Los Angeles rapper Hopsin has opened up about his mental health in an Instagram post following a recent arrest over an unknown matter while he is in Australia. After posting this to Facebook earlier this morning:
https://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin/posts/1454501944565595
Hopsin then took to his Instagram to give further details in a post that is just heartbreaking and incredibly worrying to read.
We know that Hopsin was in Sydney this week but no details are available at this time on why he was arrested and we won’t comment or speculate on the situation there. What Hopsin’s comments do shine a light on is the hugely overlooked issue of mental health in the music industry. Selena Gomez provided some astounding insight last week after being bombarded with negativity when she was in rehab for chemotherapy and Hopsin’s post here is in the same vein.
It’s difficult to read this, Hopsin admitting he has hidden behind a public persona for so long, that he has glorified his pain in an effort to numb it, that he is crying on a daily basis and that he finds himself in such a dark place at the moment. His unflinching ruminations about his own death are the most troubling part of the whole post.
Highlighting mental illness is always important, and we hope Hopsin gets the help he needs to get back on track.
Game of Thrones fans, batten down the hatches – Winter, finally, has come. Or to our US counterparts, summer is almost here, and in all honesty this has absolutely nothing to do with Game of Thrones. Instead, for this first day of our new season, this is the ‘Rap Wrap’. Not unlike Cling Wrap, this shit will stick. I can’t speak on whether any of the following will be of any considerable use in keeping your sandwiches from becoming stale, but you can be certain that all of the following will help your day from becoming stale. Day, or sandwich? You decide.
Smoke DZA, Beloved (Prod. Mac Miller)
The first to fall in to our winter’s lap comes from Harlem’s Smoke DZA, by way of his latest mixtape George Kush Da Button: Don’t Pass Trump The Blunt released to Soundcloud today. The track is produced by Mac Miller, who would appear to have stepped out from behind his Larry Fisherman moniker for now. A smooth offering, perfectly complementing both DZA’s subdued ‘weed’ rap flow, and Miller’s penchant for the psychedelic, Beloved is a laid-back offering, perfect for allowing the day to peacefully pass by and in to gentle oblivion. Or to light up a blunt to, it’s dealer’s choice, I should imagine.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/266847003″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=’166′ iframe=”true” /]
Bishop Nehru – Love What You Do
Bishop Nehru is a name which might still be unfamiliar to many – which is criminal considering how extraordinarily talented the nineteen year old New Yorker truly is. Still riding the high from his collaborative project with the esteemed MF Doom, NehruvianDoom, Bishop Nehru offers a chilled throwback to hip-hop’s Golden Era with Love What You Do. From the scratches to Nehru’s confident flow, the offering is further in the vein of the track preceding it, with a calm, laid-back presentation to see the day away.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/266727211″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=’166′ iframe=”true” /]
Hopsin, Die This Way ft. Matt Black & Joey Tee
Having apparently done away with all connections to former label Funk Volume, of which he was a co-founder, Hopsin has hit his stride with new label Undercover Prodigy – as evidenced by latest release Die This Way featuring Matt Black and Joey Tee. For an artist who has perpetually been extraordinarily hit or miss, Hopsin has let loose one of his strongest tracks in recent memory, comparable to his storied Ill Mind of Hopsin series.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be8nu4w-NS0]
Young Thug, Gangster Shit
Only two months removed from his brilliant Slime Season 3 release, Young Thug has let latest single Gangster Shit hit the web. Not one to remain quiet for long, Gangster Shit is another in a long line of tremendous releases by the trap phenomenon – whose popularity, to this day, continues to climb at a frenzied pace. Having collaborated in previous months with such artists as Chance the Rapper and Lil Uzi Vert, it is surprisingly comforting to hear Thugger returning to solid solo cuts, proving himself a competent and infectiously listenable solo artist. One would stop short of saying they hope to hear a full-length project from Thugger soon, with such a project almost guaranteed considering Young Thug’s admirably consistent output of projects. Nonetheless, if Gangster Shit is anything to go by as far as expectations for the next project go, keep your eyes peeled and your ears ready. Sliiiiiime.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7g5JADcrSo]
So tell us how you heard it, what’s the best track of the new season to beat the cold? Or compliment the heat? Or keep the sandwiches fresh? Or… what else did I say?
What would you say if you saw a man with white eyes and a man with a tattooed face feeding giraffes at your local zoo? What if I told you it was two rappers, Hopsin and Daylyt? What if I just said two men from California have set out to save the giraffes?
