On the strength of E-40 and Keak da Sneak no less. It looks like the Bay is finally up next and will get its due respect. If MTV and and BET doesn't play this (and I'm talking daytime rotation/106&Park magnitude), I'm going to start a petition. Given the proper marketing, the only thing that can stop the Bay is East Coast/Southern bias.
Perhaps the Bay movement's impending rise to prominence is fueled by the need for another uptempo (100+BPM), dance inducing sound to balance the slow drawl of Houston (70-80BPM) and the cookie cutter beats of the ATL's gimmicky snap music (85-90BPM). Maybe those puppetmaster label heads finally realize that the best chance of the West coming back is on the strength of the Bay, not LA. In any case I, as well as other Bay Area heads, cannot be more hyped up about this video. Even though its on a Lil Jon beat, it captures the energy and bounce of tracks by local superproducers Balance, Rick Rock, and EA-Ski.
The videography is great, so too is the fact that people are actually dancing in the video- going dumb, getting stupid, riding the yellow buss, thizzing, and getting hyphy. No coreographed 8 counts, or the all too familiar club scene with video girls and exotic rented cars. No need for all that garbage, I'm glad director Bernard Gourley kept it authentic.
More on this excitement later, I'm moving to NY this weekend and I haven't packed yet. Yadida wee!
I loved the video! So much energy, its great. Es. Shaw of beautifulhustle.com has been schooling me about the Bay Area and I think they deserve all the shine they receive. Its more than music, its a movement. I have respect for what they are doing.
Posted by: Fresh | 2006.01.19 at 01:14 PM
wow...i'm a believer from watching this.
That's a Lil Jon beat? Expect him to get some more shine this year.
And I feel you on the dancing aspect. These dudes are really getting busy and letting loose, which reps hyphy better than choreography would
Posted by: Hashim | 2006.01.19 at 04:00 PM
Me being from Sacramento,CA I'm in the middle of the hyphy movement thats going on in northern Cali.I think that with the release of E-40's album the bay area will get a lot of attention.
Posted by: lawrence` | 2006.01.20 at 12:08 PM
Update: Heard the song on L.A. radio.
That's huge for the Bay since los angeles stations are notorious for ignoring their northern brethren.
Posted by: dj mirateck | 2006.01.21 at 10:41 PM
Yo E40 has always been reppin'...His flow has never truly got its props!! I hope you all are right!
Posted by: Donnell Bell | 2006.01.22 at 12:42 PM
Agree with Donnell re: E40's underrated flow and with others that this video is great. But if this thing doesn't pop at radio (and I'm talking 2000+ spins week minimum level pop), don't expect to see this on "106 & Park" period outside of maybe being premeiered as a "New Joint of the Day." That's they way new videos with merit can get played on the show until they start getting enough votes to make the countdown.
Posted by: ian | 2006.01.22 at 01:49 PM
Wasn't that group with the track "I Got Five On It" from the bay? What the hell was their name, my memory is gettin' on my damn nerves.
But hell yeah, bring the Bay on. Back when the West Coast was dominating, so much of it was from L.A. that you didn't hear much of what Northern Cali had to say other than of course E-40 and Too Short...
Posted by: Phil | 2006.01.23 at 12:43 AM
The Luniz....
Posted by: D.I. | 2006.01.23 at 02:04 PM
This video and song is on point. Everyone is just going crazy and having a good time. This is what Hip Hop needs right now. I love the uptempo vibe and have always been a big fan of E-40, even though I am out in MA.
"Ghost Ride The Whip, Ghost Ride the Whip!". That is one of the craziest things I have seen in awhile. Loved it!
Posted by: Dj RyB | 2006.01.23 at 05:33 PM
The Luniz! Good lookin'D.I.!
Posted by: Phil | 2006.01.24 at 01:00 AM
We've been waiting in the wings so long and now finally I feel like the light is about to turn toward the Bay...
Cats have been doing it so big independently for long now its time for not just some nat'l but int'l major shine...
I hope the market this album well..because the sound and the visual incapsulate how it's goin' down out here right now and the world needs to know that folks out here have the skill & talent..
