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THE HYPHY HIP-HOPPER
E-40
WHY HIM
The Black Hawk–based MC has reinvented himself yet again—this time as our local hyphy movement’s emissary to the world.
SOUND
The longtime, Vallejo-bred rapper’s latest album, My Ghetto Report Card (Warner Bros.), isn’t that different from his previous ones. He’s still rapping about sexy ladies, big payoffs, and oddball slang in a breathy, slurry rhythm. The big difference is the production, which features the slow, grinding beats and anthemic synth melodies of the Yay Area’s current hyphy scene. LISTEN NOW!
AUDIENCE
The white-tees-and-jeans homies from the East Bay, plus suburban kids in sideways caps and baggy pants.
STORY
E-40 (aka Earl Stevens) has been on the cusp of national success ever since his first official single, 1994’s hilarious street anthem “Captain Save a Hoe.” But even though he scored one platinum and three gold records over the years and came up with such now-common phrases as “It’s all good” and “Ya feel me,” E-40 had never really expanded beyond his Bay Area and Dirty South followings. Then came the release of My Ghetto Report Card, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts in April 2006. Thanks to the Lil Jon–produced single “Tell Me When to Go” and the follow-up “U and Dat,” E-40 finally made it into regular rotation on MTV2.
His world
HAUNTS
E-40 prefers to chill at home or in the studio, or to work on one of his many business ventures, like his own Cloud 9 liquor and his chain of Fatburger franchises.
INSPIRATION
He’s not saying. Although the term hyphy (hype plus fly) was allegedly first coined by Oakland’s Keak da Sneak in 1997, it didn’t get wide exposure until the Federation scored a regional hit with “Hyphy”—which E-40 collaborated on—in 2004. Now you can’t turn on KMEL-FM without hearing the style, whether it’s from Keak, Turf Talk, the Team, or the Frontline.
VENUES
E-40 is a fan of Sweet Jimmie’s in Oakland and San Francisco’s 330 Ritch and Whisper.
