Ask people in the Bay Area what the Hyphy Movement is all about and you will get many different meanings and perspectives. So who can truly explain what it's all about?
In search of such a person, we heard about one emerging Hyphy artist getting ready to release a new album with guest appearances from Too Short, San Quinn, J Diggs, among others. This artist certainly tells it like it is, so we gave him a chance to explain the Hyphy movement.
Driving around the Bay Area in a custom made limousine with the words "Hyphy Train" painted across the rear window, this emerging artist calls himself Greenie. Whether he means to or not, his deep, raspy voice carries a Hyphy tone that encapsulates this Bay Area movement.
Greenie recently took a break from the studio to talk about the Hyphy movement & what rap music is missing:
Interview:
Bay Area Hyphy Movement (BAHM): From what we understand, Hyphy can be crazy dance moves or just smashing someone in the face. How would you define Hyphy?
Greenie: Hyphy as I understand it literally means hyper and fly, but really its how all da homies from the Bay get down when we listen to our Bay style music.
BAHM: Some might say the Hyphy Movement is just a fad? Can it last?
Greenie: Thats like asking is hiphop or rap a fad, hell no it aint a fad, its a lifestle/music. I think it will evolve and take different forms, but now when we refer to hyphy, we are talking bout Bay style, Bay area rap.
BAHM: What does the Hyphy movement mean to the Bay Area?
Greenie: Well, its just like I said rap/hip-hop started in Queens. It evolved took different forms. Today, the South would refer to there style of rap as crunk, the Bay would refer to its Style as hyphy. But not everyone who is from the Bay raps with a hyphy style. I for one only have three songs on my album that I would classify as "hyphy" the rest are just normal rap. E-40's last album every song was hyphy, kick drum slumping hard, beats per minute slightly sped up, and e-40 spittin somethin vicious, THATS HYPHY at its core, and everybody in the Bay is down with it so its important for the Bay in that it brings us all together.
BAHM: So tell us about the new album. What should fans expect, who are some of the guest appearances?
Greenie: First off I'd like to say that I am a huge fan of rap first before ever being an artist. The game is missing a classic element in that people are rapping whole songs and aren't saying shit. It's look what I got, whereas before you could pickup a dope record and actually learn a lot of street shit. In this album you could pick it up and learn a lot of shit about Northern California and this sick ass place we call the Bay Area. I brought several of my favorite artists from the Bay Area and LA together to make this dope album. Look for Too $hort San Quinn, J diggs, and Roscoe of the Dogg Pound, to name a few, and classic producers like One Drop Scott who has worked with Mac Dre, and Gennessee, who has a ridiculous roster.
BAHM: I heard several tracks from your latest album and they are straight Slumper. What is your favorite track, what is the album called & when is it getting released?
Greenie: My much anticipated album is due out this month however, I keep pushing it back since I just received word that Snoop Dogg is only a phone call away. The album will be named The Legend Of Chester Copperpot. My favorite track on the album would have to be "Who Drop," no one has heard it yet cause I wont let anyone listen to it. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST RAP SONGS EVER MADE!
BAHM: What can we expect in the future of Hyphy music?
Greenie: Hopefully, you will see a unified Bay where we aint at war with each other, right now shit is outta control with the violence in the rich and in the O. If we could get unified, hyphy music could really be a driving force behind rap music in general.
BAHM: What other artists should we be looking for outta Northern Cali?
Greenie: Obviously you got the San Quinn's, E-40's, keek da sneek that make our music dope. Thizz ent has a roster of sick individuals though, Bavgate, and our famous new Indian dude Haji Springer are bout to take over. Look for dem to do some big thangs in the upcoming future months.
BAHM: There have been rough times for you working on your latest album. Did you ever think about quitting the rap thing altogether? What kept you going?
Greenie: It's tough in the rap game since everybody and there mother is tryin to rap. There are times still where I'm like shit I aint making that money off this thing like I thought I would, but than another thing I've really come to realize is that I really enjoy rapping, I love it, that shit is fucken fun when you lay down something dope. Selling records these days is all bout marketing. I feel like I've surrounded myself with the right people, I've got my features up, and this is the best album I've ever done so regardless of the response I'm still happy.
BAHM: Do you like the direction that hip hop music is going, or would you like to see something different?
Greenie: I do not understand how some of this shit makes it to TV and the radio but I'm not gon hate on them for there success. Obviously they were doing something right. Hip hop will never be the same as it was since it's birth in the early eighties late seventies. Early on we were learning from each others as emcees, what sounded hot and street cred, and what not to say. Now that most shit from the street has been taught by previous emcees it's hard for an artist to express new ideas that haven't really been touched by previous rappers. So a lot of what you here is repetitive like look at the diamonds I've got, the cars, the bytches, the dope, my street life. As long as we keep rappin bout the same shit we're kinda stuck, so what I've tried to do is create shit that hasn't really been touched and try to be original as much as possible. I've also got OG'S from the rap game on the album so I can bring that original flavor of hip hop to the present. Too Short, and the Reyes brothers from Cypress Hill, are some of the artists you'll find on my record and they are some of my favorite artists of all time as well.
