Hoodie Allen
Background information
Birth name Steven Markowitz
Born (1988-08-19) August 19, 1988 (age 23)
Plainview, New York, United States
Origin Old Bethpage, New York, United States
Genres Experimental hip hop, pop rap, hipster hop
Years active 2009–present
Website hoodieallen.com

Steven Markowitz (born August 19, 1988), better known by his stage name Hoodie Allen, is an independent American hip-hop artist and rapper.

Contents

Early life [link]

Hoodie was born in New York City and raised in a Jewish household on Long Island[1][2] He started writing lyrics as a child, and would perform raps for his friends at house parties.[3][4] Growing up, his nickname was "Hoodie."[5] He wanted a rapper name that "would stick in peoples' minds and be a little bit funny and representative of who I am," so he settled on "Hoodie Allen."[5]

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, where he studied finance and marketing at The Wharton School, and was a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.[4][6] While there, he met his producer, RJF.[7][8] After graduating, he worked at Google as an AdWords associate in their START (Standardized AdWords Reseller Training) program.[9] He would leave at 7 AM for a bus ride to the Google offices in Mountain View, work a full day at Google, return at 6 PM, and then write songs, answer fan emails, and schedule concerts until 2 or 3 AM.[4] Reflecting on this, Hoodie said, "I was moving so fast, and even while I was at Google there was so much going on that I felt like I was doing two full-time jobs."[9] His dream and passion was music, so when he got opportunities to do live shows, he decided to leave Google.[9]

Career [link]

[edit] 2009–2012: From Bagels & Beats to Leap Year

Hoodie's first two album releases were "Bagels & Beats" and "Making Waves," which garnered him an MTVU Best Music on Campus Award in 2009.[10] In June 2010, he released "You Are Not a Robot," which sampled 'I Am Not A Robot' by Marina & the Diamonds and which hit #1 on Hype Machine, an aggregator that collects the most-blogged about music in the world.[4] After seeing the response, he spent the summer working, and finished his mixtape Pep Rally by September.[7] The album was produced by RJ Ferguson, and sampled songs from Death Cab for Cutie, Flight Facilities, Marina & the Diamonds and Two Door Cinema Club. He picked the name “Pep Rally” because he said that it “captured the energy of the record. Something new and exciting.”[11] When asked about the writing process, Hoodie said: “Throughout Pep Rally, the ideas for samples were very collaborative. We would camp out in [RJF]’s basement for a weekend and not leave till we had 3 songs done—that was the mentality.”[7] The mixtape was downloaded over 200,000 times.[4] He self-financed a video for “You Are Not A Robot,” which has over 3 million views.[12][13]

In July 2011, Hoodie released his third mixtape, Leap Year, which was also produced by friend and producer RJ. It reached 250,000 SoundCloud plays in its first week of release.[14] On the title for his mixtape, Hoodie explains: "It basically just talks to the leap of faith I took this year leaving everything else behind to be an artist."[15] In support of the album, Hoodie headlined a 15 city tour across North America, including stops in San Francisco, New York City, and Montreal.[16] Previously, he had toured with The Cataracs, Das Racist, Chiddy Bang, Mike Posner, and RJD2.[17][18]

Hoodie collaborated with the cartoon band Your Favorite Martian to write the song "8-Bit World", which he raps in. He was also featured in CollegeHumor's "Jake and Amir" sketch series and in Zak Downtown's "Rock The Show."[19]

[edit] 2012–present: All American

Main article: All American (album)

On March 4, 2012, Hoodie announced via Twitter that his upcoming EP would be titled All American.[20] He decided on this title because he credits his success to America, because he felt the songs showcased his best music to date, and because of a hometown restaurant with the same title. Hoodie spent five months developing the album, building tracks from scratch with his producer, RJF, instead of using sampled beats.[21] Regarding the writing process, Hoodie states that "I would describe it as liberating... It was like, 'Okay, I hear this idea in my head, I hear these original ideas, [and] I'm putting them and piecing them together.'"[21] On March 29, 2012, Hoodie released the first single from All American entitled "No Interruption."[22] The music video was posted to YouTube and was featured on the front page the same day. It currently has 2.7 million views.[23]

The night before the album's release, Hoodie announced that he would personally call every fan that buys the album.[24] All American was released on April 10, 2012 and debuted as the #1 album on iTunes.[25] He is set to take a 22 stop US tour during April and May 2012 in support of All American featuring Wax[26], Jared Evan, and others (varies from show to show)[27]. On March 23, 2012, Hoodie hinted at an upcoming announcement of a "UK tour for June," and officially announced the four dates on April 19 via Facebook[28]. The "I Work Better In The UK Tour" will be his first time performing overseas.

