Talk:Hyphy

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Hyphy and its effect on intelligence[edit]

It is a well known fact that hyphy people are of low intelligence, this should be added to the article

that's a pretty ridiculous claim. -- Joebeone (Talk) 17:05, 2 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]


that's the dumbest thing i ever heard. all us hyphy people have a different slang just like everyone else. get off our case. we just know how to have fun. and everyones jealous of that. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.6.163.7 (talk) 20:30, 23 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]


1st of all, that's not even close to being a fact, that's an opinion, there's no way it would/should ever be added to the article. 2nd of all, it's a generalization and therefore plain not true. 3rd of all, judging by your grammar and the fact that you didn't know how to sign, I would say that the same could be said of you. Next time, I suggest you keep it to yourself. - Bagel7T's 08:00, 4 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't think the people who are into it are necessarily stupid, but it certainly sounds like a stupid genre; trying to outdo crunk for the stupidest hip hop derivative yet. Yeah, "gettin' dumb." How cool is that?Ndriley97 (talk) 22:35, 3 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Well it's up to your personal opinion, but I don't think it's a dumb genre. Hyphy is nothing like crunk and has no intention of trying to outdo crunk in any way, certainly not for "the stupidest hip hop derivative yet," hyphy is original and, in my opinion, much better than crunk. And "gettin' dumb" is just slang, which never makes logical sense. For example, how are the words "cool" and "hot" both compliments with positive connotations when they mean the exact opposite things? - Bagel7T's 07:03, 5 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Touché, Bagel7, touché. But, I still fail to see any intentional irony in the phrase "getting dumb" or "going dumb." The phrase refers to getting wasted on X, pot or whatever else is at hand, which doesn't exactly make a person into a rocket scientist. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ndriley97 (talkcontribs) 03:39, 9 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Everyone should remember that talk pages are not for general discussion of the article's topic, just for discussing the article itself. Murderbike (talk) 00:00, 10 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
In that case, I will respond once more, and then Ndriley97 is welcome to take the discussion to my talk page or his talk page. I don't think there was meant to be any intentional irony in the phrases, they just kind of came about. It's true that "gettin stupid, dumb, and hyphy" has connotations of taking Ecstasy and/or Marijuana, but I believe one of the original meanings comes from Mac Dre's song "S.T.U.P.I.D.:" "alright let me tell you why we call this thing stupid cause when i dance the chicks say 'you stupid' you can do it it aint that hard/baby get dumb act like a retard, shake ya hair make it go in the air you gotta get into it growl like a bear, now say whaaaa!(what!) no whaaaa! do tha damn thang girl cut that shit up." I get the idea that the way Mac Dre dances, going crazy and kind of losing himself in it with the pure energy of hyphy music and probably a bunch of drugs, gets people to call him "stupid" and "dumb." They're describing the way he dances, so he tells them to "act like a retard," like him, doing a dumb dance where you lose yoursel in it, similarly to him. But obviously, the connotations have evolved to include E and all of those drugs. - Bagel7T's 08:07, 10 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]
going dumb is about rejection of your prissy, high handed, societally correct notions of intelligence. mac dre was a smart ass motherfucker. he hid a huge ecstasy business his whole rap career and got away with a bank robbery. it's basically rubbing it in your face and if you don't get it... well, who's going dumb now?
I thought this was funny. Mac Dre's one of the greatest there ever was, avant-garde — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:304:B12A:E209:A070:2C17:9CA4:20CA (talk) 04:29, 8 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Hyphy week on BET[edit]

Just in case you guys don't know already,

Rap City Takes Week Long Look at Hip-Hop Hyphy

BET has created a weeklong series to document this movement. Rap Citys Hyphy Week series will air daily at 5:00 pm PDT during the week of May 22, 2006.

[1 of 3]e [2 of 3] [3 of 3]

Expand[edit]

if anyone wants to expand this, you have my permission to use anything from my website at http://hyphie.blogspot.com for ideas and information on the creation and definition of hyphy music. check the older posts, thats when i really wrote about how hyphy's distinct sound formed out of bay area gangsta rap. if nobody steps up, i'll have a shot at editing this. Justinhoude 04:21, 11 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

haha i like that thizz dance .gif

artists[edit]

i think that the artist list should be at the end, since it is a list. I'll move it within a few days unless anyone disagrees.Reggaedelgado 04:54, 17 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

So I actually visited this page, saw the artists at the front, and thought I'd mention that they should be at the end. Then I saw I left the same comment a month ago. I guess I am going way too dumb. I made the edits. I still think that the article needs some help. ANy ideas???Reggaedelgado 09:55, 8 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong, none of these people are "artists."


one thing, dj shadow is not nor has ever been considered "hyphy". he's a dj. he samples and mixes. this is not hyphy. why is he listed on this page?


FYI - hyphy combines hype and hyper


also it's an Oakland export - Bay Area is too broad

also an omission that it's intertwined with the car show movement in Oakland is an understandable oversight

these guys should be added: Beeda Weeda EvaGreen they go dumb every day —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thistlethumper (talkcontribs) 04:25, 8 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't Mac Mall be added to the artists list? He came out with Mac Dre, and has put out an an album with him (Da US Open), and at least "Thizziana Stoned And The Temple of Shrooms" was definately a hyphy album Makalleli (talk)

sac town[edit]

is sactown really in the "Valley?" i always thought the valley was livermore pleasanton area but whatever.

