“The rap game without the Bay Area is like old folks without bingo.” So says Earl Stevens, better known as rapper E-40, who has brought long-overdue mainstream attention to hyphy, the northern California Bay Area hip-hop movement.
After over a decade of rapping on the streets of his native Vallejo, California, and more than ten album releases, E-40 finally scored nationwide success with his newest album, My Ghetto Report Card, and his spring 2006 single, Tell Me When To Go. With echoing drumbeats, steady handclaps, and E-40’s characteristically uncanny lyrics, the track is a masterpiece in hip-hop minimalism: intensely rhythmic with little melody to catch, yet it all manages to be infectiously catchy - a staple for nightclubs and bouncy car rides with all the windows rolled down.
Tell Me When To Go features Oakland rapper Keak Da Sneak, who originally coined the term “hyphy.” Characterized by pulsing bass beats, exaggerated dancing, and an extensive dictionary of slang, hyphy culture rests on the philosophy of having a good time while ignoring society’s disapproval of “uncivilized” behavior. “Hyphy is energy,” E-40 says. “It’s lettin’ yourself go, it’s doin’ the fool, it’s a stress reliever, it’s lettin’ your hair down, it’s energy, you know what I mean?”
So how did E-40 become such an expert on hyphy? After building a strong street presence with mixtapes, E-40 released albums through his own independent record label, Sick Wid’ It Records. In the process, he collaborated with West Coast hip-hop heroes Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, Brotha Lynch Hung, and the hyphy legend himself, Too $hort.
Now, E-40 also enjoys hyphy legend status, thanks to his unparalleled way with words. As an ambassador of hyphy culture, E-40 frequently invents new slang and phrases on the fly. Among his authored ghetto slang are “It’s all good,” and “fo’shezzy, fo’shizzle” - phrases that are now associated not only with hyphy but hip-hop culture as a whole.
E-40’s newest single, U and Dat, is yet another party-starting anthem chock full of new slang and pulsing bass. Produced by crunk mastermind Lil’ Jon, U and Dat features the melodic vocal talents of T.Pain and Kandi Girl and still lives up to the rhythmic, minimalistic standards of hyphy.
Artist Info
Most Popular Songs: Tell Me When To Go featuring Keak Da Sneak, U and Dat featuring T. Pain and Kandi Girl
Has Collaborated With: Lil’ Jon, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, Too $hort, Brotha Lynch Hung, Al Kapone, The Federation
Cool Quotes
“Lil Jon is a wild dude, man. He’s an intelligizzle.”
“Hip-hop is in a situation where it is going to keep expanding. It’s like how reggaetown became part of hip-hop. And you know, the hyphy movement, crunk, it all adds to the fact. We changing hip-hop right now with this thing man. And even if the world never adapts to it, where I’m from -- born raised and grown — we’ll be out there having fun regardless of what people think. It’s just our thing. That’s what we do.”
More…
- Tell Me When To Go (video)
- E-40 on Wikipedia
- E-40 on MySpace
- E-40 on iTunes
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