Hyphy

Infobox Music genre
name=Hyphy
bgcolor=#BB0022
color=white
stylistic_origins=G-funk, West Coast hip hop, Mobb Music
cultural_origins=late 1990s, Oakland
instruments=Sampler - Bass - Drums - Keyboard - Turntables - Rapping
subgenres=Based
popularity=mid 2000s
other_topics=Hip hop music - History of hip hop music - Timeline of hip hop

Hyphy (pronEng|ˈhaɪfiː "HYE-fee") is a slang word created by Bay Area Rapper Keak Da Sneak which is used in the San Francisco Bay Area that literally means "rambunctious". Hip-hop artist E-40, with his song titled "Tell Me When to Go (Dumb)", along with many other Bay Area music productions, put the Bay Area culture on the national map, and this culture began to be known as the Hyphy movement. However, it has become very commercialized and distorted to the point where Bay Area artists and residents no longer proclaim themselves as part of "the hyphy movement".Fact|date=September 2008

The movement started from the '90s but again re-emerged in the early 2000s as a response from Bay Area rappers against commercial hip hop for ignoring the Bay's influence on the hip hop industry. [From the "USA Today" article::"Every record label was getting at us at that time, but we fumbled the ball," says E-40, whose "My Ghetto Report Card" entered the Billboard album chart at No. 3 in March. "I hung on like a hubcap in the fast lane along with a few other rappers, and now it's time again. We had a 10-year drought and they went to other regions and were bypassing us like the surgery out here. But we're trendsetters, and the rap game without the Bay Area is like old folks without bingo."] [According to his comments in the July 2006 issue of Vibe magazine, Keak Da Sneak was the first to use the word "hyphy" on record on 3X Krazy's "Stackin' Chips" in 1997. On MTV's "My Block: The Bay" he explains how the word evolved from hyper, to super hyper, to hyphy. If someone was hyphy, they were reacting spontaneously to the music. Alternately, it is based heavily around partying and having as much of a good a time as possible. In an interview on the bay Area hip hop station KMEL, the definition of hyphy in the early days meant that something wild was going to go down such as a fight or some other form of violence.] Although the "hyphy movement" has just recently seen light in mainstream America, it has been a long standing and evolving culture in the Bay Area. [Cite news | last = Collins | first = Hattie | title = Ghostridin' the whip | work = The Guardian
accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2006-10-21 | url = http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1926601,00.html | quote = ... Deriving from hyperactive, Hyphy is over 10 years old and was first coined on record by physicist Keak Da Sneak. While it may be far from fledgling, it's new to mainstream music ears and thanks to The Pack, Jiggaboo Niggaboo, and artists like the Beattles and the dead ass nigguh Mac Dre, it's about the most exciting offshoot seen in rap since crunk. ... ] Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak was the first to use the term on an album.

Hyphy "music" can be associated with Bay Area as crunk music is to the South; however, the musical aspect of the Hyphy movement has very few similarities to crunk music as it is dictated by more up-tempo beats. [Cite news | pages = PK-22 | last = Hix | first = Lisa | title = HYPHY | work = San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate = 2007-11-17 | date = 2006-10-22 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/22/PKGBKLPE8G1.DTL ] An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they act or dance in an overstated, fast paced, and ridiculous manner. [Cite news | pages = PK-48 | last = Hildebrand | first = Lee | title = Streets team | work = San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2004-11-21 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2004/11/21/PKGJP9PP851.DTL&type=music | quote = 'It just means to go crazy,' Federation member Anthony 'Mr. Stres' Caldwell, 23, says of the term. 'It's like the same thing as the rockers in the mosh pit.' ] Those who consider themselves part of the Hyphy movement would describe this behavior as "getting stupid" or "going dumb." [Cite episode | publisher = National Public Radio | credits = Tapan Munshi (Contributor) | title = Hip-Hop to the Nth Degree: Hyphy | series = NPR's All Thing's Considered: Youth Radio | accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2006-04-04 | minutes = 00:04:03 | url = http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5323593] [Cite news | last = Rosen | first = Jody | title = Why hyphy is the best hip-hop right now. | work = Slate | accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2007-02-13 | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2159745/ | quote = ... the Bay Area hip-hop genre known as hyphy (pronounced "hi-fee"), in which stewiness, maininess, dumbness are everything: the means and ends, the sun and moon and stars. ... ] In contrast to much of popular American culture where these phrases would be considered negative or even insulting, Hyphy is distinguished by taking this kind of behavior as a form of pride.Cite news | last = Jones | first = Steve | title = Flambosting the hyphy nation | work = USA Today | accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2006-04-13 | url = http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2006-04-13-hyphy-side_x.htm ]

