Kanye West didn’t have to graduate from college to earn a Master’s Degree in Hip Hop Linguistics. And according to the latest decree from Profession West, wearing obscene amounts of gaudy diamond-encrusted jewelry in comically exaggerated efforts to convey one’s wealth is still perfectly acceptable, but referring to said jewelry as “bling” is now expressly forbidden. According to Page Six:

The hip-hop star tells Complex magazine: “Only white people and older black people say ‘bling’ now. If a white person uses slang too early, then that makes them look like a wigger. But if black people use slang too late, then it makes them look like a wigger.”

There you have it, “bling” has now joined “Phat”, “Crunk” and “Words with ‘izzle’ added onto the end” in the hip-hop slang afterlife, spending the rest of eternity being used only by “wiggers” (also, I didn’t know black people could be wiggers. Thanks, Kanye!) and out-of-touch suburban dads making misguided attempts to prove they understand thier children. Rest in peace, “Bling”: you served us well as the perfect way to describe ridiculous displays of material wealth, and even as you are replaced by “ice” or “shine” or whatever, you will still be missed.

(photo via Getty Images)