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Hoodie Allen‘s mixtape is here. I’m still torn about it. There’s something about playful music that doesn’t mesh with me. Maybe I’m too serious about it. Maybe all the people that have called me a music snob are right. While I love the sound of Hoodie Allen’s beats and the integration of indie rock/pop with hip-hop, sometimes the dude just comes across as goofy to me.
A track like “Words of Wisdom”, musically, has a serious tone to it. It sounds like a song that could be about love, struggle, or something beautiful. Then Hoodie drops an AC Slater reference and it snaps me right out of it. It’s like I’m at the movie theater, watching some touching scene where the main character is dying and the guy in front of me rips a fart. My brain immediately jumps to “Ha, that guy just farted.”
From a business perspective, Hoodie’s got enormous potential. Moving into 2011 I would be excited to have him on my label. There is definitely a place for music like this in today’s music environment and Hoodie’s got his own place in hip-hop right between Chiddy Bang and Asher Roth. Like Asher, I think Hoodie could transition into being taken more seriously if he tried. There are elements that he’s already nailed. From a personal taste perspective – I still can’t get into it.
Pep Rally, which features 11 original tracks, lives up to it’s name–as a high energy, fun mixtape that cleverly combines indie sampling and hip hop music. Pep Rally is a celebration of growing up, narrated with help from samples by Beach House, Florence + The Machine, The Black Keys and more!
Stream/Download the album HERE.
