Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US black) a friendly greeting, hello, how are you?

1972		O. Hawkins Ghetto Sketches 151: What it is, baby. What it is.
1982		Eble Campus Sl. Spring 9: what it is – greeting.
1991		D. Jenkins You Gotta Play Hurt 36: ‘Hey man, what it is?’ ‘Raclette and fondue.’ ‘I’m blimped out, man. Fondue fever’.
1996		Eble Sl. and Sociability 100: Question forms such as these versions of how are you? signal that a response is in order: how’s it going?what does it look like?what it is?what’s going down?
2000		Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 What it is? Definition: greeting for the beautiful people. Example: Hey Funk what it is?