etymology - Origin of "deez nuts"


I really hate to ask this one, but...


When I was a child, some thirty plus years ago, there was a popular juvenile game where you would try to trick a friend into asking a question that could be answered with the mildly obscene reply "deez nuts!" (meaning "these testicles"). Sample:



Jokester: Did you get that CD?
Victim: What CD?
Jokester: See deez nuts!



Apparently everything old is new again --I was recently ambushed with a "deez nuts" joke by some current teenagers of my acquaintance. Upon investigation, the old chestnut has apparently returned to currency due to a series of popular Vine videos starring a young man of amazingly unusual looks.


However, my question is this --where did the joke originally come from? Does it date from the 80's or is it even older? I'm fairly certain it originates somewhere within the black American urban subculture --maybe a skit on a rap album? I've done some research, but all the citations trace back only to the recent videos, nothing any further.



Answer




Berkeley High School Slang Dictionary - Page 26 Rick Ayers - 2004


Deez-nuts (deez nutz) n., Literally, these testicles.
Used to refer to oneself. "I'm not going to let anyone mess with deez-nuts."
Also: Negative response to a question. “Hey, pass that joint.” “Deez-nuts.”
[Origin : Hip Hop]



A 1985 reference:



The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and UnconventionalThe New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional ... Eric Partridge, ‎Tom Dalzell, ‎Terry Victor - 2006


“I'm not going to let anyone mess with deez-nuts”— Peter Smith and Fred M Barritt, Bermewjan Vurds. p. 18, 1985



Contradicting that is:



Deez nuts is a phrase that originated from the song "Deeez Nuuuts" on
Dr. Dre's original album "The Chronic", released in 1992.
(www.chacha.com)



Also, incomplete:



Cassell's Dictionary of Slang - Page 393 Jonathon Green - 2005


deez (nuts) n. [1990s+] (US Black) the testicles; the male genitals.
[SE these + NUTS n.2 (1)] def adj. [1970s+] (orig. US Black) perfect, excellent, first-rate.
[? Black pron. of SE death or abbr. SE definitive. Note 1907 cit. in Cassidy [???]



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