After recently making her return to the public light, rapper Chika took to Twitter last week to enlighten internet trolls about the history and importance of African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

“AAVE is not stan language or internet culture,” Chika tweeted on May 5. “Y’all just found out about it and only hear it on the internet cuz you’re not around n***as in real life."

Later in the week, the rapper went into further detail regarding the term after internet critics and social media skeptics alleged that AAVE was a fabricated “whitewashed term” created by a white person.

“Knowing that a black man coined this term & a white person thinks it sounds ‘white washed’ is a glaring indicator that YOU don’t think black people can utilize scholarly terminology to describe ourselves,” Chika wrote in response to a web heckler.

Ironically, a Saturday Night Live skit incorrectly attributing AAVE to Gen Z would come just a few days after the artist's tweets. 

She added in the Twitter thread that, “Calling the way we normally speak ‘slang’ denotes that it’s not proper english, when in fact, it is. It’s just specific to black people.”

After setting some people straight, the 24-year-old revealed that she is now dedicated to “getting my life together,” writing that she’s learning to practice the art of “being nice to yourself.”

In April, Chika announced that she was retiring from the music industry, citing her mental health and suicidal thoughts, as Blavity previously reported. She later clarified that she was taking time away from social media, and wasn’t going to actually retire from music.

“I am alive. I am okay,” the rapper tweeted late last month. “I’m not retiring. After what I’ve endured in the past few days, I’m not ever allowing anything to stop me or almost take me from this ghetto ass earth.”

The Montgomery, Alabama, native first shared that she would be leaving music in early April, when she tweeted out an elaborate statement about her mental health struggles, according to Them.

She said that she was having a hard enough time managing her own “negative self talk. Now imagine a slew of weirdos dogpiling on top of thoughts you already have to fight off yourself.”

Since returning back to social media, she expressed that she wanted to be honest and transparent with her concerned supporters about the situation.

“I have been working through a rough patch in my life that trolls did not cause. However, in one of my most vulnerable moments, I was submerged in messages encouraging me to take my life,” she said.

Them reports that the “Balencies” rapper admitted she nearly ended her life.

“The note screenshot was not about quitting, it was about ending my life. Because that day, I tried,” she shared.

Fortunately, an anonymous party contacted emergency services, who were able to intervene and help support the 24-year-old.

“I dunno who called who, but paramedics broke my door down to save my life,” Chika said in her statement. “Thank you to whomever was looking out for me that night.”

Over the weekend, the rapper also shouted out fellow artist Cardi B for her support during a time of duress.

“Thank you, @iamcardib for reaching out and & showing such kindness to me in a time I don’t even think you knew was as serious as it was,” she wrote. “You’ve always shown love to me & don’t think I could take that for granted. You’re appreciated.”

African American Vernacular EnglishChikaculturual appropriation