E-40 Tells Us How to Get Hyphy and When to ‘Go Dumb’ by Davey D E-40 aka Mr Scrill aka the Ambassador of the Bay is making big moves as he gears up to release his new album ‘My Ghetto Report Card’. It looks to be a landmark album as 40 is set to help introduce the world to the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement. He says the Bay is on fire and everybody is coming together to create a movement that simply can’t be denied. More importantly, E-40 wants to see the Bay get respect. If things continue to move foward that will certainly happen. This is not unlike what happened the other night in LA at the Roots Pre-Grammy Party. The Roots were eagerly looking forward to having E-40 join the stage of luminary emcees for a jam session which included Common, Snoop Dogg, YoYo, Cee-Lo, Queen Latifah and comedian Dave Chappelle to name a few. Unfortunately, the over zealous bouncers at the Key Club refused to let 40 inside despite him holding the right credentials and him getting lots of love from Chappelle and Latifah who were allowed in. The bouncers were on some ‘this is Hollywood and we only mess with ‘real superstars’ type vibe. When it became obvious that E-40 was indeed a superstar and his presence could not be denied, the bouncers tried to play him by announcing that 40 could go inside and join the stage, but the rest of his crew would have to stay outside. Now when you consider just how star studded this event was and that it was the hottest ticket in town, one might understand someone going inside. When one considers that they have a hot song on the radio and they are getting ready to drop an album, it would be advantageous to get some extra shine by performing with The Roots. Such a move would be a good look. E-40 could use the extra hype and for that matter so could the Bay. However, E-40 showed a strong sense of character and let the Key Club know what the Bay is made of. He turned down the offer. If one member of his crew could not get in, then he was leaving. The bouncers were shocked when he turned them down and tried to kiss up to E-Fizzle. But he firmly stood his ground and let them know their disrespect wasn’t worth the headache. The bouncers knew they were in the wrong. E-40 left the Key Club premises as well as a glaring hole in the Jam Session line up. IUt was something that would later leave the Root members like Black Thought upset when they heard about it the next day. People witnessing the incident gave E-40 his props for showing loyalty to his squad and letting that embarassing situation slide off his back. But this is what an Ambassador does when he’s carrying the weight of the Bay Area on his shoulders. In due time all wrongs will be corrected. E-40’s new song ‘Tell Me When to Go (Dumb) featuring Bay Area rap star Keak Da Sneak is a currently a club favorite from coast to coast. The video has done more then just captured people’s imaginations. It’s made folks catch the vapors of the Bay. E-40 also gives the run down about Keak Da Sneak and other important bay Area artists like Turf Talk, Clyde Carson and the Team who are a part of the Hyphy scene. He notes that Keak was the first to talk about Hyphy on wax and how dude has clever wordplay. In this interview E-40 talks about his recent signing to Lil Jon’s record label. He talks about the type of friendship the two have and how this move will help bring some much needed attention and spotlight to him and the Bay Area. E-40 gives a break down of the Hyphy Movement. He describes it as the as the Bay Area’s answer to crunk music except more uptempo. He talks about the intense energy that is associated with the music. He also describes the overall lifestyle which includes one’s desire to define and create space for self expression. He describes a typical weekend night in Oakland which includes folks riding around real slow in scrapers while sporting stunner shades and shaking their dreads. He was happy to capture the scene on video. He also talks about the Hyphy Dance. E-40 talks about how many see Kanye West dance in the video ‘Gold Digger’ as a half a Hyphy dance. He notes that Kanye is a frequent visitor to the town and has bore witness to the Hyphy Movement. E-40 also talks about the important role backpack artists like Hiero and Blackalicious play in the vibrancy of the Bay Area’s rap scene. He talks about the diversity the current scene has and how that’s a good thing… For those who wish to see the video peep the following links. http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/e-40_tellmewhentogostreetvideo_56-v.asx (Win Dial-Up) http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/e-40_tellmewhentogostreetvideo_100-v.asx (Win Lo) http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/e-40_tellmewhentogostreetvideo_300-v.asx (Win Med) http://www.warnerreprise.com/asx/e-40_tellmewhentogostreetvideo_450-v.asx (Win Hi) http://www.warnerreprise.com/qt-ref/e-40_tellmewhentogostreetvideo_ref.mov (Quicktime) Less