Slang dictionary
the Wild 100s
or The Wild Hundreds [th uh wahyld huhn-dridz]
What does the Wild 100s mean?
The Wild 100s is a nickname for the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, specifically the Roseland neighborhood.
Where does the Wild 100s come from?
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837. The southern section of the city was as racially diverse as the rest of the city until around the end of World War I. During this time, southern Chicago saw an influx of new black residents to areas south of 95th Street.
Southern Chicago, and the Roseland neighborhood especially, experienced racial segregation, drug and gun problems, and poverty, especially as the decline of the steel and automotive industries dried up much of the employment for the area’s residents.
Google Maps
By the 1980s, gang violence was rampant in neighborhoods located along and south of 100th St, (Chicago streets increase in number as you go south) earning Roseland the nickname the Wild 100s. In 2010, Chicago police statistics listed the Roseland neighborhood along 100th Street as the most violent in all of Chicago.
Examples of the Wild 100s
Who uses the Wild 100s?
Chicagoans might use the Wild 100s to comment on the area’s notorious gun and gang violence…
lol its called the “wild 100s” for a reason https://t.co/HyKaZBgx53
— GOCRZYG (@TrilliamClinton) September 30, 2018
…as might residents of the Roseland area, such as rappers describing life in the Wild 100s. Smoke DZA and Pete Rock did so on their 2016 track “Wild 100s,” where the hook goes: “Dead in the middle of the Wild 100s / I spit riddles and get wild 100’s.”
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of the Wild 100s like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of the Wild 100s that will help our users expand their word mastery.