{hyphy}

who knew.....

when i was in san francisco all zac wanted me to bring back to him was a "hyphy" t-shirt. we asked adults who lived in the area what it meant, but nobody really knew. i never found a shirt, but for those of you who were with us in san fran on our quest for the perfect "hyphy" shirt....here is the definition.

Hyphy (pronounced /ˈhaɪfiː/ HYE-fee) is a style of music and dance primarily associated with the Bay Area hip hop culture. The Hyphy movement started in the early '90s but began to re-emerge in the early 2000s as a response from Bay Area rappers against commercial hip hop for ignoring the Bay's influence on the hip hop industry.[1][2] Although the "hyphy movement" has just recently seen light in mainstream America, it has been a long standing and evolving culture in the Bay Area.[3] Bay Area rapper Keak Da Sneak was the first to use the term on an album.
Hyphy music is distinguished by gritty, pounding rhythms and in this sense can be associated with the Bay Area as crunk music is to the South; however, contrary to popular belief, the musical aspect of the Hyphy movement has very few similarities to crunk music as it is dictated by more up-tempo beats.[4] An individual is said to "get hyphy" when they act or dance in an overstated, fast paced, and ridiculous manner.[5] Those who consider themselves part of the Hyphy movement would describe this behavior as "getting stupid" or "going dumb."[6][7] In contrast to much of popular American culture where these phrases would be considered negative or even insulting, Hyphy is distinguished by taking this kind of behavior as a form of pride.[8]