Ashlie Mercado: Hoodie Allen (Final Revision)

 

 

Hoodie Allen: Frat Rap or.... 

In the year 2010, Hoodie Allen released two mixtapes, Pep Rally and Leap Year. These mixtapes gave the world a little taste of who he was and what to expect. After a couple of years of messing around with other people’s music, Hoodie decided it was time to make his own creations with the EP, All-American. 


  From the beginning Hoodie always did something to make the music his own, even if he was taking the beats and lyrics from other artists. Hoodie came about right in the thick of the frat rap movement. You know, the times of the one hit wonder Asher Roth (I love college being that one hit). Because of this growing new phenomenon, it was easy for critics to categorize Hoodie under this new subsection. However, Hoodie has made it a priority to showcase his unique personality in his music in more ways than one to prove that he does not belong under the frat rap subsection.
  In the years of his ongoing music career Hoodie has achieved much growth in his songs. A perfect example of this transition is between his earliest song, You're not a Robot to one of his most recent, People Keep Talking. In this video for his song, You're not a Robot,(pay most attention to the lyrics between .29 seconds to 1.05) you can see that his lyrics are not only superficial but also don't contain originality. He sings, "you ain't seen a kid like this before...I'm a real f***** hustler"

  Now in his newest song, People Keep Talking he sings, “I’ve always been way above the average, that’s why no one else can compare to me, other rappers don’t offend me.” The difference in the lyrics is apparent, he goes from using a generic line to differentiate himself to lyrics more personal which alone shows the difference between him and all the other frat rappers.                          

 Though the lack of originality in his earliest songs did give many critics the mindset that he couldn't bring much more to the table, but can you really blame someone for doing what they think is going to get them to that top spot? I admit that his lyrics needed more work but in the overall picture, his unique sense of personality did find its way to shine through. If you listen to more of his songs from his early career to now you can notice the difference the beats in his music are to your typical brofrat rappers. 

                              Hoodie has gone above and beyond in the music industry trying to get his name out there. The original beats, the lyrics, the passion is all what makes him different from the frat rappers. The majority of frat rappers sing/rap about partying, girls, and doing drugs. Hoodie on the other hand, raps about more relevant things that his fans can actually relate to. He isn't afraid to change it up and be a different artist. His loyal fans stick by him and have supported the obvious growth in his music throughout the years. It's refreshing to find an artist that draws you in not only because their music sounds cool but also because of how relatable his lyrics can be. he raps/sings about becoming an adult and all that things that can come up with it.

   He's far away from being the frat rap poster child. The genre of rap that I believe most suits Hoodie Allen is pop rap. His music is original in sound and in lyrics. When I first heard a Hoodie song I didn't know what it was going to be. His sounds are made from scratch which separates him very well from artists like Mike Stud. The sounds that Hoodie creates are just so unique that I feel like in the beginning it is hard for people to decide if they like it or not. I know that at first I wasn't too sure about it but once I gave him a chance, his talent just hit me. Mike Stud is the perfect example of a frat rapper that just uses sampled beats and raps about non relatable things. If the frat rap community wants a poster boy, he would be the right choice. 

  Being a new fan, I believe that placing Hoodie under the category of frat rap is an insult to his music. The growth in depth he has shown in his lyrics, the unique quirks he showcases in his music's sounds are more than enough to make him different. As of now, he fits perfectly under a pop rap genre, I couldn't think of a better category to describe him. Goodbye to this so called frat rap and hello to Hoodie pop.