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Hyphy Movement, Not Just a Dance
Posted by vero in Chronicles
Monday, May 15, 2006
By: Sheila Lopez
Rap artists such as E-40, Too Short, Keak da Sneak, and San Quinn have become classic icons in the San Francisco Bay Area. Let’s not go without mentioning the legendary Mac Dre, a Vallejo rapper who was killed in a freeway shooting in Kansas City—his recognition emerged only after his death. If you tell people around the Bay how MTV labeled E-40 as “the brand new artist,” they will find themselves stunned. What will this mean for local Bay Area rap artists? And who really benefits from this: Bay Area talent or top record labels? Mainstream America is now knocking at our door to listen to our Hyphy music. But not everyone is excited; in the San Jose Mercury News, Too Short advises to young Bay Area artists “…to find ways to make money from the ‘Hyphy Movement,’ rather than letting other music companies now showing interest in the Bay Area.” Being from the Bay, we take much pride in our own availing independent record labels. Done Deal Entertainment, Thizz Entertainment, Sic Wid It Records, and Slapp Addict Productions are among Bay Area labels that can easily compete with mainstream entertainment businesses. When I asked my friends from around the Bay Area what the Hyphy Movement meant to them, I discovered a common creed. Traxamiilion from Slapp Addict Productions shares, “I think the Hyphy Movement is an embodiment of the Bay Area style and swagger, and it’s spreadin’ like wild fire, the Bay has always been trend setters in the game, and the Hyphy Movement is just one more example of it…” Traxamillion has produced many songs including Keak da Sneak’s “Super Hyphy.” The “Fool of the Bay” Freddie Hott Sauce of BIGGOent.com says, “It’s a ball of energy from an area, the Bay Area. A style of the Bay culture. A name all Bay Area artists support.” San Jose artist Staynless shares, “I feel the Hyphy Movement is a beautiful vibe going on. It’s really bringing the Bay Area closer as a whole. And power comes in numbers, so I’m all for it…if music motivates you in any way, whether it be physical, mentally, spiritually, artistically, etc., I consider it movement music, and Hyphy is definitely movement music!” Prince Jaheem from Action Pack Entertainment stated, “I believe the Hyphy Movement is a mesh between old and new northern California culture, the youth are the energy of the movement, and the bay area elite are the muscle, money, and experience that drives the success.” Here, we see that some upcoming artists are excited about getting recognized, yet it’s only become apparent that Bay Area rap has already manifested itself in the entertainment industry, that it can be just as promising as Bad Boy Entertainment and Rocafella Records. And the only way Bay Area rap artists can preserve this, is to stay on their court and continue being trendsetters. We’ve been speaking words like “fo shizzy,” “poppin’ collas,” “off tha hook,” and “it’s all good”—words that have been plagiarized from its roots. “Hyphy is just energy” says E-40 during Tha Corner “standing on top of cars, ‘stunaÂ’ shades, dreadlocks. We’ve been around eight years easily, but it’s just been gradually growing.” Basically, the last thing we need in the “Yay Area” is another distant rap artist copying our music, dance, and sweeping style. Listeners in the Bay Area agree that the Hyphy movement goes beyond a dance craze (as depicted by MTV and BET). It is in the Bay, where our pride flourishes. We’ve been devoting our ears to this music for so long, that finally times are changing, and recognition is rising: Bay Area rap artists has set a new rap curve with the inexplicable Hyphy Movement. As Too Short states, “…those coming up in the ‘Hyphy Movement’ to ‘go dumb’ in their dance moves and ‘go smart’ about realizing the financial opportunities from the culture they have helped created.” You heard it hear first: join the Hyphy Movement, do not allow top record labels dictate how the Bay should be, and most importantly, show off your pride by being local and staying local.
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Creative!