What Does "Shake That Laffy Taffy" Mean in the Iconic D4L Song?

The "Down for Life" album by D4L, a rap group made up of Fabo, Mook-B, Stoney, and Shawty Lo, was most famous for its hit song "Laffy Taffy."

Although you may know the lyrics by heart, what does the titular phrase actually mean?

Well, you may have figured this out on your own, but Fabo shared the real story behind what it means to "shake that Laffy Taffy." Read on for the full details — pun intended.

For everyone who wonders what "shake that Laffy Taffy" means in the song of the same name, Fabo told the story behind how the iconic song was born to Complex in 2016.

"We were doing a lot of crazy gangster music all the time. We were from a bad neighborhood," he said, setting the scene for how they came up with "Laffy Taffy."

Fabo explained, "We were in the strip club one night — we were at Babes, that's where it goes down — and we brought a couple of girls back to the studio, and I was just in the booth saying something like, 'Tootsie roll,' at first, and was like, 'Nah.' I had this piece of candy in my pocket and pulled it out and said, 'Girl, shake that Laffy Taffy.' And from there, we just perfected it. It was just that moment."

Indeed, according to Fabo, he always has candy on hand.

"Everybody who know me know I'm the candy man," he told Complex. "I always have some candy in my pocket. If you run into me and are like, 'Yo, give me some candy,' I guarantee I have some candy for you."

Just because the song went on to be a big hit — and was born out of Fabo's obsession with candy — that doesn't mean he was feeling the lyrics at first or that he even enjoyed hearing the song.

"Actually I hated the song. I swear to God, I hated the song," Fabo admitted to Complex, noting he wasn't the only one not into it. "I could remember Shawty Lo calling home from jail saying, 'Don't put that song out!'"

Eventually, Fabo grew to appreciate "Laffy Taffy," saying, "Actually being on the road performing it, it started getting real fun. I grew to love it."

Fans still love the tune, with one person tweeting in 2020, "'Laffy Taffy' my fav song of all time."

For others, the song is so iconic, it marks the passage of time in their lives.

The song is even having a moment on TikTok, with users dancing to the chorus, and appropriately shaking their rear ends. And so, "Laffy Taffy" lives on almost two decades after it was conceived of in a recording booth, thanks to a piece of candy, and our culture's ongoing obsession with the booty.