What started as a joke post from Daylyt to Hopsin, “Yo me and Hopsin bout to go save some giraffes” is actually looking like the two MCs might actually be trying to do something about the giraffes.
In a recent interview with BattleRap.com, Daylyt goes into detail about wanting to save giraffes and how the idea came about. He also outlines how he first met Hopsin at a rap battle with Supa Hot Fire and how they started working together after that.
“It just so happens we had the same purpose, and it was to do something big. We never thought it was gonna be save giraffes,” he said. “We came up with something called The Combine — it was something that we was just gonna work on as far as helping each other out to do something bigger.”
Daylyt and Hopsin then reached out to Mr. 2TheP and made a song called Save the Giraffes. “So we made the song but it was a joke,” Daylyt said, which is unsurprising considering Hopsin’s just as known for his joke songs his real ones. “[But then] Mr. 2TheP calls me up and goes, ‘You know giraffes are really in danger, right?’ So before you know it we start reading articles, we start really tapping into this and come to find out that giraffes are really going extinct. Like rapidly, and nobody is saying anything.”
“So I called Hop and was like ‘Yo Hop, how would this world look at us if we actually did this?’ People can say whatever the hell they want about us but if we actually did this for real, we’d be looked at as very good people by a large amount of people.”
Regardless of how the idea came around, the fact is these two rappers have the network to possibly make a difference by helping keep giraffes safe from extinction. There is no information as to how they will help the giraffes, but getting the conversation going is a great first step.
Check out the interview and a clip of the giraffe-centric song below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LjQrLqgJfI
Image: Facebook/ Daylyt
Everyone’s favourite hip-hop critic Hopsin is back at it again, this time speaking out against 2 Chainz’ lyrical ability.
Back in 2013, Hopsin took part in an interview with XXL, where he said most Atlanta rappers “ain’t even really dope.” Despite the talent of Killer Mike and Andre 3000 who hail from Atlanta, we can only assume from Hopsin’s “worlds best diss,” No Words, that he is referring to trap music.
2 Chainz’ lyrics are clever and catchy, “for that world that he’s in,” Hopsin said during an interview for Vlad TV. “I’ve learned to appreciate the different types of genres within hip-hop itself. That’s something I wasn’t doing when I first came out… A lot of these songs are just not popping in my opinion. But I understand times change. Times always change… There’s a lot of songs that I like now that I wouldn’t have liked two years ago or three years ago.”
Hopsin has been very outspoken on the state of the rap game, even going as far as to challenge “anyone” to a $500k rap battle. I tend to side with Hopsin, as I am not a massive trap fan, though I appreciate that as hip-hop evolves, new genres are created. Perhaps these rappers (if we can still call them that when they are clearly making something other than hip-hop) have moved genres – Travi$ Scott, for instance, has even gone as far as to say “I am everything except a rapper” on his track Apple Pie.
Maybe if we add a couple of new names to the “hip-hop based” genres on the CD racks, then Hopsin can return to doing what he does best – complaining about rappers making music.
The video of Hopsin speaking out on 2 Chainz’ lyrical ability can be found below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxphW1HQam8
Image: YouTube
Daymn! Funk Volume is no longer. Well, it still exists, but co-founder and star quarterback for Funk Volume, Hopsin has made it clear in his new track, Ill Mind of Hopsin 8, that he is gone for good.
Earlier this year, Hopsin hinted that he might be leaving Funk Volume by taking to Facebook in January to say:
“Funk volume is officially dead now thanks to the monster Damien Ritter. There is nobody else to blame at all. I have officially separated myself from everything and I am fully independent now. It’s very sad but idiots like Dame wanna control too Much and now he end up destroying a great fuckin team. Having a crew like FV has been my vision since I was 14 years old and this man just destroyed it. Jarren, Dizzy, Swizzz, DJ Hoppa and I are all still on good terms. They will forever be my brothers and I support them in whatever they do. I will let u guys know the full story soon. You know ama keep it RAW for real. Ain’t no holdin back. I’m so sorry to all the FV fans. There’s a brighter future though. #undercoverprodigy.”
We have now been treated to the eighth instalment of Hopsin’s Ill Mind along with some visuals where Hopsin takes to the courtroom to address his split from Funk Volume.
He takes more than a few shots at his Funk Volume co-founder Damien Ritter, calling him a “new age Jerry Heller” among other things. Hopsin delves into his mind and vents his frustration, as he has been known to do in the seven other instalments of his Ill Mind, even going as far as becoming quite aggressive in the latest, and rightly so.