Yes, Sacramento is in the Central Valley. Livermore, Dublin, and Pleasanton are in smaller, seperate valley called the Livermore Valley. It is not part of the Central Valley but is divided from it by the range of low mountains/hills that Altamont Pass cuts through. Pick up a map sometime, genius.

yes genius, maybe you should learn how to sign your comments, anyways. sacramento isnt really part of the bay area and livermore pleasanton dublin are part of tri valley, which is what we real bay area people call the valley. this is how you sign your comment genius 128.54.160.176 23:33, 19 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hey guys, let's try to be civil. Do sign your comments with four tildes (~~~~)... hyphy definitely extends to Sac. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:20, 20 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yea, Federation went to high school in Sac, and they did the song hyphy Carlos 15:42, 15 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

add andre nickatina yadidamean

sactown is not in the bay at all. it is in the valley which may as well be socal. dont even try to act like anyone in sac is hyphy, it has no sideshows or hyphyness about it at all

Mac Dre established thizz ent in sactown according to mac-dre.info. maybe sactown doesnt go dumb now but it did and it has a significant part in hyphy history. ive seen videos of some big ass sideshows in sactown --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 21:55, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Cleanup?[edit]

Any indication of what needed clean-up? -- Joseph Lorenzo Hall 17:34, 11 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I personally don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with the article. I just checked the cleanup list and no one ever added Hyphy to the list. If no one comes forward to explain why this article needs to be cleaned up, I 'm going to delete the notification off of the article. -- βig 06:52, 24 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]



Baby Ray----" Ain't Nothin' Like The Town"

How can we forget Baby Ray's Oakland Classic, "Ain't Nothin' Like The Town" the song that back Bay Area Rap back to the forefront!

www.myspace.com/babyray75


Tech Nine[edit]

how the hell is he a "hyphy" artist, hes from kansas! i'm removing him. 00:28, 13 March 2006 by 128.54.160.176 Please remember to sign your posts on talk pages. Typing four tildes after your comment ( ~~~~ ) will insert a signature showing your username and a date/time stamp, which makes it clear who said what, and when. Thank you.

I have no idea how to evaluate your claim, since it is unsourced. I've restored the link. John Reid 00:46, 13 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Here's a source for him being from Kansas City [1] under "Tech N9ne" although I've also seen it as "Tech 9ine" [2] on a Bay Area Hip-Hop mix. So while he maye from Kansas City, the fact that he's been in hyphy songs like "Jelly Sickle" (with e-40, means he's also hyphy. Maybe he lives in the bay area now? -- Joebeone (Talk) 01:12, 13 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
theres no "official list" of hyphy artists anywhere, the only way to tell if something is hyphy is if its a slapper and its generally agreed upon that the artist is/isnt hyphy. for example, its generally agreed upon that Andre Nickatina/Dre Dogg is not a hyphy artist, so he is not classified as such. 128.54.160.176
  • If Andre Nickatina is not considered Hyphy, then why is Equipto? They're on their 3rd Horns and Halos album? Nickatina Homepage -- Carlos 16:08, 15 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
As someone who listens to and is familiar with "hyphy" music, Tech N9ne is definetally not a member of that group. He sings lyrics like "I do hip hop, and I mix it with the hard rock", which doesn't fit the hyphy bill at all. Before MTV, no one even called it the hyphy movement...people just got hyphy. Was there a crunk movement? Or were people just getting crunk. I hate how "commercial hip hop" makes stuff up to make money. The only way I will satisfied is if all my favorite rappers (Andre Nickatina, E-40, Mac Dre, Keak da Sneak, etc. take over the airwaves in other places than the Bay. I don't think that Tech N9ne has ever said hyphy in any lyric, and he dresses like a stupid little clown and runs around on stage shooting fireworks out of his hands or something. A "hyphy" artist, on the other hand, would be too hyphy to run around or be trusted with fireworks and his whole crew would be on stage "ridin' the yellow bus". I am removing Tech N9ne from the list. Andy 03:44, 5 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He's probably borderline... but there is no question that he says "hyphy" in the song Jelly Sickle (Jelly Sickel sometimes) and talks about hanging with the Federation which is undoubtedly an hyphy song (although e-40 is always the hyphiest). -- Joebeone (Talk) 19:09, 7 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's kinda like Kansas City and The Bay are like sister cities. They listen to Bay Artists, we listen to them. We got dreads, they got dreads. Tech is always doin shows here, Mac Dre got shot there. But Tech 9 is from Kansas City and he still stays there. He could be considered hyphy i guess . . . Tech Nine interview. But does anybody know why Zion-I are Hyphy Artists? --Carlos 15:51, 15 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Tech N9ne does use the word hyphy in two of the tracks on Everready (unreleased), namely "My Wife, My Bitch, My Girl" and "Jellysickle." The latter of which is featuring E-40. Just thought this was relevant, not sure if he IS hyphy. Achoo5000 04:45, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Zion-I have a few hyphy slappers... like "The Bay". (I think.) -- Joebeone (Talk) 19:51, 17 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Some Zion I songs are borderline hyphy i believe.. songs like cheeba cheeba, and the bay have that sound, with the clap in 'the bay' but if you compare them with keak da sneak, or E40.. they're sound is totally different! their lyrics and for example the song 'trippin'; along with most of their content is thought provoking, hyphy in general is stuff that gets you hyper, dumb and wild, not thinking lol. 75.15.234.32 04:19, 3 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tech N9ne is from Missouri. KC MO.

were all agreed then. officially, and basically common sense, you can never ever call yourself a hyphy artist, if you were born in florida. or in this case, KC, MO. but never-the-less!

tech n9ne is great group. show respect eh?

