sleepin’ wit da enemy

It was 10p. I was riding down San Pablo Ave in Oakland last night on my way to Luka’s Taproom to meet up with my colleague Ingrid. I happened to be thinking about a project I am involved with called the HOPE Collaborative which seeks to create fundamental and sustainable environmental changes that will significantly improve the health and wellness of Oakland residents. I am participating on the built environment team of the collaborative. For some reason, some of my best ideas come while I am riding. Anyway, I rolling pretty quick, grooving to some RNB down near 24th on San Pablo. Lo and behold, out of the corner of my little eye, I spied this sign in the window of a corner store.

For those of you who are not familiar, hyphy is a local urban cultural movement. I would add of dubious benefit to the community, though I am not saying that everyone and every thing about the hyphy movement is bad. here is what Wikipedia says:

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 takes credit for coining the term when, as a young boy, his mother would often tell him he was hyperactive. He would repeat the word “hyper” as “hyphy”.

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]

The Hyphy Movement definitely encourages some really nutty behavior, like ghost riding the whip in which the driver jumps out of a car in motion and begin dancing, sometimes alongside the empty if not the roof. I am also not feeling the glorification of dumb and stupid.

Anyway, the ingredients of Hyphy Juice are high fructose corn syrup, guarana, Vitamin C, taurine, caffeine, inositol, B Vitamins, and elutheroccoccus senticosus. Not all bad, but certainly enough bad. Below is what an energy drink aficionado says about the tasting experience from a blog on energy drinks:

Hyphy is a green apple candy in color, similar to PJ Tight although slightly less dark. When you crack open the tab, there is a strong artificial grape smell. The flavor is just as promised with a mix of grape juice flavor and apple juice. I definitely have not had that in an energy drink though I have seen a lot more grape recently with XO Grape and Xtreme Shock Grape. Hyphy has a pretty thick syrupy sweetness with a good amount of carbonation, but is so sweet it will leave you with a sweet aftertaste long after drinking. It’s definitely one of the most unique flavors I have tested and while it’s not my thing some people will definitely like it for its ripe sweetness in bursting of apple and grape (Grapple) juice flavors. I’ve tried Hyphy out a few times now and I think it’s best as a mixer for your nights out where the alcohol will dilute the thickness a bit and offset the sweetness. But I know some people like thicker energy drinks that are packed with strong flavors and if that’s your game, Hyphy is a good choice.

Anyway, one question in my mind is what impact does such marketing have on low income communities with respect to the food we eat, our collective health, and also reinforcing ineffective behavior.

I have advised the Hope Collaborative to document food marketing and advertising in their community/intersection mapping activities.