Remember the Time: The Hyphy Movement

In the mid-2000’s a sound emerged out of the Bay Area that would overtake the sonic landscape of hip-hop for a brief but impactful period showcasing not only the music, but also the overall culture of the Bay Area. A culture that changed the way the hip-hop nation danced, dressed, spoke, and even drove their cars.  The Lil Jon produced, E-40 helmed smash “Tell Me When to Go” accurately summed up the surface of the Hyphy movement as a music and culture, but the origin is much deeper. Without the independent nature of the Bay Area, Hyphy could have never existed. Here, we take a deep dive into a subgenre, a movement, a culture that though short lived, still permeates across the globe to this very day, influencing some of today’s top performers.  Dropping weekly episodes beginning November 14th.

Episode 1 examines the independent nature of Bay Area hip-hop and how it eventually reached the mainstream despite having a different sound, delivery and cadence from mainstream rap of the time.  A big part of that sound, aptly called Mobb Music, was popularized by artists like E-40 and Mac Mall. The slow plodding bass heavy sound was instrumental in Bay Area hip-hop. It took a kid from Fairfield by way of Montgomery AL by the name of Rick Rock to bring his dance hi-BPM style to Bay music to transition from Mobb to Hyphy.   Hear from Keak da Sneak, Jake One, Mike Mosley, Ray Luv, CMG of the Conscious Daughters and more.

The word hyphy—short for hyperactive—was first uttered on a song by Oakland rapper Keak Da Sneak. Initially, the slang term didn't mean what it came to represent: that the party was over the top or someone was being extra. As it happens with most slang words, it took on a meaning of its own once the masses got ahold of it. This episode of Remember the Time breaks down the sound and culture that preceded hyphy, from the New Bay sound that led up to the Hyphy Movement, to the songs that came to define the Hyphy sound. Expect to hear from E-40, Keak Da Sneak, Too $hort, DJ Juice, P-Lo, Clyde Carson of the Team, Sean Kennedy of Moses Music, DJ Big Von, and more. Want more Hyphy music? Tap into the playlist curated by host Branden LSK.

The Bay Area dances a little different. More than music, Hyphy is described as a movement for a reason: it involved one’s mind, body and soul. Episode 3: Taking Up Room on the Floor, explores the dance culture of the bay area that helped visualize the Hyphy Movement. Born from the 1960s and 1970s funk scene in Oakland, the free-flowing and hard-hitting dance style known as Boogaloo has evolved into styles like pop and locking and T.U.R.F. dancing, which is still popular in the Bay Area to this day. With breaking (aka break dancing) entering the Olympics in 2024 and events like Red Bull Dance Your Style, T.U.R.F. dancing has kept a visual element of the Hyphy Movement-era alive. Expect to hear from rapper Too $hort, graffiti artist and rappyer Dregs One, Jeriel Bey; who coined the acronym T.UR.F., Ice Cold 3000 of the Turfeinz crew, Johnny5; founder of TURFInc, Thizz Nation photographer D-Ray, organizers from the community space Youth Uprising and more.

Although E-40 is the mainstream face of the Hyphy Movement, Northern California residents view another rapper as the anchor of Hyphy. He went by Mac Dre. This episode of Remember the Time breaks down the larger-than-life persona of the late rapper—from his pre-and-post incarceration sound to his Thizz Entertainment empire. Host Branden LSK speaks with rapper LaRussell about Mac Dre’s cultural impact and speaks with Steph Curry about his forthcoming documentary on the artist. Expect to hear from Hyphy pioneer E-40; rapper, Keak Da Sneak; hip-hop consultant, Wendy Day; radio personality, Big Von; rapper Mistah F.A.B, producer Droop-E and more.

The fiercely independent nature of the Bay Area music scene has proven to have both positive and adverse effects on the creativity and overall commercial success of the Hyphy Movement. In episode 5: Is Hyphy Dead?, host Branden LSK speaks with artists and label execs about why the movement was somewhat short-lived—from the politics of competing radio stations to other regions capitalizing on the Hyphy sound; diluting its unique aural impact. Expect to hear from Mistah F.A.B., Too $hort, LaRussell, hip-hop journalist, Eric Arnold; No Vultures podcast host, Lord Rab and more.