Where did “Yo Mama” jokes come from?
This is what Wiki has to say, but it’s kind of vague regarding the actual history of Yo Mama…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo_mama_jokes
It appears Yo Mama is quite old…
It also appears that Yo Mama’s origin is unknown.
here’s a google search
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Yo+Mama
There are references to the dozens in some of the earliest blues. The first actual musical example I can think of, very tame by today’s standards, is Bo Diddley’s ‘Say Man.’ That antedates the Sugar Hill Gang by about 20 years.
Of course it could derive from Hari Karri’s record ‘Yokohama Mama’ but I rather doubt it.
I would guess it comes out of that whole Ebonics ethos. Whether you accept this as street slang, the broken English of slaves, or an actual bona fide branch of English language seems a matter of personal choice.
djm
… and all this while I’ve been of the opinion that Yo-Mamma’s was a new Italian/Soul Food restaurant.