Wrong Joebeone. Mac Dre was way hyphier than E-40. 153.18.17.22 21:26, 12 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yea, Tech N9ne isn't 'hyphy' per se, but he's down with it..Mahmud II 00:10, 29 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

man just cause a someone might go dumb in the bay doesnt mean he defines hyphy. maybe tech9 has gone dumb b4 but wat im sayin is lil jon does hella traks with e40 and lil jon is not considered hyphy. --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 22:00, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

alameda[edit]

WHO the hell put alameda? alameda is so not ghetto. -- User:Darkestknight

Doesn't have to be ghetto to be hyphy, no? Get rid of it if you want. -- Joebeone (Talk) 19:25, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

doesnt have to be ghteto to be hyphy, and West End of alameda is so hard i bet you couldnt handle it. just to prove it, the artist NUMP is from alameda (this was on MTV my block) and cats like Keak and others roll through alameda all the time. get out darkest knight

Nump is hella hyphy. This issue is settled in my book. -- Joebeone (Talk) 22:42, 22 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Define ghetto. really. Thats pathetic. For gods sake, you cant just call something hyphy just on the base of wether the place is "ghetto" or not. Ive seen preppy 17 year olds, living the hyphy life style. And I didnt even know that was possible. But apperntly it is.

Keeping Quality of this Article High[edit]

This article sees a lot of anonymous edits with varying quality of contributions. I'm starting to revert stuff that I'm not sure is correct. If I revert something of yours and you feel strongly about it, say so here or on my talk page and we'll try to work it in. I don't want to give off the feeling that I own this page, but I'd like to keep it from rotting. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:14, 26 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Cities/Locations[edit]

The Cities/Locations section has been getting slowly larger and then parred down in waves. I'm going to ask contributors that want to add/subtract from the current list to say why and provide source material. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:54, 26 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

i agree, it should just be simple. capital of hyphy is in Oakland, with Richmond and Vallejo making significant contributions as well. it doesnt need to be expanded past that. i had previously put alameda on there because the list was extremely long. i figured if places like Pittsburg (who, as far as I know has no well-known hyphy artist) could be on the list then Alameda ,where a known hyphy artist like NUMP is from could be on the list. i dont see a need for specific places outside of Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo and possibly SF. Skhatri2005 01:52, 26 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
That sounds very reasonable... plus, the last part of that sentence makes it clear that it's a wide movement. You want to make the change? Then we can keep it stable unless someone comes up with a sourced rational for listing more. best, -- Joebeone (Talk) 02:06, 26 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I made this change [3]. To others: if you feel that there needs to be additions, subtractions, show us the data. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:05, 29 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I think you guys should add Modesto and Hughson as hyphy cities or towns. I live in this area and its suppa hyphy! YADADAMEAN?! Ppygto 20:22, 23 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]


for reals hyphy originates in the bay but the movement pretty much envelops norcal, although with varying degrees of intensity depending on the city. i would argue that hyphy is more of a norcal movement with a heavy emphasis on the bay area. hella ppl move out the bay to tracy sactown modesto and all over and they still go dumb. clubs are always playing hyphy slapps no where else has heard of outside norcal. hella functions like hyphy train go down in norcal as well. at the same time i would argue that it would be too difficult and controversial to indicate specific cities --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 22:08, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You smell me?[edit]

Perhaps the 'hyphiest' line of all was neglected - you smell me? E-40 said this phrase every other sentence when he was on 106 & Park. It's the equivalent of 'ya hear me?'

Yeah, it's similar to "ya feel me?" Have you ever heard any other hyphy artist use this phrase? If so, we might as well add it to the list. Soon that list might need it's own page like the artists list. -- Joebeone (Talk) 20:49, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
40's been saying that one for a while, though, since before the whole Hyphy thing. He mentions it on "hope I don't go back to slanging yayo" which is from 1998. I think that the phrase doesn't belong on the page, but it maight fit on a page of just hyphy slang...Reggaedelgado 23:23, 26 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Totally. -- Joebeone (Talk) 01:29, 28 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Prenouncing it is basically : "Ya shmell meh?" said as its sound. -j.c. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Josh da akboi (talkcontribs) 04:08, 2 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Yadidimean?[edit]

"It went from: yadidimean, ta yadidimsayin, ta yadidimtalkinbout? (I know what u talkin bout!)" - Keak Da Sneak Why'd somebody get rid of yadidisayin?? -- Carlos 23:40, 24 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good question, and not likely to get a response from the editor. Maybe too many words there took away from the very important phrase in their opinion. Just a guess. Although yadadamean is my personal favorite (along with yadada¿tu sabes?). In fact, you and I (assuming no one else on wikipedia besides joebeone cares) should decide on a spelling for it. I like it with A's, you seem to like it with I's. Either way, I don't care too much. But it does refer to the rolling of the Rs (which is very important, I think, and negates the need to spell it as either I's or A's). And another thing... some people on this thing are linguists and know how to REALLY spell things phonetically... that might be the best way to do it. I believe it's called IPA format or something. I'll look into it, and maybe try to figure it out. No promises on speed... although it IS almost summer! YadadadadadaYEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Reggaedelgado 05:46, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Haha, true true, I think I just spell it with i's because that's how they do on Treal T.V. But either way is fine with me, and the rolling of the r's is the most important part -- Carlos 14:00, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Carlos, if the quote at the beginning of this section is from Keak speaking in a magazine, etc. we should add it to the page and add back yadidisayin/yadadasayin/yadadisayin. The slang section here is hard to "maintain" as anons come by and throw any old thing in there (and while I'd like to think I'm reasonably familiar with hyphy, I don't know it all and e-40 et al. probably coin a phrase per day). -- Joebeone (Talk) 20:04, 25 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
It's "Know What I'm Talkin Bout" from the dvd copium / the cd Counting Other People's Money . . . don't know if there's online lyrics for it tho -- Carlos 16:29, 26 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Keak spells it "Yararamean" on his official website. Recently, FAB's been saying "Yararabooboo," in songs like "New Oakland" and Grown Man On (remix)." MunkieBear 03:37, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yay Area[edit]

I thought it was common knowledge that "Yay" referred to yayo? From E-40s song "Yay Area":

... Kilo grams I had to measure, finger on my heckler...

