E-40

Allow me to be the myth buster here. Pop yo collar was being said in Vayayo way before 40 said it on an album. Probably the first to say it on an album was either the Young D Boys or someone from Young Black Brotha (Mac Dre, Mac Mall, etc.). Scrilla has been used all over the bay for hella long, and I seriously doubt he was the first to use it on an album. My guess is that JT the Bigga Figga was the first to do so, but I can't vouch for that. I'm almost certain Cellski was the first to use cheddar and cheese, though I can't say much about the origins of Broccoli and lettuce. The origins of the Yay Area are kind of iffy as well, though unlike some friends of mine, who think Norteno rappers were the first to put it down on a track, I think I heard it come from E-40 first. On the other hand, he was almost definitely one of the very first to start using the "-eezy" verbiage, which derived from "-izzo" as in "a hizzo, a hizzo should I save her?". He also has spawned other similar dialect modifications such as what's crackulatin or crackalackin. E-40 is also responsible for bringing the word flashin to the masses. Before he started using it, I recall it only being used by friends from Oakland and never on a track. One of the very first E-40isms to become part of the bay area dialect was Captain, referring to a sucker that breaks himself for a hoodrat. Which brings me to my next point. While E-40 was probably best known for Captain Save-A-Ho amongst his bay area fans, and sure Hurricane was one of the best known tracks of The Click, but technically it was not his song, and regardless neither was as popular as "One Love", "Rappers Ball", "From the Ground Up", or "I Hope I Don't Go Back", all of which got significantly more air time outside of the bay area. E-40 reps Vallejo first, 707 second, The Bay Area third, and Northern Cali fourth. I've never heard him show a preference for the east bay (510) over any other part of the bay. Finally, E-40 is a rapper. He is not a so called hip-hop artist or what have you. Very little hip-hop came from the bay. Certainly some of the most creative and imaginatively lyriced (yes I used lyric as a past tense verb, so what?) rap came from the bay, but the only significant hip-hop has been The Pharcyde, Blackilicious, and Mr. Lif. E-40 goes to a studio where original tracks are produced on Korgs, beat machines, and pro tools, and no DJ!! and therefore is NOT HIP HOP! Even back when a DJ played a more prominent role in his music, the original beats with roots in freestyle music (aka latin hip-hop, where samplers and beat machines and the producers who run them are the foundations of the beat) define 40's music and place it firmly in the rap category. One more thing, cats in the bay was hyphy before E-40 gave it to the world, but someone would have to be pretty hard headed to deny that his name has damn near become synonymous with it.