Bay Area Rappers Create Hyphy Energy Drink

A Bay Area rap group has started a full-fledged campaign for a new Hyphy Juice Energy Drink, a beverage based on the popular cultural movement in the region. The drink is the brainchild of an Oakland group called The Team, which has begun to promote it through a song called "Hyphy Juice." "The music and the movement was so strong," said group member Clyde Carson. "We wanted to create a drink to go along with the flavor on the streets. So we made the juice." The Hyphy Movement was made popular nationally by rappers like E-40, The Team and Keak Da Sneak, but the group--comprised of Kaz Khyzah, Clyde Carson, and Mayne Mannish--opted to make a drink to correspond with the Hyphy Movement's dance, culture and way of life. The energy drink is lightly carbonated with the flavor of "grapple," a unique mixture of grape and apple that increases a person's energy, Carson says. "It's almost dangerous," Carson stated. "It tastes so good, you have remind people that it's an energy drink. We can never supply the demand. It's crazy." The drink has also been endorsed by Too Short. On the musical front, The Team recently released World Premier , an album that features Too Short, Richie Rich, singer Goapele and others. In a similar manner, Lil' Jon released Crunk Juice in 2004 to correspond with Crunk music, another musical phenomenon marked by high energy and aggressiveness.