My Mama the Ebonics Instructor

This was too funny not to share.

Usher now apparently has one of those American Cancer Society commercials where he sings “Happy Birthday.” To be honest, the first few times that I saw the (Justin Bieber and Keith Urban ones) commercials, it made me want to cry. No more.

So I walked into the room this afternoon right after the Usher commercial. This is how the conversation went:

Mama: “Aleta, who’s Shawny?”
Me: “What??”
Mama: “There was just some rapper singing ‘Shawny, Happy birthday to you’.”
I said, “Mama, if it was some rapper, I’m sure it was ‘Shawty’ not ‘Shawny.’”
Mama: “What does that even mean?”
Rheba piped in… “Almost all rappers use that in at least one of their songs.”
Mama’s like, “Shawty. You’s my peep. You prolly gonna be there after my incarceration.”

O.M.G. Before you think my mama is stereotyping…she was totally making fun of me b/c once after listening to some song on 105.3 I had to ask her what ‘incarcerated’ was (mind you, I was a teenager).

So, tonight, we were sitting out in her stamping room and the commercial came on again. I walk out of the room for a minute, when I return, I hear my mama singing…

“Shawty, it’s your birthday…Happy Birthday, Shawty…Happy birthday to you.”

Oh. Dear. Jesus. I about died. What am I going to do with her?? LOL!

And on that note, my mama is now going around singing “What I like.…What I like….What I like.” We were watching the lovely channel RFDTv this week, while the FFA National Convention was on. There was a group that sang the song “What I like about you.” The back-up singer, who was very very flat to say the least (a/k/a couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket) would only sing “What I like…..What I like….” So, mom now does her impression of him in this deep, creepy voice…all. The. Time. It is hilarious.