Wiktionary
phr. (context slang African American Vernacular English English) A casual greeting
Wikipedia
What It Is is a slang phrase popularized in the 1990s as a greeting or as another way to ask an individual about their well-being or general perception of things (similar to "How are you?", "How is it going?" or "What's Up?") It is a shortening of the greeting, "What it is, what it was, and what it shall be," popular in the 1960s among African Americans.
It also may refer to :
What It Is is the third album by the rapper, PSD. It was released on October 5, 1999, for Swerve Records and was produced by PSD, Phillip Armstrong, J-Cutt, Bernard Gourley and Lev Berlak.
"What It Is" is a song written and recorded by the British rock musician Mark Knopfler. It was released in September 2000 as the lead single from the album, Sailing to Philadelphia.
The song lyrics pay homage to the city of Edinburgh, Scotland
What It Is is an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron recorded in 1981 and released by the Enja label.
What It Is is the sixth album by guitarist Boogaloo Joe Jones which was recorded in 1971 and released on the Prestige label.
Usage examples of "what it is".
It isn't like Graice to forget, Alan Savage will say, it isn't like her but Graice isn't thinking of what it is, or isn't, like her to do or to fail to do.
Above all, we learn, sexual activity divorced fron procreation is not only part of what it is to be human, but the very crux of our evolutionary success.
You don't know what it is - you don't know what it is, you don't!
The trouble is, he doesn't understand what it is that is best about him.
Only we'll make up our minds, solid, before we go, what it is we do want, and no one must ask for anything unless the others agree first.
You can imagine well enough what it is like to carve a chicken and a tongue with a knife that has only one blade - and that snapped off short about half-way down.
He's taken a lot of plates from the Dome, by his own efforts, and we all wonder what it is he's doing.
Do you know what it is to be like me, like Frank Belanger, like your wife Sarah?