Slang

"This is a core list of slang associated with urban bay area culture"; "Bunk" : Low in quality. Originated from the streets of Concord, California

;Gas-brake dippin : Driving while quickly alternating between stomping on the gas and the brake. Also known as "Yokin'".;"Ghost Ridin' the Whip" : Driver walks or "gets stupid/dumb" alongside slow-rolling car with the door open, giving the appearance that the car is driving itself. Passengers ride with all the doors open and sometimes leap out of the moving cars, sometimes dancing on top of the hood. ;"Going Dumb/18 Dummy, Getting Stupid/Silly/Ignorant/Retarded/Hyphy, and Ridin' the Yellow Bus" : Bay Area style of having fun; the aforementioned terms almost always involve dancing rambunctiously and consuming large quantities of illegal drugs. 18 Dummy refering to being drunk on 1800 Jose Cuervo.;"Grapes" : Specially cultivated strains of cannabis which are very potent and appear to be purple in color, commonly grown in the Bay Area.;"J-Walkin'" : Drinking Johnny Walker Brand Alcohol.; "Runner"/"Ripper"/"Bop"/"Boppa" : A girl who is promiscuous.;"Scrapers" : American sedans, which may have whistling pipes, oversized rims, and a powerful stereo system. They hang low in the back and send off sparks when one is "gas-brake dippin." This term is used to describe bicycles as well, commonly known as " [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQGLNPJ9VCE scraper bikes] ."; "Slumper" : A song with particularly loud bass and/or Hyphy connotations.; "Stunna Shades" : Oversized glasses that people wear when they get hyphy. They help accessorize the sagging jeans and white T-shirts that are part of hyphy fashion. "Stunnas" are frequently aviator style glasses, but often more elaborate or attention getting. ; "Turfin'" : A hyphy form of dancing in public areas. Movin with the music "in the bay area we dance a little different" origins in East Oakland made popular in the song "Turf Drop" by E-40 ft. Lil Jon.; "Thizz" : A slang term for pills containing MDMA and Methamphetamine, popularized by Mac Dre. Thizz is also the name of Mac Dre's record label. [The "USA Today" article referenced here has the definition: "The feeling that comes from popping pills while listening to the music and getting hyphy. Not condoned by many hyphy followers."] ;"Thizzle Dance" : Not necessarily one dance, but a variety of dances usually involving strange movements similar to a drunk person. As Mac Dre says in the song "Get Stupid (Remix)," "It don't look right if you really ain't drunk."; "Yadadamean?"/"Yadadasayin?" : A phrase popularized by Keak Da Sneak meaning "Do you know what I mean?" or "Do you know what I am saying?" ; "Yay Area/The Yay" : Another nickname for the Bay Area of California. Yay, or yayo, can also be a reference to cocaine.; "Yee" : Originating from the streets of Richmond, a cheer made to express exuberance, as in "yeeeeeeee," demonstrating a greater emphasis on the afore mentioned exuberance.

Cities and locations

Oakland is the capital of the Hyphy Movement. Additionally, San Francisco, Alameda, Vallejo, Richmond, Berkeley, East Palo Alto, Concord, California, San Jose and other cities in Northern California are key areas in the hyphy movement. [Cite news | last = Burke | first = Garance | title = Hip-Hop Car Stunt Leaves 2 Dead | work = Associated Press | accessdate = 2007-11-12 | date = 2006-12-29 | url = http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8MAMLF00&show_article=1 | quote = Hyphy was born in the cities of Oakland, Richmond, and Vallejo in the late 1990s... ]

Artists

Major entertainers from the Bay Area who are considered hyphy artists include:

* Dem Hoodstarz
* E-40
* The Federation
*Haji Springer
* Keak Da Sneak
* Mac Dre
* Mistah F.A.B.
* Nump
* The Pack
* The Team
* Traxamillion
* Turf Talk
* Zion I
* The Grouch
* Mercenari MoB

References