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T-dot
DCHP-3 (Apr 2023)
Spelling variants:T., TDot, T-dot, t.dot, T Dot, T-dot O-dot
n. — Hiphop, Urban culture, Informal
a nickname for Toronto, Ontario.
Type: 1. Origin — The nickname T-dot for Toronto is a creation of Canada's hiphop community (see the 1998, the 2001, the 2002, the 2003, the 2017 and the first 2023 quotations). It is more commonly used in younger, urban circles (see the 2005, 2007 and the second 2023 quotations) or those trying to sound like them (see the 2015 quotation). The form T-dot-O appears as a very infrequent variant of T-dot. There appears to be two meanings. Only one is related to the geographical location, and therefore a true variant of T-dot. (see the second 2003 quotation). The 1998-1999 quotation refers to a music act of the name T-dot-O.
See: Cowtown,Hogtown,Peg, the,Edmonchuk,Saskabush,Lotusland,Toontown,E-Town,The 6ix,Brollywood,Raincouver
The form T-dot-O as a geographical location seems to be a blend of the older T.O. and the late 1990 coinage of T-dot (see the 1999 and second 2003 quotation).
Note a 2022 music video called T Dot O (see the link in the references).
Quotations
1998
416 to the 905
Put your hands up in the air, move 'em side to side
(We don't stop y'all, can't stop y'all, ah T-dot y'all, we make it hot y'all)
And everybody in the place from east to west
Put your hands up in the air, move 'em right to left
(We gonna rock y'all, to the top y'all, you gotta..)
Come on, come on
1998-1999
"Northern Touch was meant to shine a light on Canada, all the talent coast to coast. Many people think hip-hop is strictly from T-dot-O. I've seen great MCs in every province I have been to. While I have never been there, I bet there are some dope MCs from N.W.T."-- Red-1 from the Razcals, who played Alfie's Pub in October (Issue 9)
1999
To label any of those - '60s Yorkville folk, for instance, or late-'70s punk, or the savage drum 'n' bass currently putting "T- dot" on the international dance-culture map - the Toronto sound is to do the other Toronto sounds flourishing outside the spotlight a disservice.
1999
Collaborating with club owner Jimmy Lightning, as well as Paul Walker and Evil P, Ferszt has been presenting top local and international house and techno DJs for a constantly growing crowd of those in the know. For this Wednesday's (Oct. 20) installment, the spotlight shines exclusively on T-dot."I want to offer a different special event every week, and I had to show people that we can do that with our own," says Ferszt. "People will see and hear that Toronto talent is just as good as, or better than, international artists."
2001
Kardinal Offishall rapped about the T-dot (Toronto), Hayden drove off into the mystic wilderness where pines and skyscrapers divide the horizon, and a host of other excellent musicians gave myriad shapes to a peculiarly Canadian spirit.
2001
So how come no one in T-dot O-dot had heard of these dudes from Van City? Ryan (Fritz the Cat) Hanes, an urban music A&R representative for Universal Music Canada and columnist for New York-based Vice magazine, blames the self-absorbed nature of his big-city 'hood. "Toronto doesn't really pay attention to what's happening outside of itself."
2002
The mutant lounge-core of "Gluttony," Rio meets t.dot hip- hop vibe of "Next Move" and the two versions of the drum 'n' bass "Workin' Man's Hustle" (one by Nu-Era) all tease the ears.
2003
It'll be a sort of homecoming for Korry Downey (aka Korry Deez) when Irs performs Thursday, July 31, at Merrill's. Korry Deez, Black Cat and T.R.A.C.K.S. were all raised in the T-dot, but the three- member hip hop crew has roots in Nova Scotia, Jamaica and Trinidad.
2003
Still, I was grinning like a Cheshire cat over the sheer creative spirit of the group and found some highlights. Queen Cee's "Me" was a statement of integrity and Tiffany Joy presented us with a candid, and obviously autobiographical, song about an absent father. Cavelle cleverly wrote a jingle for the show, although I cringed at her line about "chillin' in the T-dot-O." Amaya ripped into us with a little ditty called "We Are God's Dream, Pray It Never Wakes," which put beat poetry to a beat box.
2004
Quarterback Damon Allen and head coach Pinball Clemons walked triumphantly through Union Station carrying the championship trophy as chants of "Argoooos!" echoed through the downtown train depot.
"You're in T-Dot now Mikey, toast of the town," one fan shouted, referring to a slang term for Toronto.
"How sweet it is," said Clemons.
2005
Leave it to some guys from Toronto to name their Ultimate Frisbee team, G.O.A.T. While the usual order of things is to win a championship and then declare yourselves the Greatest Of All Time, Toronto's premier Frisbee squad feels the mere potential gives enough cause. Not that I'm bitter or anything. But, needless to say, we Ultimate players here in Calgary enjoyed watching T-dot self- combust under pressure for a half-decade before they finally won the damn thing in 2002.
2007
A smattering of some common youth phrases:
- My bad - My mistake
- T-dot - Toronto
- OMG - Oh my god
- Chillaxin - A blend of chilling out and relaxing
- 1337 - Elite
- Sick - Interesting, cool.
- Off the hook - Fascinating, beyond expectations
- Noob - Inexperienced person.
- Wack - Undesirable, uncool, weak.
- Peace Out - Goodbye.
- You feel me? - Understand me?
2015
Move over Toronto. Urban chic is no longer the exclusive domain of the big city. We've got our own little hot-spot right here, east of the T-Dot.
2017
As a prominent culture reporter and music journalist observed, “It really has amazed me how fast The Six has become the name for Toronto. You can maybe say it’s similar to TDot. But even that doesn’t seem to have taken off at the same level. That one
felt more specifically linked to hip hop. Maybe that was just about the media environment and music environment at the time. But The Six really seems to have entered into the dialect, our consciousness, more deeply. Other people are using it, and we’re all using it too. It really seems to have settled in.”
2022
For Charles, the photo exhibit is just the beginning. “Project T Dot” is set to become a mini-documentary and book in the next two years, he said, through which he will explain Toronto hip hop from the perspective of people he’s photographed.
2023
At the beginning, his earnings weresmall, but over time, Obinugwu began selling for larger distributors and started an online store of his own. He's had the business - T-Dot Wheels - for a year and a half.
2023
Born in Scarborough, Offishall has been a fixture in the Toronto rap scene since the early '90s.
By the 2000s, he'd reached international status with several major hits, including "BaKardi Slang," - a song that popularized Toronto's nickname "T-dot" - and collaborations with Akon ("Dangerous," "Beautiful Girl") and Rihanna ("Numba 1").
References
- "T Dot O" musician
- Toronto Nicknames
Images
