With a little help from Ella Baker Center Political Director Nicole Lee, the San Francisco Chronicle took a look at the “hyphy” movement in Oakland – and its positive impact on young people:
“Youth culture to me, whether it’s rock or alternative or punk or hyphy, there’s a stream of it that’s about vitality and life,” Lee says. “There’s an element of it that’s rebelling against a deadness that exists in kind of conventional adult society, where you’re sort of cogs in the machine. There’s a piece of hyphy that’s actually about dancing in the streets. It’s almost spiritual, like we should have life and have it abundantly and have it freely.”
Bay Area mainstream media has a mixed record understanding the hyphy movement, and its impact on violence in Oakland. Coverage so far has been awkward at best, except for a great piece by KTVU 2 reporter Priya David. We think Lisa Hix nailed it here though, honing in on “hyphy” as the next wave in the lineage of political hip-hop that uplifts communities.
Read the whole piece and decide for yourself.
