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The word hyphy (/ˈhaɪfiː/ HY-fee) is Oakland slang meaning "hyperactive." More specifically it is an adjective that describes the music and the urban culture associated with that area. It was created by Oakland-based rapper Keak da Sneak when he used the term on an album he recorded in 1994.
Contents
History
The hyphy culture began to emerge in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a response from Bay Area rappers against commercial hip hop for not acknowledging their region for setting trends in the hip hop industry. It is distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms, and in this sense can be associated with San Francisco Bay as crunk music is to the Southern United States. An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they dance in an overstated, fast-paced and ridiculous manner, or if they get overloud with other people. The phrase "to get hyphy" is similar to the southern phrase "to get crunk". Those who consider themselves part of the hyphy movement strive for this behavior.
Although the "hyphy movement" briefly saw light in mainstream America, it has been a long-standing and ever evolving culture in the Bay Area since the early 1990s. Throughout the Bay Area (particularly in East Oakland), there are regularly events called "sideshows", where different people come together and partake in or watch illegal automobile performances. This is where drivers do things such as donuts, ghost-riding and street race while others dance and "go dumb" around them. These events can be very dangerous. From a 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 sand out here. But we're trendsetters, and the rap game without the Bay Area is like old folks without bingo."
Resurgence in the 2010s
In the early to mid-2010s, the genre of hyphy music saw a resurgence in the mainstream as a part of being a stylistic influence to an up tempo and club oriented type of mainstream hip hop known as "ratchet music," which was popularized by various Los Angeles producers, including DJ Mustard. The production style of DJ Mustard is adapted from hyphy music and played a role in bringing West Coast hip hop back to national attention. DJ Mustard has been attached in producing for popular artists' singles, which include: Tyga's, "Rack City", 2 Chainz's "I'm Different", Young Jeezy's "R.I.P.", B.o.B's "HeadBand", YG's "My Nigga" and "Who Do You Love?" (as well as the majority of his 2014 debut album "My Krazy Life"), Ty Dolla Sign's "Paranoid", Kid Ink's "Show Me", Trey Songz's "Na Na," and Big Sean's "I Don't Fuck With You" among others.
Other more peripheral acts that achieved relatively moderate success in the mainstream include Lil B - who built a strong fan base via social media outlets such as Twitter, YouTube, and Myspace has recorded both solo and with The Pack - and the Richmond, CA-based hip hop collective HBK Gang, founded by Iamsu!.
In November 2011, Canadian hip hop artist Drake released the song "The Motto," featuring Young Money labelmate Lil Wayne, as the fourth single for his sophormore album Take Care. The song's instrumental (produced by T-Minus) takes major influence from hyphy music, and was a commercial success in the US, having sold 3,113,000 copies in the US as of April 2013. It peaked atop both the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and US Rap Songs charts, and was ranked 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-end Chart. "The Motto" was also nominated for Best Rap Song at the 55th Grammy Awards. A music video was released on February 10, 2012 and features cameos from Bay Area rappers E-40 and Mistah F.A.B. as well as including an introduction from the mother of Mac Dre, Wanda Salvatto. Salvatto has also said, in a 2016 interview with Complex Media, that Drake told her how Mac Dre influenced him when he was 15 years old, and how important that was to him.
Influence in Trap/EDM & Pop music
As a result of the recognizably and commonality between many of DJ Mustard's chart-topping singles, a number of artists who employ production similar to his have been criticized for unoriginality and sometimes plagiarism, with some of the biggest offenders of this style rip-off including the 2014 chart-topping Iggy Azalea single, "Fancy" and "Classic Man," the 2015 debut single by rapper Jidenna which samples "Fancy."
However, the popularity of Mustard's style started to gain influence outside of hip hop. In 2012, electronic dance music (EDM), which incorporated elements of southern trap music, began gaining popularity and brought wider attention to the derivative forms of trap, including hyphy, as well as Jamaican Dancehall music. This so-called "EDM Trap" genre saw the use of techno, dub, and house sounds combined with the Roland TR-808 drum samples and vocal samples typical of trap.
In December 2013, French producer DJ Snake and American rapper Lil Jon released the single "Turn Down For What", which became both a commercial hit charting in several countries and a critical hit throughout 2014. The composition of the song borrows elements from crunk and especially hyphy songs, and Rolling Stone voted "Turn Down For What" as the second best song of 2014, saying that, "The year's nutsiest party jam was also the perfect protest banger for a generation fed up with everything. DJ Snake brings the synapse-rattling EDM and Southern trap music; Lil Jon brings the dragon-fire holler for a hilarious, glorious, glowstick-punk fuck you."
The success of "Turn Down for What" set the standard for Trap EDM and even Pop music in the mid-2010s, which kept the influence and legacy of hyphy music alive. Among those songs include the DJ Snake and Major Lazer collaboration "Lean On," the Skrillex-produced Justin Bieber single "Sorry," and the chart-topping 2016 song "Closer" by American DJ duo The Chainsmokers.