The Bay Area: Underdog of Rap Capitals

By Kalina Phillips
The San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural influence on hip-hop is resurgent following its initial impact on the movement.

Hip-hop has shaped music and culture for decades; from the streets to the spotlight of international attention, the evolution of hip-hop has resulted in cultural dominance. Like any movement in its early stages, hip-hop derived its fundamental characteristics from “rap capitals” such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. The Bay Area’s righteous place in the hip-hop continuum goes back as far as the movement exists. Elements of hip-hop are often created in response to current socio-political climates; thus, the prevalent history of community and activism in the Bay Area are significant when analyzing the Bay’s impact on hip-hop. Considering the movements in the Bay Area that impacted hip-hop, such as the political organization of Black Panthers in the 1960s-80s and the local Boogaloo dance movement of the 1970s, the Bay helped establish the aesthetic and stylistic foundation of hip-hop. However, the Bay Area’s influence on hip-hop is not exclusive to its infancy in the ‘70s.

The local hip-hop scene in the Bay Area has significantly impacted the genre and its surrounding culture over the years. The Bay’s hip-hop culture serves to provide honest commentary on the state of Bay communities. This theme is prominent in influential rappers of the later twentieth to early twenty-first centuries such as Too $hort, E-40, and Mac Dre. However, as the popularization of hip-hop was often credited to New York and Southern California in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Bay artists began their own support within the underground music scene. This uptempo “hyphy” movement began as Bay Area rappers rebelled against commercial hip hop for not acknowledging the region’s influence in setting trends for the industry. The hyphy movement had significant musical and social influence on hip-hop. Recently, the Bay’s hyphy movement has seen a resurgence in the mainstream as a part of being a stylistic influence to hip-hop.

The Bay Area’s impact on hip-hop has always been humbly present. However, as hip-hop is more prevalent now than ever, understanding the Bay’s contributions is essential to project the current state and future of the expanding movement.

“Hip-hop is the number one genre of music in the country,” says Tiana Lewis, Pandora’s Head of Pop Music Programming and R&B Curator, in regards to the nature of hip-hop on a national scale, “Hip-hop culture is simply becoming American culture.”

Tiana’s insights, backed by 12 years of experience in the music industry, clearly illustrate the current significance of hip-hop. There is no doubt that Tiana’s testimony that “hip-hop is a massive industry” proves to be true due to hip hop’s economic, social, political, and cultural prevalence. The hip-hop genre is not solely responsible for producing acclaimed musicians. The popularity of hip-hop, propelled forward by the age of internet culture and encouraged by a plethora of fans, also fuels an economic and political purpose. In the commercial age of 2018, the visibility of hip-hop is used by advertisers across a multitude of markets to appeal to wider audiences as well as counterculture pioneers who seek to inspire socio-political change. Thus, “hip-hop is truly everywhere.”

The exponentially growing popularity of hip-hop may seem recent; however, due to the genre’s unique characteristics, Tiana states “I can easily say that the majority of people who grew up with the music are saying it was a long time coming. It was only a matter of time.” Tiana, whose expertise aids her in understanding trends as well as predicting hits, owes the success of the genre to its unique composition: “No matter what type of hip-hop it is, whether it be a Lil Yachty or a Jay Z, I think the thing that pulls it together is production and storytelling. I feel like in a lot of different genres you can get away with one or the other, but with hip-hop, it has to be both.” Due to the distinctive combination of both production and storytelling present in hip-hop music, Tiana tells hip-hop enthusiasts that: "Hip-hop today is fun, it's expressive. It’s flashy, sexy. You're a part of that movement. You feel like you’re a part of that story.”

Understanding the “expressive” core of hip-hop is essential when considering the movement’s growth. Both the foundation and continuation of hip-hop culture is oriented around self-expression.

When it comes to personal expression, the Bay Area, housing a diverse array of nonconformists and entrepreneurs, is familiar with the art. “See, in the Bay Area, we dance a little different,” Bay Area artist Mac Dre explains in 2004 hit “Get Stupid.” Mac Dre, along with fellow Bay rapper Keak da Sneak, served as founders for the “hyphy movement” of the early 2000s. The gritty, party-centric movement centered around unapologetic expression left a permanent imprint on the nature of the Bay Area’s rap scene. While comparing the music of more senior Bay artists, such as E-40 and Too $hort, and newer Bay Area musicians, such as G-Eazy and Kehlani, the stylistic influence of hyphy is apparent. However, even in the wake of the resurgence of hyphy elements in newer music by producers such as DJ Mustard, the Bay Area is still undercredited for its contribution to the hip-hop movement.

“I think the Bay Area has always been sort of quietly and subtly influential on national hip-hop,” says Sam Lefebvre, a freelance journalist at the East Bay Express, while describing the Bay Area’s influence on hip-hop.

Sam articulates an important point: despite both the Bay Area’s initial and recent influence on hip-hop, the Bay often is dubbed an underdog in regards to being a rap capital. However, lack of recognition does not equate to lack of impact; there are many recent examples of Bay Area influence on hip-hop. Firstly, the soundtrack to Marvel’s 2018 film Black Panther, which remained number one on the United States’ Billboard charts for two consecutive weeks, features Vallejo rap group SOB x RBE on the hit track “Paramedic.” Additionally, featured on rapper Drake’s record-breaking 2018 album Scorpion, Drake credits the Bay in his song “Nonstop:” “She just said I’m bae, I hit the thizzle dance (Mac Dre shit, damn).” In fact, Drake, who is one of modern hip hop’s most influential and successful artists, often credits the bay; in DJ Khaled collaboration “For Free,” Drake confidently borrows bars from Too $hort’s Bay Area hit “Blow the Whistle;” in Drake’s breakout hit “The Motto,” Drake states “Rest in peace Mac Dre Imma do it for the bay.” Moreover, G-Eazy’s current prevalence in hip-hop is undeniable as he has 15 songs that have ranked in Billboard’s Hot 100, two of which were top 10 hits. Furthermore, Oakland rapper Saweetie recently signed with Warner Brothers following the success of the viral hit “Icy Girl.” Oakland hip-hop artist Kehlani is also currently prominent due to both her musical success, having had 7 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100, and her influential presence in the LGBTQ+ community. Lastly, Oakland’s Kamaiyah is on the rise as she was named as one of the ten of XXL "2017 Freshman Class” and appeared in a Sprite commercial, alongside LeBron James, in early 2018. While artists such as G-Eazy and Kehlani receive acclaim, other Bay Area drivers in the industry such as SOB x RBE, Saweetie, and Kamaiyah do not receive the same credit.

The Bay Area often receives little to no credit for its continual impact on hip-hop culture. However, with the recent growing prominence of Bay Area artists on hip-hop, the Bay may soon receive the recognition it deserves. Even if the Bay Area does not receive widespread acclaim despite wielding influence in the industry from behind the scenes for decades, the people of the Bay Area proudly declare it a central hub for hip-hop.