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Hyphy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hyphy | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | G-funk, West Coast hip hop, Mobb Music |
| Cultural origins: | late 1990s, Oakland |
| Typical instruments: | Sampler - Bass - Drums - Keyboard - Turntables - Rapping |
| Mainstream popularity: | early 2000s |
| Other topics | |
| Hip hop music - History of hip hop music - Timeline of hip hop | |
Hyphy (pronounced /ˈhaɪfiː/ HYE-fee) is a style of music and dance primarily associated with the Bay Area hip hop culture. The Hyphy movement started in the early '90s but began to re-emerge 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.[1][2] 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.[3] Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak takes credit for coining the term when, as a young boy, his mother would often tell him he was hyperactive. He would repeat the word "hyper" as "hyphy".
Hyphy music is distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms and in this sense can be associated with the Bay Area as crunk music is to the South; however, contrary to popular belief, the musical aspect of the Hyphy movement has very few similarities to crunk music as it is dictated by more up-tempo beats.[4] An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they act or dance in an overstated, fast paced, and ridiculous manner.[5] Those who consider themselves part of the Hyphy movement would describe this behavior as "getting stupid" or "going dumb."[6][7] 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.[8]
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A particular feature of hyphy culture in the Bay Area are sydeshows, commonly called "sideshows," when one or more cars does multiple doughnuts by braking and turning at high speeds. Other car maneuvers include "Yoking" and "ghostriding." Hyphy culture focuses heavily on the usage of alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy.[9] Dancing and partying are important aspects of hyphy culture, though it is not necessary to be intoxicated to participate.
Bay Area hyphy producers include Rick Rock, Traxamillion, E-A-Ski, Droop-E, and Sean T.
Like many Bay Area trends, Hyphy has a unique culture of slang. Below is a partial list of notable slang terms in hyphy culture:[8][10][11]
This is a core list of slang associated with hyphy culture, it is not meant to be exhaustive.
- "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 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, Getting Stupid/Silly/Ignorant/Retarded/Hyphy, & Ridin' the Yellow Bus" - Bay Area style of having fun; the aforementioned terms almost always involve the consumption of mind-altering drugs, such as MDMA, cannabis, or alcohol.
- "Grapes" - Specially cultivated strains of cannabis which are very potent and appear to be purple in color, commonly grown in the Bay Area.
- "Runner"/"Ripper" - A girl who is promiscuous.
- "Scrapers" - Vintage four-door American sedans with whistling pipes, oversized spinning rims and a powerful stereo system. They hang low in the back and send off sparks when one is "gas-brake dippin." However, the style today is raising the end of the car up high. This term is used to describe bicycles as well, commonly known as "scraper bikes."
- "Shake dem Dreads" - Bobbing your head to the beat of a song very rapidly, for those who have dreads or cornrows.
- "Slapper"/"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.
- "Thizz" - A slang term for MDMA, popularized by Mac Dre. Thizz is also the name of Mac Dre's record label.[12]
- "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?" The 'dada' usually signifies rolling the letter R, however, for effect and for people who cannot roll their Rs, the informal 'didi' (pronounced did-I) is appropriate.
- "Yay Area/The Yay" - Another nickname for the Bay Area of California.
- "Yee" - Originating from the streets of Richmond, a noise made to express exuberance.
Oakland is the capital of the Hyphy Movement. Additionally, San Francisco, Vallejo, Richmond and other cities in Northern California are key areas in the hyphy movement.[13]
Major entertainers from the Bay Area who are considered hyphy artists include:
- Bavgate
- Dem Hoodstarz
- E-40
- The Federation
- Keak Da Sneak
- Mac Dre
- Messy Marv
- Mistah F.A.B.
- Nump
- The Pack
- San Quinn
- The Team
- Traxamillion
- Too $hort
- Turf Talk
- Hyphy.com - Hip-Hop Community bangin the Bay
- Super Hyphy Movement
- Hyphy Movement
- Get Stoopid - A Hyphy Music Blog
- Nation of Thizzlam - A Hyphy Music Blog
- ^ 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.
- ^ Collins, Hattie. "Ghostridin' the whip", The Guardian, 2006-10-21. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. "... Deriving from hyperactive, Hyphy is over 10 years old and was first coined on record by Bay legend Keak Da Sneak. While it may be far from fledgling, it's new to mainstream music ears and thanks to The Pack, Fab and artists like E40 and the now-deceased Mac Dre, it's about the most exciting offshoot seen in rap since crunk. ..."
- ^ Hix, Lisa. "HYPHY", San Francisco Chronicle, 2006-10-22, pp. PK-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
- ^ Hildebrand, Lee. "Streets team", San Francisco Chronicle, 2004-11-21, pp. PK-48. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. "'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.'"
- ^ "Hip-Hop to the Nth Degree: Hyphy". Tapan Munshi (Contributor). NPR's All Thing's Considered: Youth Radio. 00:04:03 minutes in.
- ^ Rosen, Jody. "Why hyphy is the best hip-hop right now.", Slate, 2007-02-13. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. "... 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. ..."
- ^ a b Jones, Steve. "Flambosting the hyphy nation", USA Today, 2006-04-13. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- ^ Swan, Rachel. "Feelin' Their Thizzle: How the culture of Ecstasy has changed as the drug moved from raves to hip-hop.", East Bay Express, 2006-03-15. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- ^ Also see the list of hyphy slang in the East Bay Express article in the Notes section of this article.
- ^ Hancox, Dan. "You too can pop ya collar, fo' sheezy", The Guardian, 2007-10-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- ^ 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."
- ^ Burke, Garance. "Hip-Hop Car Stunt Leaves 2 Dead", Associated Press, 2006-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-11-12. "Hyphy was born in the cities of Oakland, San Jose, Richmond and Vallejo in the late 1990s..."