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In the Gorillaz song Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach rapper Snoop Dogg uses the term crack-a-lacking.

I've done some searching and can't find a reliable source for the origin and exact meaning of this term, but there are a few options. The term is not used in any specific context in the song.

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  • Hah. I have no idea, but I would suspect that it is unique to rapping / black hip-hop culture.
    – Noldorin
    Jan 18, 2011 at 0:28
  • I think it means that it's hard to rhyme anything with orange.
    – Gleno
    Jan 18, 2011 at 0:41

3 Answers 3

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The Urban Dictionary and The Online Slang Dictionary both give a definition for crackalackin' as meaning "happening" as in

What's crackalackin'? [What's happening?]

Probably this is derived from "What's cracking?" which is an older term meaning the same thing.

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A fellow African American told me that it is a racial statement against white people. "Cracker" is often used by African Americans against white people. Much like the "N" word is to them. So, if the party is "Crack-a-Lackin", it means there are no "crackers", i.e. white people, at the party.

I shake my head in disbelief when I hear this term being spoke by kids and in movies while African Americans laugh about it because white people are too stupid to understand it is a racial slur against them.

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    Do you have any sources that can be examined apart from your friend?
    – Luke_0
    Dec 19, 2013 at 14:50
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    Too stupid? I know what is meant when a black guy calls me a cracker, but I refuse to acknowledge it as an insult. The word is meaningless to me in that context. Laugh as much as you like, the joke's on you.
    – Cyberherbalist
    Dec 21, 2014 at 6:29
  • That seems like a reasonable inference based on cracka-lacking, i.e. lacking crackers, if the person making the inference is unaware of what the word means, which is "happening".
    – DCShannon
    Jan 2, 2015 at 20:48
  • I just heard someone use this post as evidence that this is racist. Clearly it is not... unless someone comes up with a very good reference.
    – Loofer
    Dec 2, 2020 at 19:49
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It is a southern term meaning how are you, what are you you to.

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    "What are you you to"?
    – David Richerby
    Dec 21, 2014 at 10:48
  • What David said: huh? And "how are you" is entirely incorrect.
    – Marthaª
    Dec 21, 2014 at 23:50
  • @Marthaª I think she means "How are you, what are you up to?", which is pretty much the same as "What's happening?", which is the top-voted answer.
    – DCShannon
    Jan 2, 2015 at 20:46

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