2008 Woodie Awards
Gas, break, dip, huh?
Hyphy trend leaves this white guy confused
Adrian Garro
Issue date: 3/20/07 Section: Detour
- Page 1 of 1
I was almost a victim of the Hyphy Movement. Last weekend, I narrowly avoided death as a car driven by four white dudes swerved around a parking lot, while they yelled, "BAY AREA!" with Vallejo's (or "Valley Joe's") very own E-40 blasting out of the speakers. This got me thinking, what exactly is going on that this has now developed into its own subculture of Northern Californian silliness?
There is a video circulating online called "Ghost Ride the Volvo," which I'm sure many people have seen. In it, two white kids decide to "ghost ride" their Volvo in effort to keep the Oakland A's from moving to Fremont. This video has ended up on Wild 94.9's website, indicating its popularity among Hyphyists everywhere. What exactly is "ghost riding?" Well, it seems to involve getting out of your car while it coasts at around 10 mph, and dancing around the front of the car, or depending on your level of boldness (or idiocy), dancing on the hood. This technique can be seen in Mistah F.A.B.'s "Ghost Ride It" video, in which a bunch of dudes dance around, on and in a short bus while cruising the streets of Oakland. I have also seen many copycat videos of people attempting to ghost ride who really have no business trying. One such video featured a truck going about 30 mph and crashing into a light post. After viewing these strange videos, I fail to really understand the point or the appeal. In Mistah F.A.B.'s video, he says something to the effect of "hyphy" being the West Coast's version of "crunk," which reigns supreme in the "Dirty South," with Kings of Crunk such as Lil Jon himself the most visible participant in that movement.
"Ghost riding" and its associated activities seem to be pretty dangerous and pointless, as far as I am concerned. This is not a knock on the culture that eats this all up, but from an outsider's perspective, it all seems rather odd and, well, devoid of any rational purpose. People are entitled to whatever they like, but as for me, the Hyphy Movement seems rather silly and strange, as a white dude on the outside looking in.
There is a video circulating online called "Ghost Ride the Volvo," which I'm sure many people have seen. In it, two white kids decide to "ghost ride" their Volvo in effort to keep the Oakland A's from moving to Fremont. This video has ended up on Wild 94.9's website, indicating its popularity among Hyphyists everywhere. What exactly is "ghost riding?" Well, it seems to involve getting out of your car while it coasts at around 10 mph, and dancing around the front of the car, or depending on your level of boldness (or idiocy), dancing on the hood. This technique can be seen in Mistah F.A.B.'s "Ghost Ride It" video, in which a bunch of dudes dance around, on and in a short bus while cruising the streets of Oakland. I have also seen many copycat videos of people attempting to ghost ride who really have no business trying. One such video featured a truck going about 30 mph and crashing into a light post. After viewing these strange videos, I fail to really understand the point or the appeal. In Mistah F.A.B.'s video, he says something to the effect of "hyphy" being the West Coast's version of "crunk," which reigns supreme in the "Dirty South," with Kings of Crunk such as Lil Jon himself the most visible participant in that movement.
"Ghost riding" and its associated activities seem to be pretty dangerous and pointless, as far as I am concerned. This is not a knock on the culture that eats this all up, but from an outsider's perspective, it all seems rather odd and, well, devoid of any rational purpose. People are entitled to whatever they like, but as for me, the Hyphy Movement seems rather silly and strange, as a white dude on the outside looking in.