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hyphy

adj, noun — 3 senses

hyphy

adj

/ˈhaɪfiː/

Etymology Probably an alteration of hype or hyper. American rapper Keak da Sneak is sometimes credited as coining the word in the 1990s, but no evidence exists to support this and the term is first attested in 2002.

1

Slang Rambunctious, loud, crazy, dangerous, irrational, and outrageous in behavior.

  • She was so hyphy outside the club Saturday night, she nearly punched a cop!
2

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music Of or relating to the hyphy music subgenre or culture.

  • Oakland is the place to look for 'hyphy' (hyperactive) New Bay hip-hop, while SoCal is still riding the 'crunk' (crazy-drunk) drum and bass beats with […]2006, Andrea Schulte-Peevers et al., California, Lonely Planet Publications, →ISBN, page 46:

hyphy

noun

Etymology Probably an alteration of hype or hyper. American rapper Keak da Sneak is sometimes credited as coining the word in the 1990s, but no evidence exists to support this and the term is first attested in 2002.

1

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A subgenre of hip-hop music and dancing associated with the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • It was Oakland rapper Keak Da Sneak who claims to have invented the term: upon being told by his mother that he was “hyperactive”, Keak repeated the term as “hyphy”. Since then, hyphy has come to refer to a complex group of cultural activities synonymous with Oakland: it is at once a sound, a behavior, a choice in recreational drugs.2009, Mickey Hess, editor, Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, volume 1, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 281:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.