Cultural Misconceptions

Thomas Lane

English 1001

3/5/07

Cultural misconceptions

Many cultures are often misunderstood by the rest of society. This lack of understanding by society at large of specific cultures often leads to misconceptions about a given society. These generalizations apply to all types of cultures and they also apply to societies understanding of the Hyphy movement. The Hyphy movement is a culture with many aspects yet there are many misunderstandings regarding this culture that have been used to crack down on Hyphy behavior. Like generalizations and stereotypes of other cultures, the misunderstandings about Hyphy culture are not completely unfounded, but are exaggerated. As a person surrounded by and participating in the hyphy movement I submit that it is not many of the things that it is perceived to be and that it is in fact a culture and way of life.

The misgivings about the hyphy movement range from the vague, like "I don't understand what the point is", to the specific, it promotes a "culture of death" (Muhammad). While all these views present evidence to support their claims, these are to Hyphy what stereotypes are to other ethnicities. Although hyphy is not about the promotion of a specific ethnic identity, these misconceptions about those in the hyphy present the same forms of disrespect and discrimination stereotypes present to ethnic identity. One common misconception about the hyphy movement, even in its birthplace, the bay area, is what is it, what is its purpose? When speaking to classmates this was often what I heard from those who knew of the hyphy movement but not what it was. When I explored deeper by asking what was meant by the question what is its purpose, a common response was "I just don't understand why they have to jump on top of cars and stuff." This statement shows how confused some people are about the hyphy movement. While these people observe Hyphy people jumping on cars they do not understand why, quite possibly because they have not taken the time to get to know the culture. Asking why Hyphy people jump on cars is like asking why Chinese Americans dragon dance, it is something that once you take the time to understand the culture you come to understand. Another scathing misconception is that the Hyphy movement promotes a "culture of death" (Muhammad).

The Hyphy movement is a subculture of hip-hop culture. Much like people once thought it was a passing fad, so is the case with the Hyphy movement. Yet David Muhammad, executive director of The Mentoring Center, claims that hip-hop "culture has denigrated into an embarrassing bastion of filth- promoting violence, drugs, irresponsible sex, excessive materialism, and delinquent behavior." (Muhammad). He goes on to state that this is now a culture of death and the hyphy movement is no different from the culture of death he claims hip-hop has degenerated into. He argues that "there is a deliberate attempt by rappers to promote a Ð''hyphie movement'Ð'...Going dumb or stupid, which is quite literal, is a way you dance while thizzin (using the drug ecstasy), smoking purp (marijuana), and sipping bo (robitussin cough syrup with codeine)" (Muhammad). Again this claim is also a generalization. While most in the movement probably use drugs and there and overt references and promotion of drug use in hyphy music, there are scores of people living the hyphy life who use no drugs at all. More importantly though is the fact the hyphy dancing, while inspired by the way you dance while intoxicated, does not require intoxication. This critique is much like those leveled against hippy culture in the sixties, yet no one would argue that it was a "culture of death" (Muhammad), especially after seeing how many of the people who lived that lifestyle became very successful in later years. This is one of the aims of the hyphy movement as well, to help its followers be successful later in life. One observer notes that the movement promotes "entrepreneurship and artistic creativity" (Arnold). While music is a big part of the culture it is not just in terms of the sale of hyphy music where entrepreneurs are inspired either. There is hyphy dress so someone might be inspired to open a clothing store or start designing clothing; there are even hyphy energy drinks.

The hyphy movement is culture, more importantly it is youth culture and while many of its customs are rooted in traditional African American culture it is not ethnically exclusive. It is something that is primarily designed as a means of expression for people aged 16-30 but often has followers outside of those demographics( my brothers only 14 and he's Hyphy and the leading musician of the Hyphy movement is near 40). Hyphy culture covers many aspects of life including familial relations to celebrations and even language. In the hyphy movement family has a looser definition than what society at large would consider family. Many of the followers of the hyphy movement were born or raised during Americas crack epidemic and as a result hyphy is more inclusive of blended families and informal adoption like a friend of the family living with the immediate family and being introduced as a brother. Also, in the hyphy movement many