Hyphy Intellect: The Formation of Bay Area Hip Hop Identities in the Realm of Commercial Culture

This dissertation addresses "Hyphy" (pronounced HIGH-fee), a genre of rap and lifestyle that is associated with Bay Area hip hop culture. Hyphy, which evolved into a social movement for marginalized youth, emerged in early 2000 and peaked in 2006. It was a response to social, economic and cultural tensions on a local and national level from Bay Area youth. Marginalized youth created Hyphy as a means to release tension from structured authority and to celebrate life and freedom of expression, while the rappers in Hyphy helped fostered the movement as a response against the commercial hip hop industry for not acknowledging the region as a trendsetter in the overall hip hop culture. Applying cultural studies and sociological theory, this ethnographic research argues that Hyphy is a counter-cultural youth social movement, in the form of musical protest to the Bay Area's marginalization, apparent within two main areas: (1) the youth's local sense of frustration with their everyday social and economic realities, and (2) Bay Area artists' cultural marginalization in the world of commercial rap on a national level. A genealogy of the movement (2000-2010) is presented from both local and national perspectives. First, an examination of the foundations of Bay Area rap culture contextualizes the origins of Hyphy's aesthetic elements. Next, the study acknowledges this regional socio-cultural discourse and several Bay Area rappers whose contributions to hip hop were co-opted within the mainstream industry, yet have remained marginalized. Finally, the research examines the phases of the Hyphy Movement, considering the sociological stages of a social movement: (1) Emergence, (2) Coalescence, (3) Bureaucratization, and (4) Decline. The research explains how and why the Hyphy Movement was a social movement that appealed to socially and economically marginalized youth, because it provided a space in which they could address tensions and political issues that fostered collective action amongst the youth. The Hyphy Movement united the youth during pivotal social upheavals during 2009, for instance, in the presidential campaign and during the continuing incidents of police violence -- in particular, the unjust murder of Oscar Grant III.