half steppin'
trying too hard to be something you're not, and using a thinly disguised method to do it; someone who is a phony; an imposter; faker; bullshitter; a charlatan; A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud;
Example:
"he ain't nothin' ... he be half steppin'
Afro-American origin; early 1960s; jazz musicians would criticize a player who obviously had no talent or originality, who would try to play "hip" lines on his horn a half step outside of the key, in an attempt to copy master jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Ex: "he ain't playin' nothin'.... he's just half steppin'.... (i.e., playing musical melodies momentarily a half step out of the key to create harmonic tension resolved by moving back inside the key, a cheap imitation of the real thing).
"he ain't nothin' ... he be half steppin'
Afro-American origin; early 1960s; jazz musicians would criticize a player who obviously had no talent or originality, who would try to play "hip" lines on his horn a half step outside of the key, in an attempt to copy master jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Ex: "he ain't playin' nothin'.... he's just half steppin'.... (i.e., playing musical melodies momentarily a half step out of the key to create harmonic tension resolved by moving back inside the key, a cheap imitation of the real thing).