What does "I stay woke" mean ?

Question

What does Erykah Badu means to say when she sings: "I stay woke" (Song title is "Master Teacher" )

BabaO

suehil · Accepted Answer

My guess would be that she meant 'I stay awake', but it is not good English.

Numone · Answer

Generally, I agree with imani. "Stay woke" is a common phrase with an intentional twist on proper dialect referring to a constant awareness (most often) of covert injustice, unfair treatment, societal racism, discrimination, and the like. Erykah Badu is saying that she knows about these things, and can identify how they affect her and impact our society.

Just as people say, "Don't sleep on this," referring to how "this" could be missed, "staying woke" is about being aware of the negative cultural norms norms of our daily lives that many people overlook or explain away as insignificant.

Note: "Sleeping" on something is used much more broadly - can refer to anything from a new artist to a helpful product, and anything that isn't hyped up by the masses yet, but considered highly valuable.

magno · Answer

Define Woke

imani · Answer

Her English is fine and it has nothing to do with that. It's slang and it means to stay aware and vigilant of the things happening around you.

Maureen · Answer

The last person to specifically use the phrase "stay out of trouble" in regards to me worked for the NSA. I am not at liberty to discuss why he said it or the circumstances leading up to that exchange.

laine · Answer

What Does I

hwinnum · Answer

It means she can't speak proper English.

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What does "I stay woke" mean ?

7 Answers