At some point in the last five or so years, someone on the Jeopardy! staff figured out that having answers and clues based on hip-hop is really amusing to the show’s audience. And so, there have been references to Public Enemy (and the Funky Bunch), ASAP Rocky, Lil Jon, Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, and Megan Thee Stallion in recent contests, and invariably, the results have been entertaining — whether contestants’ answers are accurate or not.
The latest rapper to get the Jeopardy! treatment is Earl Sweatshirt. The Los Angeles-based former member of Odd Future appeared as the $800 clue in the “Rappers” category (they have a whole category!) last night. Now, it’s possible — even likely! — that our flustered contestant knew the correct answer. After all, the rapper whose name she blurted out is also named after a garment — damn near the same garment, in fact.
What that says about the state of rap names, in general, is probably a question for another day, but as far as linguistic replacements go, you could do worse than “A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.” The viewers’ frustration at the faux pas may appear to belie that assertion, though. She also mispronounced the “A” in “A Boogie” but considering everybody has to read everything online and just figure it out, this is something we are all going to have to get used to.
They violated Earl Sweatshirt on Jeopardy just now 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/LcjHBwRF4j
— WREX MASON (@wrexmason) March 1, 2023
The fact remains that Earl and Artist look almost nothing alike (for what it’s worth, there are so many photos of A Boogie wearing so many other items that are not hoodies, maybe a name change is in order). Nor does their music sound alike, although that didn’t come up on Jeopardy!. In the end, none of the contestants could guess and host Mayim Bialik had to give the answer. On the bright side, maybe it worked out for Earl and A Boogie’s streaming numbers when viewers inevitably googled both to figure out what the big deal was. Check out more fans’ reactions below.
Damn, they did Earl Sweatshirt dirty on Jeopardy.pic.twitter.com/ePKygxRsOM
— Odd Future: Fan Page (@OddFuturePage) March 1, 2023
THEY JUST CALLED EARL SWEATSHIRT A BOOGIE ON JEOPARDY😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/83DrwrMB6g
— recede🥳 (@rec3de) March 1, 2023
If you, like me and (apparently) Mayim, were not familiar with the (correct answer) Earl Sweatshirt or (Audrey's incorrect answer) A Boogie wit da Hoodie, congratulations, you learned something new on Jeopardy tonight! (Thanks Audrey) #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/Atvh6AJzVq
— Lilly (@OneEclecticMom) March 1, 2023
Jeopardy just put up a picture of Earl Sweatshirt and the ONE black girl on here so confidently said “Who is A Boogie With the Hoodie?”
— Scamber Rose ✨🦄 (@ABCDEFGHIrock) March 1, 2023
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Earl Sweatshirt are Warner Music artists. .