Can anyone else back me up on this? --Liface 16:30, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It would be very good to find other references to this... I've heard Yay Area a ton, but its usage seems to have changed to not necessarily go hand in hand with yayo. Do you know of any other references (from other artists even?) to this connection? best, -- Joebeone (Talk) 16:53, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Later: I did some more research and haven't found any news articles (at all) that make the connection between "Yay Area" and "yayo" or cocaine for that matter. The earliest usage of it in a news article is from 2004 and there it's defined as:
Yay Area (pl.): The Bay Area (cf. E-40, I represent the Yay Area)[1]
Further, the connection between "Yay Area" and cocaine from e-40's song Yay Area is tenuous and that song is very recent (released in 2006). By "tenuous", I mean that the lyrics in that song that could refer to cocaine are:
"Cut a quarter or two and bend the block"
"Kilo grams I had to measure, finger on my heckler"
and these are only two lines out of the whole song and they could refer to other drugs (such as marijuana) measured in kilograms and quarter-ounces.
In short, I don't see the yayo/Yay area connection. Unless we can find other references for this (like past e-40 songs?) we'll have to remove it as not being verifiable (WP:VERIFY). Thoughts? (I don't want to discourage new content, just want to make sure it's verifiable.) best, -- Joebeone (Talk) 17:20, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I've been looking around and I can't find anything. It will have to be removed for now until someone can dig up something. --Liface 18:13, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The best place would probably be old e-40 albums (there's a ton of them). I'll keep my eyes peeled. best, -- Joebeone (Talk) 18:15, 30 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Arnold, Eric K. (June 30, 2004). "The Politics of "Hyphy": Snoop Dogg, et al. have pilfered Bay Area hip-hop slang for years. No more". East Bay Express.

examples[edit]

I just saw that a new editor has decided to put an "examples of hyphy music" in the section. Do we think that's necessary? I could see it going either way but wanted to spark a little discussion before doing anything. -- Joebeone (Talk) 01:50, 31 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

i dont see it as really necessary to do so. we have the main artists here, and massive list of artists on the list page, so if someone really needed an intro to hyphy, they could just google E40 or keak or whatever Skhatri2005 05:04, 31 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]
I agree, I would just refer them to the hyphy artist list -- Carlos 16:59, 3 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]


"Hyphy"[edit]

Ive been listening to some old bay area songs, and 'hyphy' is clearly stated in I Got Five On It, which came out in 1995, and arguably in 2 Hard 4 The Fuckin Radio. At least, it sounds like they say hyphy, which would necessitate some changes on the article. Anyone have any opinions? I'm not going to change the article, I'm just wondering what people's opinions are here (joebeone, carlos, I'm talkin to you) Skhatri2005 15:47, 14 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

put the lyrics here then. I've got both those songs and have never heard the word hyphy in either of them.


Well If where talking about The Too Hard 4 The Fuckin Radio Version That I Know Its By Mac Dre , A Bay Legend In My Opinion.& He mentions areas from the bay ,& also uses "hyphy slang" And As For The Lyrics For Got Five on It MIGHT I ADD THAT THERE IS NUMEROUS VERSIONS OF THIS SONG DUE TO THE REMIXES one being by people from all over the bay. But as far as i know on many music things I Got Five On It.. is sorted under "hyphy" <-- The Classic Stuff. Probly Do To The Slang & Location Of The Artist.

Coined by Keak?[edit]

We all know that keak likes to tell folks that "that's his word." He is also clearly seen claiming credit for originating "Hyphy" in MTV My Block the Bay Area. Does anyone else know of an independent source that gives him credt for this? I find it more likely that the true originator is just some G in East Oakland and not any major rapper. Remember this is Wikipedia, let's try to have this verified. Achoo5000 04:40, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I had talked about this above, so ill just direct you to reading what i put up there. How can he claim he was using it originally in the 3x Crazy song when it was used by mac dre in (i think) 1993 and by the luniz in 1995/96. i dont know how to verify it outside of interviewing every single person alive in the 80s throughout the bay. and that would be original research. Skhatri2005 04:43, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
of course if it can't be verified then the claim should be removed. Achoo5000 04:49, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

- update - I changed a sentance in the article, I thought it should reflect that Keak himself is the one who claims that he invented the word. Achoo5000 00:24, 23 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Frenchin' Out and Dummy Gone?[edit]

Are these two terms really hyphy slang? I've heard of all the rest in popular Bay Area songs, maybe I need to listen to more.

