An anachronistic corruption of the phrase "word to the
mother", which was a popular reference to Africa or "The Motherland" during the late 1980s Afrocentric movement. While the replacement of "the" with "your" effectively obliterated the term's Afrocentric roots, it continued to be used in the same manner, that is, to express agreement. Alternatively, the "your" could take on sinister connotations, implying that speaker was sexually intimate with the listener's
mother, as in "say hi to your mom for me", or, in keeping with the whack terminology, "props to your mom, she's da
bomb". Finally, the phrase might
mean nothing at all, and be used to ineptly feign street cred, in the style of Vanilla
Ice.
Jeff - "Given the uncertainty of today'
s market, I'm strongly considering increasing my portfolio's share of treasury bills."
Greg - "Word to your
mother."