You can find it in rap lyrics throughout the 80s and 90s, most notably an Ice-T song named “ O.G. The term entered mainstream consciousness through hip-hop, which incorporated a lot of words and ideas from gang culture.
Younger members would often call older members OGs. Later on, they would use this term to refer to people who have been deeply committed to the gang for a long time. The phrase was coined in the 1970s by the Los Angeles-based Crips gang whose members self-identified as the OGs, or the first gangsters to emerge. OG and “original gangster” come from African-American Vernacular English or AAVE. RELATED: What Does "GOAT" Mean, and How Do You Use It? The History of OG and Original Gangsters For example, you would call friends who’ve been by your side since childhood to be OGs.
You can also use OG to refer to friends or personal relationships, particularly people who have stayed authentic with you over a long period. In this use case, OG is synonymous with GOAT, or “greatest of all time.” You might say “Tiger Woods is an OG” to refer to his excellence in the field of golf, for example. OG can also mean “exceptional” or the best in a particular field. This is the closest to the term’s initial definition of being “original” or “first” at something. It can refer to someone trailblazing or innovative, such as an artist who popularized a musical trend or a fashion style. While its definition has changed slightly through the years, at its core, calling someone an OG is an expression of deep respect or admiration for someone. You can write it in both the uppercase “OG” and the lowercase “og.” While the literal definition might appear different, the abbreviation “OG” has taken on a life of its own in the past few decades - from its origins in the 70s to the present-day on the internet. Taken literally, OG stands for “original gangster.” If that doesn’t seem to line up with the places you’ve seen this acronym in, don’t worry.