I havent heard frenchin out, but 'dummy gone' is in the hyphy juice song by clyde carson of the team Skhatri2005 19:52, 22 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Refresh my memory please, whats frenchin out? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Josh da akboi (talkcontribs) 04:10, 2 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

maybe fresh is being misunderstood for french ive neve heard frenchin out. xcept refering to making out or something dummy gone is more wordplay taken from goin dumb rather than an independent phrase --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 22:14, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Slang origins and additional terms[edit]

I have quite a few things to contribute to this entry, but I would like to discuss before I do (and also because it's my first time here at Wiki, I want to understand how WikiPedia works before I make my first edit. Didn't even know about the four tilde's thing until just two minutes ago). Many hyphy terms have etymological backgrounds, so they don't just appear out of nowhere. And being born, raised and still living in Oakland, and attending Bret Harte Junior High (now Middle School) while Keak Da Sneak was there, I could confidently say I was around to see these slang words form without any written documentation. Besides, it's not like a bunch of ninth grade kids would say, "Hey, let's go write this on the internet!" upon making up new Hyphy words, and adults would just tune out what they hear and put it off as nonsense anyway. There's no point in searching for watered-down news articles, the only way to understand Hyphy is to live it. It's fluid and constantly changing, it's not something you can just do a news report on like it's Oakland's 105th Homicide as of 9/27/06. Here are a few examples of the contributions I have, and I hope they are at least acceptable:

(Unfortunately, the organization and policies of Wikipedia aren't designed to capture popular culture very well. They require reliable sourcing which is usually some sort of newspaper, book, etc. I, for one, wish we could incorporate more of popular culture that may not be documented, but that's just not how Wikipedia works. -- Joebeone (Talk) 16:23, 14 October 2006 (UTC) )[reply]
Yes, it is unfortunate that anything that goes on WikiPedia would require citing. And it leads people who read this WikiPedia entry to believe what news reports think, over what the people who indeed Go Stupid know, but have no access to media outlets. I could tell you the proper way to Thizz and make sure it lasts long, but I would be put off as an unreliable source because I don't work for USA Today. Maybe I should write a book on Hyphy, just like how Berkeley High School wrote an Urban Slang Dictionary that doesn't even have Ghostride the Whip. Then the stuff I wrote below can finally go onto the WikiPedia entry. But how ridiculous, a kid from urban, inner-city Deep East Oakland writing a book. I'm surprised I could spell. ^.^ 71.135.105.95 00:29, 24 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ridin' the Yellow Bus - This term arose from the yellow school buses. In other cities, many students would ride a yellow school bus to school. In Oakland, however, students would either have someone drop them off at school, or they would take AC Transit (Alameda-County Transit, public bus transportation that serves many cities in the Bay Area, including Oakland). Students would seldomly ever take the yellow bus. And in most public schools (especially all the ones I have attended: Bret Harte, Elmhurst and Frick Junior High Schools, Castlemont, Fremont, Oakland and Oakland Tech High Schools), the yellow bus would pull up to the front of the campus with just a handful of students. All of whom are incapable of standing inside a public bus, and whose parents are too busy or unable to drive them. A crowd of students would even form around the yellow bus just to tease the students ride the yellow bus by calling them dumb, stupid or retarded. And this is what makes the yellow bus synonymous with going dumb, going stupid and going retarded.

On *insert relative here* - On fathers, on mamas, or more recently, on 'citas. These are all contractions of "Put that on my mama," or previously "Swear on my mama," which equates to saying "I'm telling the truth." It's a rewording of "Swear to god and hope to die," where if you're not telling the truth, your relative will die. 'citas also means mother, taken from the Spanish word, "mamacita." Grand-Citas can also be used, to mean grandmother.

Hurt, or Hurt Mode - It means visually ugly, not "lame." Usually directed towards ugly women. This comes from being "so sexy, it hurts." But it's changed to being so ugly, it hurts.

Dumb-*adjective* or stupid-*adjective* - These are used as prefixes and as quantifiers. So if someone is "dumb-ugly," then that person is very ugly. Both words can combined as "dumb-stupid" or "stupid-dumb" to denote that the person is extremely ignorant.

Girbauds - Jeans made by Marithe Francois Girbaud (M+FG). Even though Hyphy people call it by the brand name, they are only referring to the shuttle jeans and shorts made by M+FG. M+FG intends for the straps on the pants to be fastened, but Hyphy people will not, making the jeans look like tights. These are commonly the sagging jeans you will see on anyone going dumb, complete with a 5XL Tall Foot Locker white t-shirt, a white pair of Nike Air Force One shoes, a headrag under a New Era Hat, a grill with vampire fangs and a name engraved in diamonds, a child's backpack of a comicbook superhero, and a pair of wide, bubble-eyed Gucci Aviator sunglasses.

Ghost Town - West Oakland. And like ghost towns depicted in western cowboy movies, West Oakland is also devoid of any major economic activity.

Murder Dubs/Dirty Thirties/800 block/and many other variants - Many urban, inner-city areas in the United States feature a numerical system of naming their streets, such 123rd St. These names are for naming the avenues in East Oakland according to the tens digit (so that Murder Dubs is the area from 20th Ave. to 29th Ave. and Dirty thirties is the area from 30th Ave. to 39th Ave.). What's common among Oakland residents to shout out where you live, basically representing that area. A simple expression like this has led to many incidents of violence, including shootings. Keak Da Sneak goes into further detail of reppin turf, with his song, "Town Buziness." Another way to do all this is to just write the first few digits in your address, like 2900s or 3500s.

Grapes - Also called purple. A very potent type of weed.

Indian Dance - Also known as shaking dreads, thizzle dancing, whatever you wanna call it.

White Gurl - A gram of crack. It should be called a White Gram, but when spoken while on crack, it slurs to sound like White Grr. And since a grr is a girl, there's the origin. The song by E-40 of the same name, expands on this definition, as the entire song is about crack. To differentiate from this, caucasian women are referred to as "Snow Bunnies."

