Hyphy

People get real comfortable with what they listen to (or don't listen to). I mean, a quick self reflection reveals a guy who is very comfortable NOT listening to the radio. There are artists who I enjoy listening to that are featured on your popular radio stations, the thing is I cannot support force-fed, uniformly standardized formats and unbalanced playlists. While Kanye West is not one of my favorite artists , he does have some really good joints that I can headnod to but those tracks would never make radio playlists. Instead, they choose to over play the 16 bar/hook/16 bar/ hook format songs that he cookie cuts for them. I love the creativity of independent/underground music. It is the only source for true creativity. That's why I choose to load my 6 disc changer and ipod with music that isn't standardized by your Hot, Power, and Magic music found on dials in every city. When Crunk was hot I was busy ignoring it and trying not to let it infiltrate my air space. When I did come across it, I realized how ignorant it was. The music I listen to is very positive and uplifting (for the most part). Artists try not to stick to formats or sound like anyone else. MC's use original cadences, styles, delivery, and flows to separate themselves from the rest. What I was hearing from Crunk was a lot of same. All of the songs, artists, and rhymes sounded exactly the same. They even had similar moniker's (Lil' and Young). It was the next big thing. And I couldn't stand it.
Then came Hyphy. The reason I address Crunk is that like Hyphy, it is considered a movement, a lot of the lyrics are ignorant and there is a format that a lot of would-be Hyphy artists are trying to copy. And...I LOVE Hyphy. I love the simplistic bass-heavy beats and the original slang/lingo. I like the fact that they enjoy their autonomy and separate themselves from Hip Hop. It goes against everything I stood for and contradicts my ideas about positivity (Hyphy loves to denigrate their Bitches and they love their drink and drugs). Their music is as ignorant as all get out (they love to go dumb, stupid or the ultimate - stewie).
Here's how I stumbled onto Hyphy. Some of the positive artists I was speaking of are from the Bay area and as such are influenced by the movement. Artists like Zion I, various members of Living Legends and Heiroglyphics all make mention or have some connection to Hyphy. Somehow, I was able to add Hyphy to Hip Hop and it seemed to work. The assimilation came in part from tracks like "Lose Your Mind" from Zion I featuring Too Short. I got into other artists like Mistah F.A.B., Keak, Nump, and the Tupac/Biggie of the Bay - Mac Dre. Slowly, I started accumulating a small collection of good hyphy tracks. I started to think back on how I was anti-this and anti-that and here's what I came up with: I understand what good music is, I know when the energy that comes across in a song isn't good. See, that's the difference between myself and those caught in the web of radio culture. I also realized that although I don't own a tv, I do on occasion watch bad movies (and I know they're bad). I can't just watch documentaries ALL the time, so I mix it up with Hollywood crap, bad acting and just plain time-kill in the form of visual media. Well, shouldn't that be the same for music? Not to say that Hyphy is on the same level as Adam Sandler flicks or shoot'em up features. But, it is NOT on the level of positivity like Grouch's "Breath".
So, Hyphy has made it into my rotation and I understand that what I'm doing is adding a balance to my previous playlists. Hyphy IS original, it has (on occassion) positivity (F.A.B.'s "Make It Thru") and it is very creative. Check it out. See what you think. Before you know it you too might be Thizzin out as you ghostride your scraper while wearing your stunna's and Mac Dre tee's.