hiphoplives

I love it when this column is interactive. Special shout outs to everybody who reads this, but extra fat shouts to those of you who comment or send questions. It really makes it easy for me to decide what to write about. On that note, today’s highlight mixtape is coming to you by special request. Jake from Iowa wanted to know “What does hyphy mean?” I forget sometimes that some people might not know about every Hip Hop movement around the country, so let me just give ya a little info.

Hyphy (pronounced High-Fee) is basically a movement from the Bay Area that gained national attention about 2 or 3 years ago. It’s super energetic music and clap patterns make it a very popular musical form anywhere people like to dance, ghost-ride the whip, shake their dreadlocks from side to side, or spontaneously make up elaborate slang words that baffle the public. It’s a term that has sorta played itself out in the Bay, but to a large part the sounds that the Hyphy movement popularized are still running the pop sound right now. In fact, if you listen to Hyphy now it sounds eerily similar in tone and production to lots of records that hit big this summer. Listen to the mixtape by San Jose’s Dj Tito Bell My Grandma Get’s Hyphy, then take a second listen to “A Milli”, “Crazy” by Pitbull, and even “Single Ladies” by Beyonce. They all owe something to Hyphy. The tape features songs from most of the artists who helped bring this style to light, like The Pack, Keak Da Sneek, and the tape’s host Mistah F.A.B. I posted a song from E-40 below that exemplifies the sound, and as always, if you want the whole thing just send an email to hiphoplivesmixtapes@gmail and I will send you an Mp3 copy.

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