I recently had the pleasure of kicking it backstage in L.A. with one of my favorite hip-hop artists out there and Kollection regular, Hoodie Allen. You’ve heard the name – or if you haven’t, listen up.
An Ivy League grad, a former Google employee, and an authentic New York kid with plenty of witty lines to share with the world, Hoodie is a name you will be hearing for a long time. His raps reflect his upbringing in the city and a crazy love for pop-culture, and he’s always got the perfect indie sample in mind to polish his story. However, with his upcoming release Leap Year dropping this Spring, Hoodie will debut new original production and reach out to more people than ever before. This Hype-Machine-fein-turned-Hype-Machine-King has a lot to say, so pay close attention to his responses in this candid, laidback exclusive Kollection interview.
Please Note: The following interview was audio-recorded, then written. Read as you would a conversation.
1. Why the name “Hoodie Allen”?
Hoodie was just a nickname I had growing up and I just wanted to have a name that would stick in peoples’ minds and be a little bit funny and representative of who I am.
2. Where do your first inspirations for a music career come from, and how does your background play into it?
I’ve been writing songs and making music since I was probably ten years old…so my inspirations back then, I don’t know – I guess it was something that was innate. I was really shaped to make hip-hop music and love hip hop. The guys like Mos Def, Andre 3000–everyone in that golden era during 90s hip-hop.
[I then asked about Bone Thugs & Harmony, and yes, we briefly broke out into song]
And a little bit of Bone Thugs!
3. Most recently, you released the “You Are Not A Robot” music video and got some interesting comments on the dance moves…responses to the feedback? More videos to come? What were the biggest challenges in the making of it on a (presumably) low budget?
In terms of everything, I’m happy and stand behind my video. If you can’t tell we had a lot of fun doing it and you want to nitpick–I don’t know. That’s why you exist on the internet and not anywhere else. The challenges in making it were that we filmed it during the snow-pocalypse so we just had one day to shoot it and hope it wasn’t an awful condition day that we were battling against…it’s a big song – a big song for me. People don’t realize that there’s no label and everything is self-financed and we make do and do our own thing. I was just happy to do my first video, I thought it was a fun experience.
4. Elaborate a little bit on what went into “Dreams Up” and your creative goals for that track as a lead into the new project – I think it’s one of your best to date with some crazy good flow!
Well I think there’s crazy flow on all the new songs! [laughs} All the new songs you’re gonna be like “Wow that flow’s even crazier!” But “Dream’s Up” is kind of a song that’s a good statement for me because I made it during the time where I went from working full time at Google to then only doing music, so it was very much a transition in life for me that I then tried to express through that song. A lot of the project will revolve around being more relatable. Still fun, but maybe a little more serious.
5. What’s your signature style in just a few words - and what sets you apart from all the upcoming hip-hop artists emerging at the moment?
I don’t really listen to much other upcoming hip-hop so I can’t really speak for me against them--but for me, what sets me apart is just what the music is about and the perspective. I feel like I have a very unique perspective especially for someone in the hip-hop genre. I’m not afraid to explore it, and how my upbringing then shapes my music and being a New York kid and all of that stuff...that’s really the most unique thing I can offer to the music in general.
6. Who would be a dream-team collaboration for you on an original production? Can we expect more original production in the future from you?
I guess this is cliche, but I’d love to work with Kanye West, Mark Ronson, Diplo... And yes, on Leap Year which is the upcoming mixtape. I think what’s best is that the sound is gonna be the same--we really enjoy putting some sort of vocal chops in the beat and using that as an instrument. That’s gonna be there, but it’s not always going to be a sample.
7. You graduated from U. Penn last spring - were you creating music then, and how was it received in the beginning, early stages?
Totally. I’ve been recording music seriously probably since 7th or 8th grade--I had been recording during the time of U. Penn, and I put out an EP called Bagels and Beats and Makin’ Waves during that time. Not as many people listen to that as Pep Rally.
[I then proceed to defend his earlier works, such as “Gotta Be”--which yes, he already knew we posted that track earlier that day - ”You did the throwback, I saw that!”]
It was something I was very passionate about then, but more so a hobby because when you only get X amount of downloads, you know that’s all it is. But it was very cool to do that, and people at Penn were really receptive to it and very involved. From there it kind of spread!
8. Compare a “day in the life of Hoodie” – Pre and post-graduation from Penn?
Well, the main difference is I get to focus on something I love to do 24-hours a day rather than trying to squeeze it in between midterms, or even during my normal workday. When I was at Google it was like you wake up at 7 and then you get home by 7 and you start your second job of music. So now I get to focus all my efforts on music, travel and play shows and do all of this stuff. That’s the difference – That’s all my life is, all day.