Ripper/Runner/Breezy/Beezy - A prostitute. Ripper refers to a woman sleeping with so many men, that she permanently expands her vagina. Runner refers to the ability to sprint on high heels, and running from customer to customer. Breezy and beezy are variants on the word "bitch," with breezy suggesting that the woman performs oral sex. MunkieBear 05:02, 28 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

heem/henny - hennessey. bleezy - a blunt. giggin - dancing. cuddy - your homey (from the crest). sav - savage. I learned all that from listening to MD 153.18.17.22 21:23, 12 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've heard artists from other places use the term breezy. I'm not sure if it can be called bay area slang.

you need to edit thizzle dance fast. first the dance is made to imitate the actions of someone on thizz, like feeling yourself, rubbing your face etc., and second the line from get stupid (referring to going dumb, not the thizzle dance) is "it dont look right if you really aint drunk" meaning it only looks good when you're drunk ok cuzzo yadidi? sav

"Thizz dance" isn't just "A dance usually involving wierd movements similar to drunk person. As said in a MacDre song it does not look good if your drunk." It is also a reference to being on Ecstasy.

Removed the sensoring of "swear words"[edit]

Sorry folks, this isn't a place censor words you don't like, please don't censor out words because you don't like them - Chembro84

right on braw this is a place to PUT words people dont like.

Move Slang to separate page?[edit]

Should we, like is done with the lists of artists, move most of the slang to a new page? We could keep some core terms here. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:43, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ugh, I dont think that would be a good idea. all the crazy wiki people will keep saying "WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A SLANG DICTIONARY," which is true. anyways, I suggest that we just truncate what is on the page now, and then provide a link to a news article or urbandictionary which has a comprehensive list. Skhatri2005 18:59, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
The problem with websites like urbandictionary is that there are a lot of misleading entries, either by hip-hop fanatics who cannot discuss in a civilized manner who say "da yellow bus iz 4 retarded kids," or by intolerant elitists who use terms like "black fag language" and "nigger music" in their definitions. Although Wikipedia isn't a slang dictionary, the list of slang is crucial to understanding hyphy, but not as much as actually doing hyphy things yourself. News articles are not as trustworthy either, because they are written by people who do not know where Ghosttown is, and will never step foot in Deep East Oakland. So they just summarize what they hear on the radio and MTV. The best thing to do is to keep the slang on the page, to signify that they are unique to the Bay Area, and add where these terms come from. 71.135.105.95 23:56, 23 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This is interesting. I do feel intrinsically that we can make a case that Hyphy slang is a big part of Hyphy itself. A discussion of Hyphy slang is important to this article. However, if it is merged with Hip-hop slang, that connection and importance would be lost. I vote we figure out some core terms of Hyphy slang, agree not to merge the slang section of this article (delete the merge suggestion) to a new article and then keep the slang list compact. Thoughts? -- Joebeone (Talk) 21:35, 28 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Yea I think a shorter list would probably be better. Just a core list. But then again- who decides what is 'core' and what is not? Skhatri2005 21:48, 28 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
We will have to decide on a case-by-case basis. If someone can justify something as being core, it's in, right? We may have to redefine "core" at some point if the list gets too long. -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:50, 29 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Starski/Hyphy artists list[edit]

Has anybody ever heard of him? The myspace profile has 20k views and I have never heard of him.

Also, I wouldn't consider Trax a hyphy artist, he's a producer. Nump has had about 1 well-known song (Grapes). And Hoodstarz is good, except that a page doesn't exist for them (and it's out of alphabetical order), making it look out of place. Any thoughts, comments, insight? :P Graphitesmoothie 03:02, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Actually, I'm going to remove it for now. Graphitesmoothie 03:46, 4 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

NUMP has at least 4 well-known songs... Slizzerd, Grapes, Krankin 3030 and Stunna Shadez. -- Joebeone (Talk) 03:02, 12 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Protection[edit]

good call on the semiprotection. finally someone did it. Skhatri2005 22:42, 11 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Turfing[edit]

taking up room on the floor, etc. there was an article about this specifically on the tracy press i think it was front page.

the new bay area dancing phanomeno turfn is whats is up in the bay and is just like pop locking with a different...truely it is doin the mike jackson with better flavor yaddiddig


turfing is a dance style originating in the bay area together with the hyphy movement. turfing, as well as the turf drop existed way b4 the song by e40. It is very similar to gigging although i never see mac dre gliding all over the place so i would argue turfing has developed from gigging. Gigging and turfing are heavily influenced by pop lockin. theres hella groups that rep the bay that turf such as supasickwidit, turftoones, turf jerkz, turf knocks. hella people that identify with the hyphy movement turf and turf functions go down all over the bay. many songs have specific references to turfing and there are a number of songs specifically about turfing/gigging. ill go into this deeper later --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 22:33, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

POV[edit]

There is no controversy or drawbacks to this subset of rap, even when the genre itself has one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aussie Evil (talkcontribs) 15:25, 28 November 2006

I don't see much in the way of POV. -- Joebeone (Talk) 19:42, 1 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Slang cleanup[edit]

That's starting to look like an exhaustive list. Graphitesmoothie 19:56, 10 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protect[edit]

I've just requested (and received) semi-protection status for this page. If you feel that this was rash, please discuss this here. I thought it was warranted as a lot of anon. editors were making trivial and consistent edits that were counter to policy articluated on this talk page (slang should be discuseed before expanding, the areas section is stable, etc.). -- Joebeone (Talk) 00:16, 27 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good call joebeone Skhatri2005 18:53, 27 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yee[edit]

Yee can mean many other things aside from just hi or hello. When you say "yee yee!" black people will come to you.


Bird Call[edit]

First off, you sound amazingly racist. "Black people will come to you"? stfu man. "yee yee!" is more of an expression. for ex. "Man check that dude out! he ridin da yellow bus!" (the other man responds) "Yee Yee!!"

