ghetto pass n. figurative or literal approval from Black Americans or the hip-hop music community (of a non-Black person or a now-successful Black person); the street cred of someone known for keeping it real. Etymological Note: This term was popularized by, if not coined in, the song “True to the Game” from the 1991 album Death Certificate by the hip-hop performer Ice Cube. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
National Book Award winner Barry Lopez had wise advice for young writers. First, read widely and follow your curiosity. Second, travel or learn a foreign language. And third, find out what you truly believe, because if you’re not writing from...
When a musician is woodshedding a passage of music, they’re trying to master that part by repeatedly practicing it in private, as if having retreated to do so in a woodshed, away from others who might be bothered by it. This is part of a...