Yeeeeee
Posted by: neva_seen | 2006.01.29 at 05:36 PM
Ok, I just saw the full video of this on MTV Jams. I'm not hating on the Bay, they have provided some solid entertainment over the years such as Digital Undergroud, Too Short, The Luniz, and the Dancin' Machine Hammer (and those Oaktown chicks that used to kick it with him).
But this shit sucked. If the Bay takeover is to begin, which I'm sure could happen since y'all been doing it independent for so long, it needs to begin with something else.
Y'all may enjoy it, but dudes like me are flipping the channel on some shit like this. Till I hear something better, the only people from the Bay I'm jammin' to is Keyshia, Goepele, and some old school Pac before he starting reppin' L.A. for some reason...
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.01 at 09:47 PM
Phil. You're one of the 5 people that wasn't feeling this song/video. Maybe it's because you have a case of that Southern bias I've been hearing so much about.
If you didn't feel the beat blame it on your boy Lil Jon, who laced the track.
And dissing the Bay is like dissing (in your case) yourself, since the South and the Bay are so similar sonically, culturally, and stylistically.
What's ironic is that the South has been trying to steal Bay style for years, like when Yin Yang's associates put out that song "go dumb" that had them yelling "hyphy" without giving props to where the slang originated from. good thing e-40 intervened and got that song shelved.
Posted by: dj mirateck | 2006.02.02 at 04:34 PM
Damn Miratek, can someone not like a particular track and not be accused of bias towards a region? Dude, check my blog and see I have nothing but love and respect for the West Coast because first of all, everybody down here was feeling the movement in the early to mid-nineties...
Second of all, yes we are very similar culturally seeing how most black people out West' grandparents migrated from the LA, MS, TX areas... Musically we both damn sure know about the independant movement...
Finally, without a West Coast there would never be a Southern movement.
As to "my boy" Lil Jon, he no different than every other producer makes shitty beats from time to time. I've felt some of his shit over the years, I've turned off a plethora of his other tracks off when they came on.
Now that we've cleared that up, let's get on your accusation about the South stealing shit. Now, this post was titled "Bay Area, Brace Yourselves: You're Up Next." Right? Implying that the region isn't mainstream yet, right?
Also, every Bay Area blog I check always talks about the lack of exposure received in Northern Cali, even by a cities in your own state such as L.A. (which I've always agreed with).
So how the fuck is the South gonna bite from some shit no one ever sees or hears outside of Sacramento, San-Fran, Oakland, etc.? Artists in MS, FL, GA, NC, TX, etc. are so far from your locality (in every meaning of the term) and never see or hear any of your concerts or music, what the fuck are they gonna bite?
Use logic homie before you start accusing niggas of stealing what to this point does not much exist outside of Northen Cali. Now that's some "irony"...
So back to my original comment, these niggas might have some other hot shit I have yet to hear and please feel free to send the shit my way, but as for this shit, it sucked... Where's my Goapele?
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.02 at 05:54 PM
Oh, and P.S... I don't fuck with Ying Yang, but after re-reading your comment, I see that they were your only reference towards the South copping the Bay's style.
My only hypothesis on that shit is that they got it from the exact dude you say got the song shelved...
That nigga E-40 is in The A so damn much his fat ass is starting to look like a Peach. Ever since I was in high school (a waaays back now), I've seen him around rather constantly at Lenox Mall, various "crunk" clubs, and for damn sho' at Club Visions...
He's been kickin with Lil' Jon since the damn Freaknik (circa '97) days when Jon' was still at So So Def. So, as to your one "stealing" reference, I doubt seriously that either of them two corny Ying Yang niggas, who always kick it with Jon, just randomly came out to Oakland and stole some shit.
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.02 at 06:50 PM
Phil. This isn't personal and I'm not slamming the South or Lil Jon or your blog. I was going through it the other day and think it's well thought out and written, if not a little long winded.
