hyphy

English

Alternative forms

• heify

Etymology

From hyperactive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪfiː/
• Rhymes: -aɪfi

Adjective

hyphy (comparative hyphier, superlative hyphiest)

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. (slang, music) Of or relating to the hyphy music subgenre or culture.
   • 2006, Andrea Schulte-Peevers et al., California, Lonely Planet Publications, →ISBN, page 46:

     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 […]

Noun

hyphy (uncountable)

1. (slang, music) A subgenre of rap music and related activities associated with the San Francisco Bay Area.
   • 2009, Mickey Hess, editor, Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, volume 1, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 281:

     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.

References

• Rick Ayers (2004) Berkeley High School Slang Dictionary, Berkeley High School, page 38: “Heify also hyphy (HI fee) adj., Angry, agitated. When somebody lets their adrenaline pump them up too much, they go off or get loud and crazy, uncontrollable, […]”