The first few words out of a person鈥檚 mouth can give you an idea of where someone has come from and where they鈥檝e been.
This is especially true for many St. Louisans.
The St. Louis accent has been a source of pride since homegrown musicians Nelly, Chingy and J-Kwon topped the Billboard charts in the early 2000s. Songs featuring the trademark emphasis on the "r" sound in words introduced the nation 鈥� and the world 鈥� to the sound of a city. That tradition continues with rappers like Smino, who proudly proclaims where he鈥檚 from in nearly every song he performs.
Comedian Tru Wag, born Brandon Wagner, is also proud of his accent and his city. He told St. Louis on the Air that he learned to appreciate the unique drawl while traveling abroad.
鈥淚 remember being on a cruise ship in the Bahamas. I believe it was someone from New York [that] heard me say, 鈥荣迟耻谤谤鈥� like to stare at someone. And they asked me, 鈥榃hat you say?鈥欌��
The native St. Louisan began and 鈥渁ccent challenges鈥� in 2021 highlighting and celebrating his accent on Tik Tok and , where he has amassed over 208,000 followers between the two social media platforms. Wag said the idea to do the accent challenges came to him easily. 鈥淚 wanted to do something that not only would be funny or something [others] could relate to, but something that was me. 鈥omething I could speak a lot about.鈥�
Wag鈥檚 content has connected with St. Louisans from all corners of the region 鈥� and he鈥檚 getting recognized for it, though not just for his accent.
鈥淎 lot of people do come up to me whenever I step out, and I don't think I have a very distinctive face. I think I look like a lot of people in St. Louis,鈥� he said and laughed. 鈥淚t's surprising that they can pick me out and notice me. It's a blessing.鈥�
For more about Tru Wag鈥檚 thoughts of accents around the region and an accent challenge game with host, Elaine Cha, listen to St. Louis on the Air on , , or , or by clicking the play button below.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . is our production assistant. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