Reception [link]

In July 2011, he cracked the Top 10 of Billboard’s Uncharted Territory.[29] For the week of August 5, 2011, Hoodie was #2 on Billboard’s Uncharted Territory, with Billboard noting that his "growing popularity is undeniable."[14]

On April 10, 2012, his EP "All American" went to #1 on the iTunes charts within hours of its release. All American also debuted at #10 on Billboard's Top Albums.[30]

Discography [link]

EPs [link]

Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Canada UK
Bagels and Beats — — —
All American 10 16 68

Mixtapes [link]

  • Making Waves (2009)
  • Pep Rally (2010)
  • Leap Year (2011)

References [link]

  1. ^ HJs @ SXSW 2011 – The Jewish Rappers of SXSW. Hipster Jew. March 14, 2011.
  2. ^ Staff (August 23, 2011). "Meet Jewish Rapper Hoodie Allen". Jspace. https://www.jspace.com/news/articles/meet-jewish-rapper-hoodie-allen-video/3259. Retrieved April 14, 2012. 
  3. ^ An Interview with Hoodie Allen: The Rapper You Should Be Talking About. W2FY. September 9, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e Scott, Nathan. From Google to Tour Bus, Bay Area Rapper Carves New Career Path. The Bay Citizen. March 14, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Meet the Artist: Hoodie Allen. The Kollection. March 14, 2011.
  6. ^ Davies, Ashley. Q&A with Hoodie Allen. Northern Arizona News. March 27, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c TGLR Interview with Hoodie Allen. The Good Life. October 13, 2010.
  8. ^ Djordje, Gasic. Mixtape: Hoodie Allen “Leap Year”. Complex Magazine. July 26, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c O’Dell, Jolie. Former Googler, Current Rapper: Meet Hoodie Allen. Mashable. June 8, 2011.
  10. ^ Hoodie Allen nominated for MTVU’s Best Music on Campus. Tipping Franklins.
  11. ^ Joseph, Matt. Interview With Hoodie Allen. February 27, 2011.
  12. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. Video: Hoodie Allen’s ‘Not a Robot’. Newsday. February 16, 2011.
  13. ^ Hoodie Allen - You Are Not A Robot (Official Music Video). YouTube. April 7, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Blistein, Jon. Uncharted Territory: Hoodie Allen Breaks Into The Top 5, Dionne Bromfield Holds Strong. Billboard. August 5, 2011.
  15. ^ Interview: hoodie Allen. Karmaloop. July 5, 2011.
  16. ^ [FRESH!] Hoodie Allen -- The Chase Is On + Tour Dates. The Music Ninja. July 21, 2011.
  17. ^ Billboard Bits: Pusha T Ends Lil Wayne Beef, Chiddy Bang Rock Out At SXSW. Billboard. March 16, 2011.
  18. ^ Offitzer, Adam. Music for the Masses. Diamondback Online. April 14, 2011.
  19. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJlW5tKaBhY
  20. ^ Hoodie Allen. Twitter. March 5, 2012.
  21. ^ a b Cubarrubia, R.J. Hoodie Allen Goes Pro With Debut EP, 'All American'. Billboard. April 10, 2012.
  22. ^ Hoodie Allen – “No Interruption” Video. The Smoking Section. March 29, 2012.
  23. ^ No Interruption. YouTube.
  24. ^ Hoodie Allen letter
  25. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. Hoodie Allen has iTunes No. 1 album. Newsday.
  26. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150599186813314&set=a.425964528313.220406.34132013313&type=3&theater
  27. ^ https://www.facebook.com/hoodieallen/posts/10150627191818314
  28. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150687812913314&set=a.55380768313.68298.34132013313&type=1
  29. ^ Bylin, Kyle. Uncharted Territory: Diggy Simmons Returns, The Knocks Feel “Sunshine”. Billboard. July 7, 2011.
  30. ^ Caulfield, Keith. Lionel Richie's 'Tuskegee' Album Hits No. 1 On Billboard 200. The Hollywood Reporter. April 19, 2012.

External links [link]


https://wn.com/Hoodie_Allen

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PLAYLIST TIME:

Small Town

by: Hoodie Allen

She in the city, but
She from a small town
High heels, tall shots
Make her fall down
Up late, now she running with the fast crowd
But she calls me every night before she pass out
I don't wanna waste my time with
Girls who rolling they eyelids
Girls who lookin for a place to stay
Cause they came away from Long Island
I'mma try to make your mind up
I just wanna make you mine quick
But ever since I put you in my line-up
All I do is choke: Heimlich
Good girl in a bad dress
Ain't nothing really changed but your address
You in the Upper West Side
You were thinking other people
Would've never accepted all your assets?
I'm ? and you cash par
I'mma give you anything that you ask for
You a small town girl but you living in the city
So you always keep your heart near your passport
She in the city, but
She from a small town
High heels, tall shots
Make her fall down
Up late, now she running with the fast crowd
But she calls me every night before she pass out
I don't know what's next for us
But every time I talk it's like I messed it up
People wanna tell me that I'm too honest
Walking on eggshells, two omlettes
And I know it's hard cause you left your town
Dad don't call like he let you down
You don't wanna talk when the sun is out
But if we get a little drunk, then it's all allowed
And the truth comes down, it's pouring pouring
Bout to drop bombs like Warren, Moon
Color of your skin be orange, orange
Aren't you the girl that I met last June?
So damn fun man, where the sheet go?
On vacation: Puerto Rico
Grand Theft Auto in your heart like Niko
Trying to meet your mother like I'm Jason Segel
She in the city, but
She from a small town
High heels, tall shots
Make her fall down
Up late, now she running with the fast crowd




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