The phrase "no cap" has been showing up more and more over the last several years. However, Wale hasn't got the memo on what it means.
What does no cap mean? Does it mean I’m when ur in the klub and d sekirty says you no wear hats in dere? https://t.co/vTAT6nxXVu
— Wale (@Wale) June 4, 2019
"What does no cap mean? Does it mean I’m when ur in the klub and d sekirty says you no wear hats in dere," the DMV rapper typed in response to someone Twitter dropping a "no cap" on him.
In black slang, to cap about something is “to brag,” “to exaggerate,” or “to lie” about it. This meaning of cap dates back to the early 1900s.
History lesson: In the 1940s, according to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, to cap is evidenced as slang meaning “to surpass,” connected to the ritualized insults of capping (1960s). These terms appear to be rooted in the sense of capas “top” or “upper limit.”
So, no cap has the sense of “no lie,” “no joke,” “for real,” or “not bragging.” The expression is closely associated with slang in Atlanta-area hip-hop. It appears on Twitter by at least 2012, though it was almost certainly in use in spoken English before then.