Are Bay Area Hyphy rappers lazier, less talented or business savvy than their East Coast/Southern brethren?

The San Jose Merc sez: Ya Prolly.

Just more than a year ago, the Bay Area seemed poised to become the center of the hip-hop universe.

The hyperactive party music known as "hyphy" was ubiquitous at clubs, on the streets and on local radio stations from San Jose to San Francisco, Fremont to Hayward and Oakland, all the way to Vallejo and Fairfield. It had been more than a decade since the Bay Area hip-hop scene had so much buzz - and it was palpable.

Mainstream publications, including Newsweek and the New York Times, featured stories about Northern California's rap scene being on the verge of exploding nationally. E-40, Mistah F.A.B., the Federation, Keak Da Sneak all were names synonymous with what was collectively being tagged the "Yay Area."

But something happened - or maybe didn't happen - between then and now, leaving the hyphy movement listless, with even local popularity beginning to dissipate. The music is not getting as much play on the radio. The few artists that signed with major labels have had their album release dates pushed back to summer and even later this year.

Numerous interviews with industry insiders and the artists themselves have revealed strong agreement as to why the scene may soon be left for dead: bad business decisions.

When dealing with major record labels, artists missed important meetings, asked for too much money and were too entangled in previous independent deals to consider new opportunities.

MTV and the record companies had a difficult time contacting certain artists, says Joseph Patel, Fremont native and MTV News producer of "My Block," a show that featured the hyphy scene early last year. "And that's unfortunate, because ... you only get one chance to get people's attention - and some of those artists were kind of blowing it."

The hyphy culture, which centers on a freewheeling attitude - drugs, partying and reckless behavior - sometimes led to violence at high-profile events, causing outsiders to focus more on that conduct

Also: Call our hyphy hotline and give us your thoughts. Your message could later end up in a podcast: (408) 920-5928.
than the music itself. But while that combination of negatives can be seen as obstacles, none has halted popular hip-hop in the past.

"In the Bay Area, hyphy is kind of dead," says Mistah F.A.B., one of the genre's most popular artists, who was signed by Atlantic Records in September. "We've been doing it for too long," he says. "A lot of people are getting tired of it."