What to Watch For: NorCal Hip-Hop

Perhaps it's safe to say that E-40 was ahead of his time. And if you're reading this and just asked yourself who E-40 is, that's perfectly ok. The Oakland based rapper rose to prominence through his role in pioneering one of hip-hop's most peculiar sub-genres, "hyphy" music. I was in sixth grade when his hit single "Tell Me When to Go" debuted, and it was definitely the jam to my pubescent wanksta complex that was my toast. But the track, like my embarrassing phase, was only temporary, and E-40's decorated career would continue to be marginalized. Now it seems that every party I'm at there's a dozen distraught girls begging the DJ with puppy dog eyes to play Sage the Gemini's smash hit "Gas Pedal." As obnoxious as this spectacle is, it signifies the rebirth of a movement that scraped the surface of mainstream hip-hop eight years ago. Sage hails from Fairfield, CA, just east of the Bay Area where the hyphy movement was born. He, along with a horde of bubbling rappers, might just be the next big things to hit airwaves and clubs in the years to come.
Simple, snap along, head nodding beats give Bay music a no-nonsense, yet somewhat jovial quality á la Tyga's "Rack City." NorCal poster children HBK Gang embody a familiarity that resonates through their sound in this way. Their debut mixtape Gang Forever (2013), boasts 17 tracks of lazy Sunday rap with just the right amount of pep. Tracks like "Gettin' It" and "Go Crazy" are just the kind of couch mobbin' tunes you need when the smoke clears and the hyphy mood hits. Spontaneously breaking out in interpretive dance is normal, which is demonstrated in the respective music videos. Freedom of expression plays a strong role in the music and culture of the Bay; San Francisco's colorful neo hippy identity feeds the carefree nature of HBK Gang. Across the water, the gritty streets of Oakland keep the 'Gang' monicker in check.

By the way, who is that other guy with the guest verse in "Gas Pedal?' It's Iamsu!, the HBK member who's slowly making his way into the cracks of mainstream hip-hop with spots on other tracks like Wiz Khalifa's pounding bonus cut "'Bout Me," 2 Chainz's ominous wind-chiming "Livin'," and most notably LoveRance's "Up," which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2011. With an extensive track record of guest spots, he might just be overdue for an album. Having released seven mix tapes, 2014 could be the year of reckoning for one of the Bay Area's top contenders. Su's flow fits snugly on tracks that resonate with hyphyness, but I honestly think he has the ability to hop on any record and make it his own. "Hipster Girls," off his most recent mixtape Kilt 2 caught my ear in this regard; it's a bit of a silly tune, but Su makes a necessarily superficial single out of a smooth Curren$y-esque beat.

As an overarching style of hip-hop, there is no doubt in my mind that West Coast will reign supreme for the foreseeable future, especially with Top Dawg Entertainment having made a permanent imprint in the game. But other rappers like Problem, who also appears on a number of tracks with Iamsu! and the likes, are helping to bolster an exciting new scene after a rather dry period out west. On another note, Problem tends to sound rather NorCal himself, which signifies the unification of the many Cali cliques into one stronghold of hip-hop. The sounds are experimental and groundbreaking, and the culture is much less gang related than it once was, focusing more on the true art of music and lyrics.

                                                                                       Problem- "Like Whaaat" (I think I can get hyphy to this)