What your looking for is the bird call. While in a crew or clan of friends, you usually make the sound of a bird, or just a bird call, and your "homies" will come twords you.

Ive seen people acutally say some sort of name... or motto. For ex. "Panthers!" directly after that, i saw a large group of people crowd around his car. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 64.13.120.222 (talk) 03:57, 2 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Well if you can find sources for this stuff (in reliable, etc. media outlets), we'll add it. -- Joebeone (Talk) 21:17, 29 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

question re: relevance to electronic music scene in california[edit]

Seems to me the description provided of 'hyphy' dancing resembles that you'd find at the raves of the mid 90's (I have no idea if there are any raves at all in CA now). Additionally, I browsed through the music (KDS, etc) and it seems to bear a superficial resemblance to house. If you consider it's substantially slower and obviously has hiphop themes in it, many of the melodies and syncopation are similar to electronic music (more on the house/club side of things than, say, trance). I wonder if it would be relevant to have a link to the raving culture in the article? I moved out of CA in 99, so I'm not exactly connected to the scene there anymore. ... aa:talk 00:09, 13 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Relevant or no, it doesn't matter because you need to cite sources that are reliable and verifiable in order to make that kind of connection. This avoids violating the policy on original research. --Rtrev 05:45, 13 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
the closest thing that raves and hyphy have in common is ecstasy, thizz as it is called within hyphy. Skhatri2005 15:55, 13 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

in fact two hyphy groups; the cataracs and the pack now make alot of music which most would identify as techno. stunnaman's new mixtape, the 2800/hottest under 25 is mostly "techno" with rap and the cataracs already have specifically "techno" functions. Many hyphy funtions are virtually raves run by "gangstas": heavy bass, electronic music, flashing lights, heavy dancing, bright attire, and extacy usage. Most recently, it can be said that the hyphy movement has permeated the electronic music scene in california. --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 23:15, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Adding Sacramento[edit]

Sacramento should definately be added considering they are much more known to be "hyphy" than Richmond! Who the hell is Richmond. Adding Sacramento! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fr3nZi3 (talk --Fr3nZi3 03:58, 20 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

negative on that ghostrider, while Sacramento has many artists hail from there, it is a general assumption amongst many of the hyphy heads and people who have been following this trend that the farther a city is from the bay water, the less hyphy is it. obviously, if you have to drive an hour and a half to get to macramento from the town, its pretty far from the movement. and i'm not even going to address the richmond comment, if you don't know about Richmond you dont know about hyphy. Skhatri2005 06:11, 22 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I don't mean to harsh your vibe or anything though... Skhatri2005 06:12, 22 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I must say this now. There is no such thing as The hyphy-est town.

It's more like the whole general area. If theres actually an argument over whos more hyphy, thats even worse than fighting over a pen. And im not even sure thats possible. Richmond and Sactown are both hyphy towns, although. Its not true that Sac-town is more hyphy, Richmond has many more clans of hyphy kids and adults, Sac-town is acually on the border of hyphy. It lacks the basics of hyphy. Yet both towns are amazing. No hating here. Hyphy on the real.

Sacramento is on 'the bay water', it's a shipping port. 67.49.8.228 (talk) 21:07, 4 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Umm.... No it's not. It's definitely very inland. - Bagel7T's 08:28, 6 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]
The city is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River, and has a deepwater port connected to the San Francisco Bay by a channel through the Sacramento River Delta. so technically yeh but that doesnt hella matter hyphy isnt defined by the san francisco bay water --Eurobeatz021 (talk) 23:21, 14 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I would say the only reason Sacramento could be considered hyphy is because Mac Dre lived there and moved his Thizz ent label there68.164.83.8 (talk) 00:57, 16 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Fixing up list[edit]

I've removed 2 names from the major hyphy artists list. DJ Shadow because hes not a hyphy artist and big rich because hes not major and doesn't even have a page. Also I'm not sure that Traxamillion and Droop-E should be on there. They are major producers in the hyphy movement but should producers be on this list? Then why not Sean-T or E-A-ski and CMT? And I don't think San Quinn considers himself to be a hyphy rapper?

Are you sure about DJ Shadow? He did put out a album recently that was basically titled "HELLO I AM HYPHY NOW", and just about every single artist listed on this page guest starred on it. What do you have to do to be hyphy? Get a tattoo on your forehead?

I've heard him in interviews saying he doesn't stick with one style or the next. He felt like working with a bunch of hyphy rappers for that album so he did. That doesn't make him hyphy.153.18.17.22 20:09, 22 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think DJ Shadow should be on the list. His release was on a major and he introduced hyphy to Europe during his "Outsider" Tour in the summer of 2006. In addition he has released albums and hyphy compilations in Japan. Because of this, he has done a big part in spreading hyphy globally. (60dumb 22:06, 4 August 2007 (UTC))[reply]
Maybe Shadow should be mentioned on the page for putting out a compilation albums like "The Bay EP" and "The Outsider", but he's definately not a mainstay in the hyphy movement. His work before and after these albums are definately not hyphy, and he's far from yelling "Hello, I'm hyphy now" as someone else mentioned. "The Outsider" does have a bunch of hyphy tracks on it, but it also has everything from the blues to rock, and his regular chilled style on it as well. Makalleli (talk)

Grammar[edit]

Hi, since this is protected, can someone please fix this sentence? "Hyphy is distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms, and in this sense can be associated with the Bay Area as crunk music is in the South." Instead of "in the South" it should say "with the South." As it is now, it appears to be saying that in the South, crunk music is associated with the Bay Area, and I'm sure that is not what was meant.

