Labels Chase Hyphy, Don't Know What It Is

Over at Holla at a Scholar!!, Adisa Banjoko has an audio post about a call he got from a rep who works with a major label and writes for a trend setter magazine.  The rep had included a Bay Area rapper on a list of hyphy artists who was decidedly not hyphy.  The rep asks Adisa, "If he's not hyphy, what is he?"

After explaining that the guy was "just another dope rapper from the Bay," he was asked for a definition of hyphy.  This question pretty much ended the conversation because Adisa immediately recognized that the sharks are smelling blood and if they want his consultation, he should be getting paid.

It quickly becomes a rant but Adisa makes multiple great points.  People are going to try to make money off hyphy without knowing what it is, will be signing artists who aren't hyphy and say they are and may well end up destroying the hyphy movement when people take major label mistaken impressions as representing the real deal.

By the way, if you need a hyphy consultant, Adisa Banjoko would be a good choice.  He looks mean in his pictures and sounds nutty on his blog but that's as much about self expression in the world of hip hop as anything else.  He's a smart funny guy who could save you a lot of pain, from knowing which Bay artist has his personal business together to knowing who's hyphy and who's not.

ProHipHop states the obvious: Look for a hyphy feeding frenzy from the majors and lots of newly created hyphy artists that were just so gangsta last week.

[Disclaimer: Adisa's my friend and someone with whom I work on various projects.  Few can make both lists because I can be both difficult and demanding.  Better yet, we're always schooling each other and it's rare for someone to take me to school.]

Comments

[Furious Styles]

I listened to the Bishop's rant on his site and I feel him. I'm a lifelong Oaklander and I hope the majors don't exploit and pimp our hyphyness. I feel like the majors were responsible for killing the Bay scene years ago, by over-saturating the market and dilluting the good stuff out there. I'd hate for that to happen with Hyphy.

Do you also remember the way NWA made all rappers from LA have to be ganstas. Well, I'd hate for all the talented Bay MCs to have to Go Dumb to conform.

[Clyde Smith]

Similarly, I'm sure a lot of Southern rappers are hating the rise of crunk. I also remember locals in Greensboro, NC talking junk about Ludacris and they were quite unhappy with Petey Pablo's popularity at the time.

I'm always happy to see a new region take off but that whole process of then labeling that region with one style is just total nonsense.