Last month, Chicago Twitter erupted when pop singer Alessia Cara tweeted, “no one should use the word ‘goofy’ probably ever.” A slang term popularized in the Midwest city as a noun to describe a lame or garish individual, “goofy” peaked in public consciousness when Drake uttered the words, “I hate a goofy especially” on a cut from last year’s Views. The ensuing backlash against Cara’s tweet was so swift and unforgiving that she later apologized, claiming that she was unaware that “goofy” was a “current term the kids are using these days.”
Well, now it’s not just kids. 24-year-old Chicago rapper Lil Durk is squarely in the target demographic of people who most likely use the word “goofy,” and was probably even privy to the genesis of the trend, but Future? And even more so, Jeezy? Those guys are 33 and 39, respectively, and both hail from Atlanta. The fact that they’ve hopped on a song called “Goofy” is perhaps a more convincing death knell for the term than Cara’s attempt to dead it.
Fortunately, the two ATLiens are able to work “goofy” into their lexicon pretty seamlessly, and the resulting song doesn’t suffer at all from their presence. Longtime Future collaborator Southside laces the trio with a sleek, ping-ponging beat, and everybody just unloads on those undesirables one might call “goofies.” According to each rapper, a goofy is: someone who doesn’t have a house or a car and whose jewelry game is “foofy” (Lil Durk), someone who you cut off because they have no money (Future), and/or someone who’s either a groupie or a gangster, but you can’t really tell (Jeezy).
As of right now, it’s unclear if “Goofy” is a commercial single from an upcoming Durk project, or just a not-for-sale loosie. The song’s artwork does make use of a familiar Disney character’s visage, so for legal reasons, it’s probably best if it’s the latter. For every other conceivable reason though, it’s probably best if this track blows up and we get an all-Chicago remix.
