This Is the Instagram Post That Started T Swift’s ‘Squad’ Back in 2015

In 2015, the word “squad” became one of the most overused terms — and it’s all Taylor Swift’s fault.

No really, it is.

She’s the one who started calling her friends “her squad” in the first place.

Before January of 2015 there isn’t a single mention of the word “squad” in any Taylor Swift story, but then, the world changed in the span of one Instagram caption: “Hiking with the Squad in Hawaii.”

Hiking with the Squad in Hawaii. @haimtheband

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on

She even capitalized the S in squad, as if anticipating its usage in the months to come would practically constitute a proper noun.

Now, of course, we’re not trying to say that T Swift came up with the word “squad” on her own, because that would be giving Taylor way too much credit.

She obviously got it from hip-hop.

As Noisey notes in an article written just before the “Bad Blood” music video was released, “‘squad’ is some hip hop shit,” brought to national attention in the early 90s with groups like the Hit Squad and the Def Squad, and further popularized by Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe and Taylor’s favorite, Lil Wayne.

Wait — Taylor loves Lil Wayne?

Well, she used to.

In 2012, Taylor told Vibe Magazine:

“I love hip-hop! The first song I memorized was ‘Fireman’ by Lil Wayne. Ever since then…it’s Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, the Game. When I was in high school, my boyfriend and I would drive around and he’d always point to this neighborhood where [rapper] Young Buck lived. We would drive and look at his cars and be like, ‘Oh my gawd! Those cars are so cool! I wonder if he’s in there!'”

So yeah, high school Taylor Swift was definitely listening to hip hop, which is most likely when the term “squad” made its way onto her list of cool things.

In the words of another hip-hop legend Taylor may or may not have listened to with her boyfriend in the car, “if you don’t know, now you know.”


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