I'm not a Bay Area native but I went to school and worked there, immersing myself and being surrounded by the strong local hip hop scene. Maybe I've adopted some of the hypersensitivy that goes along with being from the Bay, but its a natural reflex to go on the defensive when it comes to jacking Bay style. I don't want to go into details, all I'm going to say is if Snoop paid Mac Dre a royalty for every time he used an -izzle or -shizzle, the Bay would have a higher profile than it does now. The Bay has been patiently waiting for too long to blow.
As for my logic, you better check yourself real quick. You said and I agree with the fact that there are connections between the Bay and the South because of post-slavery diaspora. Therefore logic says that there must be family and deep rooted personal connections between groups of individuals between the two regions. Culture and ideas are naturally exchanged between them as a result, moreso than any other two regions of the country (with the exception of maybe LA and NY, irrelevant for this argument). Music is no exception- The Bay is heavily influenced by the South and vice versa. It's obvious when you listen to music from the two regions. So yeah, I'm sure more than a few rappers from the South have gone to Bay Area shows etc. and have been influenced. To deny that would be, well, illogical.
Here's a history lesson for you and everyone else out there who doesn't know. TVT recording artists and Yin Yang Twinz associates Da Muzicianz recorded an album in 2005 called "Go Dumb," in which "Hyphy" and other Bay Area slang were used over a very Bay sounding progressive beat. Da Muzicianz DID give it up for the Bay in the intro of the song, saying something along the lines of "Everybody in Oakland knows what I'm saying when I say go dumb." And that was it. The song did not feature any Bay Area artists, and Northern Cali regions, artists, or culture were given props for the rest of the song, and there were no plans to collaborate with any Bay producers or artists, etc. The record was poised for promotion and ready to be pressed for club rotation when E-40 intervened and forced the project to be shelved, not out business but out of respect from TVT. The Yin Yang Twinz genuinely thought (or so they say) that releasing the song would help elevate the Bay's national profile, but Bay heads thought that it had the potential to damage local morale and reduce the chance of the Bay blowing up under its own terms. The Bay appreciates the support, but doesn't need any 'help' from the South. It's a very long story, the entire thing is documented in real time on the TVT forums. Read it from the beginning and you'll understand how heated it got:
http://forums.tvtrecords.com/thread.jspa?threadID=44658&start=120&tstart=0
The soldiers on the internet message boards are still fuming over it. In the meantime a Bay remixed (yes, actual parties involved are more or less over it) version of the 'most hated songs of 2005' by the Muzicianz is found here:
http://hyphie.blogspot.com/
Now imagine, as preposterous as it sounds, a well-known artist or group from LA realizing the Crunk sound in 2000/2001 before the sound blew nationwide. And this artist or group released a major label song with a Crunk beat screaming "Yeahhh!" or "Ugn" or "Ngaa" without any Southern artists giving minimal props to where the sound came from. Wouldn't you be pissed? Of course you would. In time, people would realize that this sound came from the South; LA and the South are like Venus and Mars when it comes to culture and music. Coming from LA, it would sound fake.
But the Bay and the South sound so similar sometimes, and have such a similar vibe, that if a Southern artist today started yelling "Hyphy" and "Go Dumb" and had guys with dreds going stupid in the video, you better believe that the nation would think that it all started in the South, and the Bay would never get the recognition it deserved, in part because the Hyphy movement sounds like a natural uptempo progression/evolution from Crunk.
It's happened before, so don't front. Or maybe I'm just being hypersensitive.
And don't insult my logic. If you wanna play chess I'll play chess. The end.
Posted by: di mirateck | 2006.02.02 at 07:12 PM
P.S. How old are you?
Why you gotta call E-40 fat? Of course he's fat! errybody knows his ass looks like a peach, but why you gotta put it on blast? think you'll get points for that?
Lil Jon is ugly. Yin Yang are ugly. They all look like skinny crackheads. Yeah i know that's all obvious but, hey, you called e-40 fat.
e-40 went to Grambling State or a while and has family in the South, so no shit you saw him around the A. hyphy and going dumb wasn't around back then, so i don't know what you're trying to say. his presence only reinforces what I'm trying to say. the Bay and the South are tight (too short is down there as well) but the Bay has to be given a chance to blow on its own.
