An Old Statement in a New Form

A big phrase these days is "it ain't trickin' if you got it." It seems to be in every big rap song these days. T.I. and Lil Wayne in particular are noted proponents of the phrase. In its most literal meaning, the phrase means that spending a lot of money on a girl who has sex with you isn't prostitution if you were already entitled to it.

Of course, this is just a reformulation of an earlier expressed sentiment, "it ain't braggin' if you can do it." (Or "...if you can back it up." Sources vary.) This was said by Dizzy Dean, a Cardinals baseball player from the 1930's. Dean's sentiment lacks the sexual imagery of today's rap phrase, but the basic idea is obviously the same: flashy behavior is acceptable as long as you have transcendent talent. (Dean probably adapted this from an earlier source; I'm not accusing Lil Wayne of biting Dizzy Dean.)

No nuanced observations here. Just pointing out something kind of banal that I've noticed recently.