9. Talk a little bit about working with Google – could you really see yourself in any job setting other than onstage? Now that you’ve gotten a taste of a 9-5…
I’ll say this: Google is the best 9-5 anyone could ever get. Awesome environment, I loved my time there, but I grew up with my dream to pursue music full time. So to have that opportunity is just something that’s kinda hard to compare with so I had to take it when I thought there was a real shot there.
10. When did your love for rapping surpass the stage of “hobby” to “career”? Did you have an epiphany, or did you have a moment?
I think it was one of those things where I always wanted it to be a career and to do it, and at certain points when you’re trying so hard to make something happen and it’s not happening it can be frustrating. I ended up releasing “You Are Not a Robot” just kind of for fun–when I had given up the whole “Oh, it’s a dream” and I just wanted to make music that I enjoyed and do it for myself–that was the point where people started actually listening and it was taking off. So it’s funny how the timing works. The response to that song really got me to spend that whole summer focusing on making the best project I thought I could make. Then response to that was great…and at that point when people were like “We wanna see you live!” it was one of those moments where I was like “It’s here, gotta take it while i’m young.”
11. What goes into choosing samples for songs, beyond just “Oh, this is a sick track” ? Is there an extra ingredient or X factor that a song has to have?
All songs have those X factors. I couldn’t even explain or describe what will grab me about them but it’s all music that I’m usually listening to. I’m as much of a hype-machine fein as the people who find me on hype machine! I’m always looking there to hear new music and see what’s going on so that’s usually when I’ll hear something and be like “Wow, that melody is really crazy…I wonder if we can manipulate it in some way.” Or if someone says something really profound–that’s how it kind of was with the Marina sample. That’s usually what inspires it. Then I send it to RJ (producer) and I ask what he thinks of it and he says “I hear that” and on pep rally is was a lot of like–I’d send it to him and he’d totally be on that same wavelength and then a nice little song would come out of it.
12. People seem to love your wit-infused rhymes and pop culture references…What is a go-to, instinctive topic you tend to rap about?
I’m so witty–I’m the wittiest! [says jokingly] They’re all covered. In terms of wittiness or where I pull references from, I was very much one of those kids who’s just a huge pop culture fein and I definitely watched too many shows that nobody else did. Not so much anymore…but I really embrace things that I think people who like music can relate to, they grew up with the same stuff and know the same references so when they hear it being used as a metaphor to something else they’ll be like that’s unique, or funny or something that’s relatable to me. So that’s kind of the pull I guess.
13. In regards to lyricism & flow, what are some rappers that have influenced you throughout your life and now as you develop your career?
I think anyone who really had a unique voice and personality stood out. From like a Biggie to a Q-tip…even little cadences–why people love Lil’ Wayne because of his little cadences that are so unique. But what I learned after a while was that trying to imitate those people you like the best is the worst thing you can do. I spent a while trying to find what my voice was, and what was my specific sound. I think I finally have that. I’ve kind of shut myself off to a lot of new music because I don’t want to be influenced by it.
14. What kind of creative avenues do you plan to explore on your next project that you might have stayed away from on previous works like The Bagels & Beats, Making Waves, and Pep Rally?
It’s a lot more personal. It’s a lot more about pushing forth my perspective on what it’s like to be 21 in New York city–that scene that I’ve grown up with. You know, if you’re one of those kids you know it–all the allure and the glamour but also all of the bad, the spoiled–having it all mixed in one–that’s like my devil and angel? So I think I explore that a lot on this and the lifestyle that that brings. It’s just kind of being a little more honest and letting people know what I’m about since they’ve started listening. I grew up in New York…
Pep Rally was really fun, I think people enjoyed it and that was the purpose of it but now it’s kind of letting people figure out what I stand for.
15. Where do you see your music and career in 3-5 years?
Like…really big and stuff. [we laugh]
Videos
Music
New Single: NY is Killing Me
The second leak [check out the first] off the upcoming Hoodie mixtape Leap Year is here: it’s boldly different, darker, and may even surprise you. But as promised by Hoodie, the new material is much more personal.
Hoodie says: “‘NY is Killing Me’ tells the story of the love-hate relationship I have with the city that raised me and the creatures that make it so hard to be there and even tougher to leave.”
Check out the rest of HA music from the Kollection here and stay tuned for Leap Year here on the K!
Follow Hoodie Allen
I’m one of those guys Hoodie mentioned clamoring for a live performance in their town. Let him know, he’d kill it in Gainesville!
[...] instantly put you in a good mood. Check out my friend Vanessa’s interview with Hoodie Allen here and check out the awesome music blog she writes for, The [...]