When You Up Pole

About

When You Up Pole is an AAVE slang phrase used to describe being armed or "strapped" with a gun. The expression "when you up pole" refers to how people treat you differently when you are carrying a firearm. The use of the word "pole" as slang for a gun was popularized in the 2010s through rap music, with the phrase becoming popularized in memes after being paired with images of people looking scared or holding up their hands in the early 2020s.

Origin

The term "pole" or "smoke pole" has long been used as a euphemism for "gun" or "rifle" in the English language, with literary examples such as Wesley Ellis' Lone Star dating as far back as 1994.^[1]

However, the popularization of the term "pole" to describe a gun in AAVE can be traced to the songs from the 2010s, such as Chief Keef's 2012 track "Love SOSA,"^[2] in which he raps, "And he keep that pole, boy," or the 2017 Trippie Red ft. 6ix9ine song "POLES 1469,"^[3] in which they rap, "you know we tote them poles."

The phrase "up pole" and "up pole on you" gained traction in 2017, as seen in an October 12th, 2017, post by X / Twitter user @Onlyonebod_^[4] that read, "Gotta up pole on him smh," gathering over 100 likes.

However, the expression "when you up pole" only gained traction in 2023, as seen in a November 28th, 2023, tweet by X user @aimlessburner^[5] that read, "How niggas be when u up pole," gathering over 7,000 likes in a year.

Spread

On December 27th, 2024, X^[6] user @dielikejay reposted an Instagram meme of unknown origin, showing a Black man holding up his hands with the text "How niggas be when u up pole," gathering over 4,000 likes in a year.

On April 15th, the Instagram^[7] page @dloc_mtm posted a photo of rapper J. Cole holding up his hand alongside the phrase "when u up pole," gathering over 400 likes in six months.

On October 11th, 2024, the Instagram^[8] page @jussjalen posted a sketch about how people react when you "up pole," gathering over 5,900 likes in two months.

On December 3rd, X^[9] user @poopingduck25 posted a tweet sharing a "pole up" meme in a Discord server, with two other participants asking what "up pole" means. The post gathered over 6,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References