Is it all "The Hype"?
Hip Pop Rapper Hoodie Allen dropped his most recent album The Hype on Friday, September 29th. “I think Hoodie’s new album is so creative. I always found myself getting lost in the music throughout the album. Every track was so different, and you can see the hard work put into creating the project,” Hoodie Allen fan, Evan Brown-Bacchus said. Hoodie Allen, aka Steven Markowitz, started his official career in 2012 when he released his single "No Interruption" from his first album titled All American. All American reached number 10 on Billboard’s Top Albums and his 2013 album People Keep Talkingclimbed to number eight on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The Hype is a 12 song album that took two years to complete and features pop punk band Sate Champs, Scott Hoying, Wale, and Goody Grace. Hoodie dropped three singles before releasing the full album, as a teaser to his fans. The first single off the album was "Sushi" which is about working hard, getting that paper, and throwing your middle finger up to all the haters. The song has a variety of pop cultural shout outs including Nicki Minaj, The New York Giants, New York Jets, and Twenty One Pilots. The second single "Know it All"displays Hoodie’s singing ability with less of him rapping lyrics and more of him showing the strength of his voice. The third single "Ain’t Ready" start with the strum of a guitar and Hoodie confessing he’s not ready for love.
11 days after dropping his latest album, Hoodie started The Hype Tour where he will be performing in 33 different venues across the United States. Starting with Columbus, Ohio and ending on November, 25th in New York City. Hoodie Allen graced three California cities with his appearance San Francisco, Anaheim, and Los Angeles. On Monday October 30th Hoodie made his last California stop in LA at the Fonda Theatre. Before the show started Hoodie posted a video on his Instagram page with some loyal fans at the front of the line waiting to get in.
When everyone was squeezed in tight filling up the whole bottom floor of the Fonda Theatre, musical artist Myles Parrish and Luke Christopher opened the night by getting the audience to shake off their Monday blues, and get into the rhythm of the music. Preceding the openers, a man from Hoodie’s stage crew announced that anyone who wanted the chance to meet Hoodie on stage should text #Free to his number. Shortly after, Hoodie arrived on stage and started with "Surprise Party" featuring Blackbear from his 2016 album Happy Camper. Four songs into Hoodie’s set list he looked at all the text messages coming in from the number they gave out and selected one at random to come to the stage. A girl came on stage, announced the next song and got a free T-Shirt.
During Hoodie’s performance of Heartbreak he brought Goody Grace on stage who features on the track. The concert itself was a mixture of songs from his new album The Hype and previous albums like All American, People Keep Talking, and Happy Camper that every Hoodie fan could sing at the stop of their lungs. Hoodie throwing cake into the audience, dressing up as 11 from Stranger Things by wearing a pink dress and throwing Eggo waffles into the crowd, and shooting a gun with fake money into the crowd made the concert memorable and got people excited for Halloween.
Hoodie demonstrated his skills as a showman by creating an environment that allowed his fans to feel part of the concert, rather than concert goers. “I like Hoodie because he makes his fans a huge priority in his life. He’s a great example of a rapper who has shown success as an independent artist” Hoodie Allen fan, Evan Brown-Bacchus said. Hoodie closed the night with No Faith in Brooklyn where every voice in Fonda Theatre seemed to carry through the streets of Hollywood.