Key Takeaways
- Hobo Johnson says he will “log off indefinitely” and use a content scheduler because scrutiny of his public image has left him feeling like a “sad, sleepy person.”
- The renewed mockery centers around his 2018 apology to BLM Sacramento, which accused him of cultural appropriation and capitalizing on Oak Park after a magazine called him the neighborhood’s “Pride.”
- Johnson acknowledged in a Facebook post at the time that he should have rejected the label immediately and apologized for actions that suggested he did not care about Oak Park residents.
Hobo Johnson plans on “logging off indefinitely” after finding out he’s being ridiculed online over an apology to Black Lives Matter Sacramento in 2018.
In a post shared on Instagram Thursday (Sep. 24), Johnson discussed a post on X that mentioned three instances involving him as the “funniest series of events in the 2010s.” The post included a clip from the 2018 NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert performance by Hobo Johnson and The Lovemakers, and brought up a BLM protest outside of his sold-out show, as well as a subsequent apology from the rapper.
“I’ve found that I’m increasingly unable to deal with my public perception. It has turned me into a sad, sleepy person,” he wrote. “As of now, I will be logging off indefinitely and using a content scheduler.”
The X post claims a protest was held outside of his sold-out show because “they hated his music so much,” but that isn’t necessarily true.
According to the Sacramento News & Review, about 20 protestors held a demonstration in front of Ace of Spades nightclub over allegations of cultural appropriation.
The protest came after Johnson appeared in a local magazine, which referred to him as the “Pride of Oak Park.” The rapper hailed from the nearby town of Loomis, and had been living only a few years in Oak Park, which was being gentrified.
Johnson spoke out about the protest in a Facebook post days later.
The rapper shared that he lived in Oak Park for three years because he could not afford another place to live. While there, Johnson launched the video series, Live From Oak Park, which did not receive any backlash to his knowledge.
Johnson acknowledged he should have immediately denounced the label, which may have been the product of the video series and his living situation at the time.
“At that moment, I should have made a very public post saying I don't support that message being conveyed and denounce it all together,” he wrote. “A non-African American who doesn't live in Oak Park has no right to say who is the pride of a place they don't live. I knew at the time it was wrong and didn't say anything about it.”
Johnson issued the apology in response to being called a cultural appropriator by BLM Sacramento and accused of capitalizing off the name of Oak Park.
“I want to apologize for any of my actions that have shown that I don't care about the people of Oak Park," he wrote. “As I'm walking into a group home in Oak Park to teach music recording to homeless youth I have people yelling out my real name to show that they know that I'm there. It’s quite strange as a whole.”
