Frankie Smith

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Frankie Smith is a funk musician and R&B/soul song writer.

He was a writer for funk and soul artists such as the O'Jays and The Spinners. He has also been influential in the careers of modern day rappers Tone Lōc and Ice Cube.

With his 1981 single "Double Dutch Bus" released by WMOT records, Smith popularized a nonsensical form of slang, in which "iz" is placed in the middle of a word (place becomes plizace) or the last letters of a word are replaced with "-izzle" (sure becomes shizzle). The style became part of hip-hop slang, and was popularized by rappers Snoop Dogg and E-40, and today holds a place in popular slang. "Double Dutch Bus" itself has been sampled frequently in hip-hop music, including Snoop Dog's "Snoop Dogg (What's My Name, Pt. 2)" and Missy Elliott's "Gossip Folks", both records produced by Timbaland.

An album was released to cash in on the success of "Double Dutch Bus," but content-wise, it is weak at best, consisting mainly of endless variations on the title song.