blow up v.3
1. (orig. rap music, vi. also blow) of people and creations, to achieve great success, esp. after a time of struggle and obscurity; also as adj.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | ‘Kool Moe Dee & L.L. Cool J’ in Buppies, B-Boys, Baps and Bohos (1994) 88: Yet if he really wants to blow up, the man needs more sonic versatility. | |
| Source Nov. 35: Now that we were blowin’ up, we’re seeing a little money. | |
| Source July 56: They played a big part in our education and in our blow-up status. | |
| Hip-Hop Connection Dec. 14: AZ just blew up overnight and no-one could get near him. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Indep. on Sun. Mag. 21 Jan. 54: No matter how big you blow up, if you don’t have anything to stand on, the platform is going to fall from under you. | |
| Rakim Told Me 183: After Straight Outta Compton was released and proceeded to blow up [. . .] the next crew album was readied. | |
 | ‘Fat Punnany’ 🎵 Fat punanny girl blowin’ up the spot / [...] Keep it tighter with your body rider. | |
| Adventures 159: ‘[T]he Message’ is a hit. [...] ‘the Message’ blows up. [...] The word’s getting back that we're blowing up the radio. | |
| ‘Authenti City’ in ThugLit Sept. [ebook] As soon as the article came out, business at Spolidoro [i.e. a restaurant] blew up. | |
| (ed.) ‘Drill Slang Glossary’ at Forensic Linguistic Databank 🌐 Blow – ‘take off’, achieve career success. | |
| Trans 122: The videos [about detransitioning] blew up online. And Luka began to learn how many others had been duped like herself. |
2. (US black) to rush around.
| Curvy Lovebox 60: Been on the go [...] We been blowin’ up all over. |
3. (US) to make money quickly from selling drugs.
| et al. Dict. of Today’s Words. |
4. (US black) vtr. to confer success.
| Check the Technique 314: ‘It was big right away [...] That was the track that definitely blew our shit up’. |
5. (US black) vtr. to excite, to enthuse (a place, an audience).
| Adventures 44: All I care about is what that DJ is doing. If he can really blow up the spot with his music, I have to see it firsthand [ibid.] 121: The Audubon Ballroom [...] The joint is the biggest thing I have ever seen. ‘We're gonna blow it up in here,’ Ray tells me. | |
| On the Bro’d 252: We blew up every bar arund [...] fucking everything. |
6. (US und.) to expand in size, to intensify.
| On the Bro’d 209: Shit [i.e. hedonistic enjoyment] started blowing up like a fucking blimp. | |
| Riker’s 71: His [gang] already blew up [...] to the street. What’s this Gangster Killer Bloods? We never intended for it to get to the street [...] and it started growing in numbers. |