the rise of DMV rapper Wale) have conspired to inject bamma back into my lexicon. It’s proved extremely useful, as I’ve found bammadom abounds all around me.

For the uninitiated, the Urban Dictionary definition above provides a solid foundation for understanding bammas. When I was coming up, though, it definitely had the connotation of someone sort of “rural” and “backwards” as well. Now, I think it’s pretty safe to use it to describe anyone who is A) wack/embarrassingly misguided, and B) completely unaware of his or her wackness.

Needless to say, that’s quite far-reaching. To work toward a better sense of what it really means to be a bamma, my brother and I have been conducting a little sociological experiment and compiling examples of bamma behavior. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I plan to update the list as the mood strikes. Feel free to add your thoughts.

OK, without further ado…

You might be a bamma if…

you believe you deserve a medal everytime you travel the Chinatown bus .

you go to the Met and wear the museum tag for the rest of the day.

your favorite music is “Top 40.”

you wear golf clothes casually.

you say “the corn is great this year” every summer.

you believe that “working” at parties means you would have been invited otherwise.

you you think Benihana is “classy.”

you went to a virtual inauguration ball.

your favorite food is “fusion.”

you describe the city where you live as if you were reading from a guidebook.

you call yourself a foodie but can’t cook pasta.

your sunglasses game is “nuts.”

your number one dream travel destination is a beach you saw in a movie.
you refer to beer as “frat water.”

you are italian american. (Emphasis on might…though pretty likely.)

you buy wedding magazines but you have no intention of getting married.

you wear Ralph Lauren Rugby.

you dress for the place you‘re going on vacation before you get there. (Saw a dude in the Philly airport in shorts when it was 30 degrees outside, and probably mad cold on the plane. You’re not in Tallahassee yet, bro!)

you think Shepard Fairey invented “street art.”

^ A few examples of huge bammas