Been Scene: #Wag
No, wag is not the root word for swag and it isn’t the Ill(3)uminati… or is it? I decided to do a bit of sleuthing for you, the viewer, to get down to the root of this recent, MPLS-based phenomenon. Taking the stance of a 40-year old soccer mom who accidentally logged on to her son’s twitter account, I will ask questions as if I had never before heard the word. Do you wag responsibly? Is that an oxymoron? Do I have to be above a certain height to wag? If I wag, will it hurt my chances of becoming an astronaut someday? If this sounds interesting to you, read on. Actually, even if it doesn’t you should still read on, tis your duty as a Twin Cities resident to know what the hell this is all about. The responses from four OG’s of #wag:
Let’s start by having you all introduce yourself. Who is in this “wag coalition” and how do you become a member?
Cory Grindberg: Ayo. My name is Cory Grindberg [Audio Perm x Art School Girls]. The Wag coalition consists of anybody anywhere who is interested in wag, wagging, waggin’, wageroni pizza, spaghetti with some wagu sauce, waggingham palace, or possibly some sort of wagathon.
Mavin MC: I’m Mavin MC of Illuminous 3. I prefer ‘Wag Squad’. The original wagsters are Illuminous 3, Greg Grease, and Mike Mictlan. All of our closest homies/rapper friends got with it very soon after. Although it started with just five of us, anyone can be a wagster and be apart of the movement.
Taylor Madrigal: I’m Taylor Madrigal [Audio Perm x Biter Fighters] Member Of The Wag Squad Coalition. Became a member thru havin dope beats, Producing “Wag Out” by Illuminous 3, the current Wag anthem, keepin it real, and further spreading the Wagness to the masses.
Franz Diego: By saying we are a coalition im not sure what thats saying, but Id like to say we are the sort of “bringers” of this idea it’s groups like Illuminous 3, TUSS, Audio Perm, Mike Mictlan and other folks that we are affiliated with. What all these folks have in common is a certain energy about themselves and how they live within Minneapolis.
Pictured Above: Greg Grease
How did the term “wag” originate and what does it mean?
CG: I believe it was created by one of the members of Illuminous 3. Maybe it was a collaborative effort? It has many a meaning, but is primarily a verb or an exclamation.
MMC: We took the word ‘wag’ from the Chicken spot ‘Shorty and Wags’ (RIP) and started using it as a slang term to mean a ton of different things. We naturally added different meanings and ways of articulating it, and it eventually became an open expression rather than a definite word. “I’m hungry as hell. I’m bout to wag this juicy lucy”. “I’m ’bout to go wag with that girl on the dance floor”. When Franz Diego alters his gear to give it his own unique style, we wags it. I’ve heard folks put their own twist on it too. That seems to be encouraged within the scene. Anyone who brings something new and dope to wag is a ‘wag innovator’ in my opinion. I feel like this is why so many people get down with it. They feel like they’re apart of it. They are.
TM: The “Wag” terminology derives from the popular former Southside eatery “Shorty and Wags” which has since moved its business elsewhere. Wag can mean many things. Wag generally means anything thats dope or anything that you may be doing at the time, just so long as youre doin you, and youre keepin it real. im waggin on the interview right now, this interview is waggin, i just wagged out on these bagel bites. knowwhatimsayin?
FD: Wag came about when Illuminous 3 was doing a video shoot for our song “Midtown Livin” which Greg Grease shot, edited and directed. We put a call out to all our friends to have a potluck with some of our favorite minneapolis restaurants and film it for the video. So of course “Shorty & Wags” was in our favorites for being one of the best places on the southside to get chicken wings, not to mention Freez says “Shorty & Wags” in the song and we included them in the video. There was also a song that Mike Mictlan and Freez had just done at the time called “Minne-Triple-Rockalis” and in that song Mictlan has a line that goes “I call you and your shorty “Shorty & Wags” and when Illuminous 3 gets together we like to joke around a lot and make play on words and do parodies and stuff.
So we were joking around freestyling in the car between shots and one of us used “wag” as a verb, something like, “see your shorty? i wagged her,” and it was just something dumb and funny and with Illuminous 3 and the way we milk a joke we started using different ways of saying “wag;” so much so that we had created an ongoing inside joke that lasted the day of the shoot. So, by this time this dumb joke was being spread amongst our friends present at the shoot including Audio Perm and TUSS as well as a bunch of other artists, djs, and musicians and now it was this big little thing we would say to joke around. So time passed and through the power of things like Twitter and other social networking what we were using to talk between ourselves as an inside joke was now public and people started picking up on it and using it in their own way. When we saw that folks were finding meaning in it we began to own it more and develop what this word was starting to define.
