Stop. Hoodie Time. What Makes Hoodie Allen Special

No label. No manager. No major PR team. Simply good music, unparalleled dedication to his craft, and passionate outreach to the fan base.

This has been the recipe of success for my friend Steve Markowitz or, as you probably know him, Hoodie Allen.

Recently, Hoodie dropped his latest free mixtape, Crew Cuts, to strong response and played a sold out show at Roseland Ballroom (his biggest New York venue to date). Hell, Jimmy Fallon even tweeted at him (after Hoodie’s humble plea to play on his show) and it appears they are in the process of making something happen.

So how did he do it? How does he continue to do it? While there are countless rappers and musicians trying to make a name for themselves on the internet, how has Hoodie Allen managed to stand out? Well, let’s take a look at that above recipe.

1) GOOD MUSIC

Oh, if you think you can really become a successful musician without great content, you are fooling yourself. The internet and social media affords us many things, but it does not provide miracles. See, the floodgates are open. We’re living in an age where anyone and everyone believes they can be a star (if you don’t believe that, think of all the pseudo-youtube celebrities from over the past 10 years). So the first step is to produce quality content.

Hoodie Allen does not just put out average quality content, but great quality content . The beats are catchy and the lyrics are quippy and fun. His albums run a gamut of emotions, one track a heartfelt recollection of his past, the next a declaration of swagger when it comes to girls. It somehow all sounds of a piece.

But one thing that makes Hoodie particularly special is that he is never satisfied with his status quo when it comes to the music he is producing. He feels the need to constantly switch it up, even if it comes at the risk of possibly alienating part of his fanbase. But I feel it is that dedication that has allowed him to both grow as an artist and expand his community even further.

2) DEDICATION TO HIS CRAFT

When Hoodie first burst on to the scene a few years back, it was in the thick of the ‘frat rap’ movement– think of your Mac Millers, Asher Roths, Sam Adams and the such. However, he never felt particularly comfortable with this grouping. Not to stereotype what those artists rap about, but Hoodie himself has never really written songs about smoking weed and partying. He’s always been much more interested in whip-smart pop culture references and navigating the emotional channels of transitioning into a functioning adult. In this regard it’s no shock that his most recent albums have echoes of Drake.

His early mixtapes featured incredible samples (courtesy of his longtime collaborator RJF) of The Black Keys, Death Cab For Cutie, Twin Door Cinema Club, and many more. Fans really connected to his ability to take and restructure different sounds and filter them through his indie hip-hop sensibilities. But Hoodie did not want to be pigeon-holed as the guy who sampled popular music (in the same way he did not want to be pigeon-holed as a frat rap guy). He made a concerted effort to develop his own beats and take on more mature subject matter.

Crew Cuts is certainly his greatest departure, his most pop mixtape to date while simultaneously his most independently courageous. You can hear how much fun he is having on a song like ‘Cake Boy’ when he switches up his flow, reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar (an artist that Hoodie has a definite affinity for).

And that’s the most impressive thing when it comes to his craft: Hoodie is never content with settling. When he’s not on tour, he’s constantly in the studio. He’s always trying to push himself to share new and exciting sounds with his audience.

 3) FAN OUTREACH

Hoodie is the ultimate community builder. He has spoken ad nauseam about the fact that he knows the primary reason he’s managed to find success is due to his fans.

Pep Rally, Hoodie’s breakthrough mixtape, was released for free on his website. It was a gift to his growing ‘Hoodie Mob’ (as he coins his fans) and he continues to release free music today. In addition to the free mixtapes, Hoodie makes it a point to interact with every single one of his followers on Twitter. Don’t believe me? Look at his Twitter feed. Even if it is a quick, ‘Thanks!’ to a fan who tweeted kind words about a song, he engages on an absurd level.

The fans feel loved. The Hoodie Mob is a community and Hoodie is able to direct them to incredible places. When he finally decided to release an album last year that wasn’t free, the fans were only to happy to show up and pay for it. The result? #1 on iTunes for a week.

And you want to see something really special? You have got to see Hoodie in concert. He travels with a full band and puts on a hip-hop show like you’ve never seen. One moment he will be doing one of his new tracks and the next moment he goes into the greatest cover of ‘All The Small Things’ by Blink-182 that you’ve ever seen. The energy in infectious. By the time he comes out for the extended encore you don’t want the show to end.

With every city that he travels to, he greets the first group of people who are waiting outside the venue, hangs out with them for a bit, and takes a picture that is displayed on his Instagram. When the concert ends, he makes sure to take a giant family shot with the entire crowd: Hoodie Mob at full force.

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So head to Hoodie’s website. Check out his music. Most of it is available for free. And the next time Hoodie is in your town, I implore you to jump on to TickPick and grab a ticket. Something special is happening with my old friend and if you are a lover of music, you definitely want to be a part of it.

 

Zach Goldberg is a filmmaker, storyteller, and an online community builder. Check out his blog, nowiamawake and follow him on Google+ or Twitter.