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The One Artist Set to Change the Course of Hip-Hop

Hobo Johnson and the LoveMakers

By Isaac McCutcheonPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Now let's start this off by asking, who the heck is this guy? Hobo Johnson is a rapper/producer/artist/I don't think he even knows what he is, who is bursting onto the musical scene.

Hobo blew up with his entry into a contest called NPR's tiny desk concert. He entered a music video (the picture above) for his song "Peach Scone." Now, if you have heard any song by Hobo Johnson, it would probably be "Peach Scone." His sporadic movements and random screaming into the microphone are different, yet make you want to keep listening to more. His songs range from upbeat loud songs to sad and depressing songs about how there is a very tiny chance of making it in the music business. However, all of his songs are lyrical genius and talk about issues such as divorce in the song "Romeo & Juliet," or talking about social norms in his song "Sex in the City."

Being completely honest, his music is weird. The first time I ever heard him was driving in a car and my friend put him on. I hated it. It was as if I was just listening to spoken word poetry with somewhat of a beat in the background. I thought there is no way this guy can get more popular due to the tiny demographic his music appeals to. So for a few months, I kept him off my radar.

It wasn't until the last minute, the same friend offered my tickets to go see a band in Toronto called the Front Bottoms. I agreed to go because the Front Bottoms were a band we had both been listening too and enjoy a lot. Little did I know, the opener was Hobo Johnson. Although I didn't love his music when it was shown to me before, part of me was curious to see what this guy would be like in concert. I didn't even know what he looked like and honestly, listening to his music I could not even make a guess.

Hoping for my opinion of him to be changed, I optimistically waited for him to come on stage. I will never forget the moment after he walked onto the stage for the first time. The first thing he did was get the crowd involved. A textbook move for any opening artist who people are not there to see. However, Hobo did it differently. He intrigued everyone right off the bat and never lost anyone's attention until he walked off the stage. Just the way he acted up on stage was so contagious and I was shocked by the amount of energy he radiated. There wasn't one moment where he was not smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen. The best part about his performance was you could tell he was nervous. In my opinion this only made his set better as it felt like you were able to connect to him more. This was his first time opening for the Front Bottoms who he said were his favorite band growing up at the time. I can't blame him. I would be so nervous I could not walk on that stage if that were me. Even with all the pressure, Hobo Johnson killed it. After this performance, he had me hooked and ever since his music has been on constant repeat.

So please, go download everything and anything by Hobo Johnson and the Lovemakers and give them a chance. If you don't like them, give it some time for the music style to warm up to you. It is different but at the same time, it is what music as a culture needs.

There is no doubt in my mind that Hobo will be the next best thing in the music industry. If anyone deserves it, it is him.

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