In order to fully understand what a "hollaback girl" is, one must first understand what it means to "hollaback." When one hollas back, one responds to a verbal insult with their own reciprocal verbal insult. This in itself is not necessarily a negative thing, however to become a "hollaback girl" is something to be avoided. A "hollaback girl" is a girl who responds only with these verbal insults, without ever actually taking it to the next level and kicking some ass. In other words, a hollaback girl is all talk and no walk.
This phrase was originally popularized by Gwen Stefani via her song "Hollaback Girl" from her debut solo album L.A.M.B. The song was a response to a comment Courtney
Love made about
Gwen in an interview with 17 Magazine.
Love reportedly stated "Being famous is just
like being in
high school. But, I'm not interested in being the cheerleader. I'm not interested in being Gwen Stefani. She's the cheerleader, and I'm out in the smoker shed."
Gwen, upon hearing this, did not hollaback
like a petty cheerleader. She instead came back with Hollaback Girl. In explanation of the song she said "Someone one
time called me a cheerleader, negatively, and I've never been a cheerleader. So I was
like 'Ok, fuck you, you want me to be a cheerleader? Well I'll be one then. And I'll rule the whole world. Just you watch me.'" This is clearly in reference to
Love's comment. And based on "Hollaback Girl"'s success, I'd say
Gwen held true to her word and took over the world.
1.These
bitches were talking smack, so I had to
holla back.
2. All that girl ever does is talk smack. She
never takes any actual action. She's SUCH a hollaback girl.
