by Jada GomezBuzzFeedBuzzFeed Staff It's a tale as old as time. Black and brown kids will start using some new slang terms with friends. Then, those new phrases start to trickle into their tweets and Instagram captions. Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF ESPN / Via giphy.com Then years later - and I mean years later - their slang gets... we'll say, "adopted"... into influencers' hashtags and land in commercials. Eventually, the terms become labeled as "things the kids are saying these days." And yet again, Black creativity and joy is devoured, while the people who literally created that joy aren't even footnotes in the conversation. Star Wars/Disney+ / Via giphy.com But on the recent episode of SNL, Marcello Hernández broke this down so beautifully on "Weekend Update" that I was slow clapping for him in my pajamas. NBC/SNL "Gen Z slang is African-American slang," he said. "Basically, Black people start saying something, then young people think it's cool, so they start saying it. Then white people say it, and then once Elon Musk says it, it's over." And that's facts (a word I had to awkwardly explain way too recently). NBC/SNL When he explained the "new" Gen Z slang (that's really just Black slang) to Colin Jost, Colin asked why he wasn't quizzing Michael Che on these popular terms. "Che knows this stuff," Marcello told him. Just like the rest of us Black millennials who had terms like "slaps," "bop," and "that hits" co-opted literally as recently as the pandemic. NBC/SNL Then Colin tried to use what he just learned in a sentence and proceeded to kill a bunch of words, like "cap" in 2026. Bless his heart. NBC/SNL Black Twitter also reacted to the unexpected and refreshing props: @Anvkii via Twitter / Via Twitter: @Anvkii NBC via Twitter @olesoul57_2 / Via x.com Paramount Pictures Via Twitter: @ObaTheGreat1 / Via Twitter: @ObaTheGreat1 @RyanBartholomee via Twitter / Via x.com @BihhhImFlawless via Twitter / Via x.com @SleezePetty via Twitter / Via Twitter: @SleezePetty @CommonSensai via Twitter / Via x.com Same. @GirlGurl26 via Twitter / Via Twitter: @GirlGurl26 @AngieRhymes via Twitter / Via x.com @taanubey via Twitter / Via Twitter: @taanubey Marcello, of course, isn't nearly the first person who's tried to break down the origins of terms Black people made cool. But the refresher was super appreciated. You can watch the full clip here. View this video on YouTube NBC / Via youtube.com What did you think of Marcello's slang history lesson on SNL? Let us know in the comments! Comments