From 'Pump It Up' by Joe Budden
"My jump off doesn't run off at the mouth so much, My jump off never ask why I go out so much, My jump off never has me going out of my way, And she don't want nothing on Valentine’s Day, My jump off don't argue or get rebellious, And she don't mind hanging out wit da fellas, My jump offs not insecure or jealous…”
First it is important to get a grasp of what actually constitutes a “jump-off” and how one earns such a title. I figured I may humor myself a little by looking up the term on Urbandictionary.com, just to get a general consensus of what the majority would rule. To my surprise there were many different definitions with some varying in gender exclusivity and many quoting the infamous Joe Budden. For the sake of this blog I decided to utilize, in my opinion, the best definition which states—a jump-off is someone that you FCK on occasion that you have no ties to. (Usually, one or both involved are married). Don't put any feelings into a jump off because you walk into it knowing that you can't get anything from it but a good FCK! If you catch feelings, you will get hurt!!
So in essence to further simplify this definition, a jump-off can be easily classified as a casual sex-partner. So what’s so wrong with having a jump-off? Or, what’s so wrong with being a jump-off? Most of us have had at least that one we engaged a time or two without any committal ties, right? Ha, Ha… For so very long the term jump-off has received its fair share of negative scrutiny when used as a means to label a female. Yet in today’s era with the evolution of social tolerance it seems as though in terms of defining a jump-off the negative conceptualization has seemed to slightly diminish. Nowadays sadly enough it almost seems as though the jump-off comes off better than the “main chick.” Jump-offs know their role with no expectations nor obligation to their counterpart whereas; the main chick has to deal with the cheating boyfriend and all that comes with it. The jump-off gets honest conversation while the main-chick receives a host of lies of where he’s been and what he’s been doing. There is no exclusivity yet there is underlining respect for the opposite party--just like any other game played, there are rules to this shyt and its important to play your role.
Joe Budden’s interpretation of a jump-off makes for an ideal situation but realistically how long does that last? The more you and your jump-off engage one another the more feelings become involved as a result of simple human psychology. We as humans are automatically drawn to the things that we have considerable interest in. So naturally at least one of the two people engrossed in this situation is going to develop a stronger liking towards the other. So at that point what do you do? Do you continue to play your position and suppress those feelings? Do you take the 50/50 risk of potentially ruining your situation by having that conversation of “what are we?” Or, do you attempt to cut off all contact with that person? Let’s be real for a moment, based on the definition used for this blog, a jump-off is NOT just someone you’ve randomly cheated on your mate/spouse with. It’s obviously something that you found in that person that you’re immensely attracted to that in turn leads to an emotional connection which constitutes the reason you keep going back repeatedly. And although you both walked into a situation with no expectations of gaining anything from it your continual encounters will eventually emerge into something greater. Now what that “something greater” ends up being is a mystery and it’s plausible that the mistress may one day end up being the MRS. So the moral of this story my friends is, remember Jump-offs ain’t what they used to be.
-Lusty
