A few years ago, it seemed like the Bay Area hyphy movement
was here to stay. Predicated on kids spazzing with Ninja Turtle
backpacks and ghostriding their momma’s cars, the hyphy movement was
the biggest thing to hit rap since, well, crunk, just the year
before.
Okay, so that’s a bit of an overstatement. In reality, very few
people actually believed that hyphy would weather the years and the
fickle nature of pop fans. It was ridiculously fun and a long overdue
breath of fresh air while it lasted, but it was too cartoony to sustain
its own momentum; too niche-y to really take over. But two significant
things came out of the brief “Yay Area” frenzy of ’06: (1) Rappers
started to lighten the fuck up, and dropped at least some of their
preoccupation with being “hard,” and (2) the hype reinvigorated the Bay
Area rap scene, and drew national audiences to see what else was
happening around Oakland aside from E-40 and the Coup.
To that end, artists like Keak da Sneak, the Federation, Nump, and
Traxamillion finally began to get their due, and now two artists
currently stand poised to carry the Bay into hiphop’s future: Turf Talk
and Mistah F.A.B. The new albums by these rappers, West Coast
Vaccine (The Cure) and Da Baydestrian, respectively,
demonstrate that it’s way too early to write off Oakland just yet, and
that the up-tempo, bass-heavy signature tropes of classic hyphy can
continue to be incorporated into serious, sustainable hiphop.
West Coast Vaccine is one of the stronger rap albums of the
year, with Turf Talk’s loopy staccato weaving in and out of some
monstrous synth lines and Afrika Bambaataa samples. F.A.B. might always
be best known as the guy who recorded “Ghost Ride It,” which was the
catchiest use ever of a Ray Parker Jr. sample, but in Da
Baydestrian, he proves that he can rock the mic for a full 17
tracks.
If you want to show up tonight with your Donatello slippers and
dreads flying, I’m sure you won’t be too out of place: The ecstatic
spirit of hyphy still lingers. But more significantly, if you value
lyricism and dope beats over pop fads, you owe it to yourself to see
these two West Coasters bring the Bay into the future.