Posted by: dj mirateck | 2006.02.02 at 07:24 PM
Aight, I'm enjoying this one. First of all, Peach is a metaphor... Georgia is the Peach State...
Now, your logic needed to be insulted because you did not take the time to explain yourself as you did in your last comment. All you said was that, hold on, let me copy and paste it... "What's ironic is that the South has been trying to steal Bay style for years, like when..."
Now, your one example had to do with no more than that one Ying Yang reference which you explained out more in your last comment. Now, you say you read my blog (and I do appreciate it, b/c although we're having this "discussion", as we agreed, our regions are in the same boat) you will notice I'm "long-winded" because I hate generalizing.
I explain myself and leave little room for misinterpretation by anyone who visits the site. You're one liner followed by one example led me to believe that you were saying 30-40% of the shit I've been bumping for the last 10 years is shit copped from Oakland, which to me insulted the work artists have put in down here.
So, I'm not going to keep typing b/c after explaining yourself, we are more on the same page, and I think you got that from my last comment as well. There is no "Bay-hating" going on here as I never once said anything to the sort, I just didn't care for that track in question.
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.02 at 08:49 PM
My bad... I'm 23.
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.02 at 08:52 PM
Oh, and never personal brotha...
Posted by: Phil | 2006.02.02 at 08:56 PM
It's due time...the bay has been hungry and other people have been eatin off their plate. Now its time for the nation to know where, what they see and hear now on the tv and radion, really originated from. One thing though man, hyphy is keak the sneak, but going dumb and getting stupid THATS ALL MAC DRE!! E-40 is gona take credit for what mac dre founded?? nah, i know there beef was somewhat squashed, but you dont move up on it like that. ya-did-i-mean!!! YOU BEEZY!! I JUST HOPE THEY GIVE MAC DRE HIS PROPS AND RESPECT!! WITH OUT HIM THE THIZZ MOVEMENT WOULD BE NOTHING, MEMBER THAT!!!! ONE LOVE, TO THE BAY!!!
Posted by: Buddah | 2006.02.04 at 04:53 PM
"Posted by: dj mirateck | Feb 4, 2006 9:19:51 AM
Here in Athens GA our mom and pop stores suck. They only stock what the greasy, stoned-out, arrogant idiot behind the counter thinks is 'appropriate'. So I can find any number of Radio Head imports or Death Cab for Cutie bootlegs (aka shit you couldn't pay me to listen to) but forget hip-hop or rap. They only stock the townie stuff. Namely Fear of a Black Planet and Paul's Boutique.
Ask for something else, even Paid in Full, and you get rolling eyes and a dismissal."
Yo! Mirateck! Get fucked. Leave Athens if you don't like it and head off to detroit or NY or LA or some other rat hole.
Posted by: Homeboy | 2006.02.09 at 08:45 PM
Why all this mutha fuckin hate... Im born raised in Oakland and grew up listenin to Mac Dre and luniz and all that shit. The yay area has been pumpin out hot shit fo a long time now, and nobody gave a fuck but us.
We got a true underdog mentality here in the yay, we got nothin to fuckin lose, if this hella tight E-40 shit dont pop off then we got hella other hyphy rappers who jus as legit, The Team, The Frontline, Zion I, Keak Da Sneak, EA Ski, San Quinn, man i could go on.
Yet if there should be one mc from the yay to make it big it should be E-40. This video is the shit, people told me about how they were filmin it all around east oakland, and how hyphy it got. We dont give a fuck if people hate on this shit, cause we gonna keep shaken dem dreads til we passed out from all the drank n smoke.
NOR*CAL... the chronist purp and lowest scrappers. GO STUPID!!!
Posted by: drummer510 | 2006.02.14 at 11:27 AM
Being from Sactown I bump shit from tha bay all tha time. Our underground shit is hard as fuck but that commercial shit coming from tha bay is straight garbage. We need cats like Yukmouth to get more radio play and show these squares what tha bay is really about.
Posted by: Big Nate 916 | 2006.11.18 at 04:09 PM