I'm not sure that "in this sense" is quite right either. Is there some other sense in which hyphy canNOT be associated with the Bay Area? Anyway, in order to say for sure I'd need to know more than I do about the substance. If I understand what the sentence means, I would rewrite it like this: "Hyphy is distinguised by gritty, pounding rhythms, and is associated with the Bay Area as crunk music is with the South." -- The grammar geek at 66.45.137.204 02:53, 13 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Origin of the Word "Hyphy"[edit]

the word hyphy came from keak da sneaks mom calling him hyphy when he was young because he was so hypher - Bagel7What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what??? 06:00, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It just means to get loose..Mahmud II 01:39, 28 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

As is the case with a lot of emerging trends, there's not a lot of reliable and reputable sources for the origin of the word 'hyphy'. Right now, the best we have is cited in the article. If you find better, let us know. -- Joebeone (Talk) 21:19, 29 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To Mahmud: No, it does not just mean "to get loose." To Joebeone: Obviously, no one has clearly documented where the word came from, but we are just using one man's (Keak da Sneak) claim of where he made up the word hyphy from. I think it would be worth it to also mention at least that it could also be from "hyper" and "fly." - Bagel7What ya say, what ya say, what ya say, what??? 08:20, 30 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The word hyphy has origins in Atlanta. I first heard this tear when my brother came back from atlanta. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Usability 8 (talkcontribs) 22:34, 15 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Chronicle Article on 6/12/07[edit]

The SF Chronicle had a Datebook article on hyphy. There was some information there that seems like it might fit in this article. Please take a look at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/12/DDG73QC5JK1.DTL. Also, this article mentioned the Super Hyphy 17 concert in Petaluma -- includes a list of performers.

Hey, if you think it fits, go ahead and put it in per WP:Bold. - Bagel7T's,C's,A's 05:49, 13 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Controversy of Nump[edit]

I don't believe that Nump can be considered a major hyphy artist after having only one hit single "I Gott Grapes" with E-40 and The Federation. One-hit wonders do not constitute "major artists." - Bagel7T's 06:07, 26 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I see a few other artists on the list that aren't as known as E-40, Mac Dre, Keak etc. What is the standard to include?
I would disagree personally about NUMP... he has, at least, two other important hits ("Stunna Shadez" w/ the Federation and "Slizzerd" (which uses the Inspector Gadget theme quite cleverly)) and appears quite often as a guest of other core hyphy artists. The list of artists doesn't need to be comprehensive, however... so feel free to prune it. -- Joebeone (Talk) 18:44, 29 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]


To anonymous: Well, here's how I see it:
So we could crop a few artists, but I don't think Nump, B-Legit, or Droop-E should necessarily be on there. But yeah, it is arbitrary to a certain degree.
To Joebeone: It may be "clever" but that does not necessarily mean its widely accepted or well-known, which is what I think should determine the list. I'm going to prune the list a bit. - Bagel7T's 05:16, 3 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
To Bagel7: I believe the decision should take into consideration contributions such as engineering, touring with DJ Shadow on the hyphy tour, and a significant part in the success of such acts as E-40 in the aspects of audio engineering. Nump's resume suggest he's an integral part of the spread of hyphy regardless that you think his songs are not "hits." Also you list Mista F.A.B. as a "big hyphy contributor." Isn't Nump along the same lines? (60dumb 21:55, 4 August 2007 (UTC))[reply]
To Bagel7: A suggestion, rather than pruning the list. Why not separate artist by "major" and "minor"? To issue a list to users which doesn't include "minor" players would be limiting the real information on hyphy. Most artist have independent arrangements in regards to their albums or release their album as major/independent anyways. (60dumb 22:00, 4 August 2007 (UTC))[reply]

It is hard to decide what is "minor" and "major" when you are talking about hyphy which is based off the independent game. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.164.83.8 (talk) 00:55, 16 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The Pack[edit]

Should they be listed? They've stated themselves to Music Choice On Demand that they are not hyphy. Young L from The Pack stated "You may see people getting hyphy to our songs but the song itself is not hyphy".

They've started to call their music "Based"[4]. I don't have any reliable sourcing for that now, other than Team Knoc (a closely related artist) has a song called "Do you like based?" and an album "Based on a true story"[5]. So, I think they're trying to be "called" something other than Hyphy. Joebeone (Talk) 00:59, 12 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

==Shouldn't Mac Dre be mentioned somewhere in this article as basically starting the whole hyphy movement? I know Keak came up with the name but it is widely known and said by other bay area artists like Yukmouth that Mac Dre was the first rapper to be talking about yokin, sideshows, stunna shades and the like. While the movement started in the street, as far as music is concerned Mac Dre was the first artist to represent it68.164.83.8 (talk) 00:51, 16 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

AFD[edit]

This is one of the worst articles I've ever read on Wikipedia. It is full of ambiguities, incorrect facts and figure, and worst of all, it doesn't really explain its topic. I'm going to nominate this AFD if someone doesn't fix it.

Hrhadam (talk) 00:56, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hi, this article has been in significant flux. If you check, you'll see that it's been written long and then recently shortened dramatically. It's well sourced, so I'm not sure an AFD is appropriate. If you have specific recommendations for improving the article (while keeping it's svelt size, which I kind of like), let us know. Joebeone (Talk) 12:55, 2 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

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origin correction[edit]

my boy tz from the bay keeps claiming to be the OG of the term “hyphy” 2601:646:203:2C0:7453:8FA:140C:29D8 (talk) 04:31, 19 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Saweetie[edit]

Saweetie's "My Type" is one of the most succesful hyphy crossover songs and should be mentioned here. Pkoivula (talk) 06:21, 12 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]