adjective Music Slang

Cold

/kəʊld/ · adjective · slang

Impressively hard, skilful, and ruthless — high praise for a verse or beat.

0

Definitions

1

Said of a beat or production with a dark, menacing, polished feel — perfect for drill.

“The instrumental is ice cold, exactly the mood the track needed.”
by community
0
2

Excellent in a hard, ruthless, impressive way — a 'cold' verse is technically sharp and merciless.

“That last bar was cold, he ended the whole beef in one line.”
by community
0
3

Of a person, ruthlessly composed or unbothered, sometimes harshly so.

“He stayed cold through the whole diss, never raised his voice.”
by community
0

Cold In A Sentence

Bro that flow switch was cold, rewind it.
The mix on this is cold, every 808 hits clean.
She replied so cold it ended the conversation.

Origin & Usage

AAVE, where 'cold' as praise for skill goes back decades in jazz and hip-hop. Fits drill's icy aesthetic perfectly, so it's everywhere in the scene.

Variants ice coldcold-bloodedcoldest
Tags #american#uk#hip-hop#aave

People Also Ask

What does cold mean in rap?

It's high praise — a cold verse or beat is hard, skilful, and ruthless. The 'cold' here means impressive, not bad.

Why is cold a compliment?

In AAVE, 'cold' has long described masterful, unbothered, ruthless skill. It suits drill's icy, menacing tone especially well.

Can cold be an insult?

When describing a person's behaviour it can mean harshly emotionless. About music or bars, it's almost always praise.

Comments 0