At the same time, I was throwing parties with my crew “Turnt Up!” and I figured I may as well start saying it over the party and use it to get everyone riled up and “waggin out.” So with the same logic Illuminous 3 started saying it at shows and I would come down to the West Bank every Tuesday night down at the Nomad where the “Out the Box” crews spins and they would let me get on the mic and hype the party with it. Then the other crews and our friends embraced it the same, like TUSS and Audio Perm and Mike Mictlan and the Doomtree family and they began making songs with the terms and making art and fashion too and it just became something of its own for people from Minneapolis to rally around. I guess people found something in it that was special.
Now as to what it means, well thats a difficult thing to describe and thats why I think its important to know the story of where it came from because what it is describing is a shared energy between all the “bringers” who were present when the ideas sparked. What most commonly is said about “wag” is that its a fun, strong, positive energy, but I also think its very important to look at the culture and philosophies of all the crews and individuals involved; there is a more specific place, perhaps we have just started to describe it. I say, look at us, watch us, listen to us and if you identify with it, then its yours too.
Pictured Above: Taylor Madrigal
If one would like to “wag out”, where could they generally go?
CG: Anywhere in Minneapolis where you can find some dope local music / shows of any kind. More specifically, you could hit up the AUDIO PERM PERMED OUT SHOWCASEON DECEMBER 20TH AT HONEY FEATURING PERFORMANCES FROM MANY WAGGED OUT PERSONS SUCH AS DYLAN LP, YAKUB, BOBBY RAPS, CHANTZ EROLIN, 80H2O, SCOUNDREL SPENCE AND JAKE, AND MANY MORE. Man, but really, you can wag out anywhere. In your car on the way to work, in the bathroom, in the morning with your girl, at 3:00am working on a beat; wagging is universal.
MMC: You can wag out anywhere. It’s a feeling. A pure embodiment of positive energy in a rather exciting way. There are, however, different functions where people go just to wag. Like Turnt Up! Rap Dance Party or any of our shows. I’d like to consider the Nomad on a Tuesday a wag function because a lot of folks openly wag out there, and the DJs love it when we emcee the party on some wag shit.
TM: Any dope local hiphop show really. Id say as far as venues go, Honey is the Wag capital. Wag is wherever we take it, and wherever anyone wants to take it.
FD: Well I’d say wherever the party is really cracking, like hardcore. You wont really find us in a night club, its far more likely you’ll find us at a dirty bar or a dirty house party; places where we can dress however we like and do mostly whatever we want for little to nothing.
Pictured Above: Mavin MC (left) w/ Sophia Eris (right)
I have seen some WAG wood pendants (see image above of Mavin & Sophia Eris) on the necks of a few Mpls folk. Where would you go about ordering on of those?
CG: Man, you’d better ask Greg Gease about that.
MMC: The homie Matt is my plug. He’s a beast. He made the first Wag ‘W’ necklace for me.
FD: The cool thing about all the folks who identify with waggin is that they are all DIY folks who make their own clothes, jewelry, bags, etc; so there are a lot of different expressions of it in our fashion, but specifically, the wooden pendants are made by a very talented local b-boy named Matthew Berdahl (mentioned above).
Pictured Above: Cory Grindberg
Any closing things you would like to say about wag?
CG: WAG
MMC: What I’d like people to understand about Wag is that it is a growing cultural movement. It’s reflective of south Minneapolis culture in the scene we’ve been apart of, but extends to anyone who supports it. It’s our slang, fashion, music, jewelry.. it’s a way to identify and feel accepted. Everyone is entitled to wag.. unless you’re a lil buster or a racist or something negative.
TM: All i can really say is that im waggin out right now, and it is lovely. We all make dope ass music, throw dope parties, and keep it really real son, all the time. A U D I O P E R M
FD: I guess i’d just like to say that no one intended for this term or idea to happen, it just did. And for some reason now it is resonating with a lot of kids in the city who share similar ideas and that makes me feel really cool. I have no idea what will become of all this but I know that it defines something for me and my people and thats enough.
Pictured Above: Franz Diego
-Jake