Well, it’s all one side of the story. This is not the first time Hopsin has lost his cool and unloaded on someone. Remember his $500K challenge? His Tyga diss Whack City? His 2014 rant where he wanted to quit rap and move to Perth. Ritter was meant to be hosting a Q&A session earlier, so we will soon have all the facts.
I think that what we can agree on is the snappy, trap track suits Hopsin’s style perfectly, and showcases what fans have loved about him since the beginning, and I don’t think he will have any trouble with his new label/company Undercover Prodigy. Take a peep at Ill Mind of Hopsin 8 below.
https://youtu.be/nbqguu8NsM4
Image: Skilly
Hip-hop artist Hopsin has threatened to leave his label, Funk Volume, citing trouble with the label’s co-founder Damien Ritter.
In a series of aggressive posts to social media, Hopsin has aired his dirty laundry, laying out his complaints against Ritter, whom he launched Funk Volume with in 2009.
“Fuck Damien Ritter. This man is the death of Funk Volume,” he posted to Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin/posts/1265632220119236
https://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin/posts/1265637706785354
https://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin/photos/a.148951745120628.29743.114933838522419/1265651243450667/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/hellohopsin/posts/1266206853395106
According to XXL, the beef was kickstarted by Ritter accusing Hopsin of not putting enough effort into the label, which currently boatss a roster including Dizzy Wright, SwizZz, DJ Hoppa and Jarren Benton.
Hopsin toured Australia in late 2015. Read our interview with the man himself here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiNNBc557OQ
Image: Facebook
Hopsin is outright not happy with the state of hip hop. He has on countless occasions said that most rappers “suck” and their music is “garbage,” and I’d like to think that many hip hop heads agree. In Hopsin’s “ill mind” there must be an endless ticking frustration, and maybe this is why he doesn’t do collaborations outside his Funk Volume family. In a plot to do something about the lack of real MCs he offered up a challenge: $500K rap battle, Funk Volume vs. anybody, in hopes of firstly, winning some money, but drawing out some talent from the trenches of today’s hip hop. Or perhaps he wanted to prove once and for all his point, that “rappers these days suck.” But no one stepped up. Well, one group did, The Horseshoe Gang, but they didn’t offer up any money, just made some diss tracks and posted them online. It must be hard being one of the best MCs in the game and being forced to use The Horseshoe Gang’s disses to towel off after his dope new album, Pound Syndrome. Or as he put it, to “warm up” for what is next.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Yzlvl72mQ]
Why won’t anyone step up to the challenge? Are they scared? Is Hopsin just that good? Or is it like he said in his skit No Words? (now featuring a hilarious film clip.)
I got on the phone to Hopsin and asked him what was going on.
Have you had anyone step up for the 500K challenge yet?
Oh nah, nobody took the challenge yet and I don’t think that they will. I wish somebody would, though.
Do you think people got scared when you tore The Horseshoe Gang apart?
Oh (laughs) maybe they did. It was dope and it was fun. We can still go a lot harder, that was just a warm up.
I could hear the wind blowing into his phone, and just as I started my next question, Hopsin said:
I’m sorry, I am in an emergency right now, and I really have to get off the phone cause I’m in the middle of no where and I am going to be stranded.
(I laughed awkwardly)
Sorry, I have to hang up.
…….
Silence.
45 minutes passed until my phone rang again. I answered without looking, figuring it was work related.
I’ve got Hopsin back on the line.
Phew.
Hopsin, how you doing? Everything alright?
Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry, I apologise, my phone was dying and I was stranded in the middle of Chicago and I didn’t have a way to get back. But I’m at my hotel now. I’ve got my phone charging. So yeah everything is good now. I apologise.
I picture him sitting on the floor near a powerpoint, like at the airport when your cable won’t reach. Thirty seconds of apologies and ‘no worries, mans’ followed before we got on to questions again.
The reason I took to your music, man, was you are one of the few rappers in the past five years who still has bars. Which rappers in the game do you have respect for?
I respect a lot of the old school dudes. As far as new guys go, I respect Yelawolf, I respect Kendrick Lamar, J Cole. I like Logic, of course the guys on my label Jarren Benton, Dizzy Wright, that’s just naming a few I guess.
Is there anyone you want to battle? Anyone of equal measure?
I’d battle anybody to be honest. I mean, I am not a battle rapper, but for that 500 thousand dollar battle challenge I put up, I’d battle anyone. But I don’t really care to battle like that – I’m not scared of anybody. I just don’t wanna say any names, but I’ll battle anybody.
Are there any rappers you’re thinking of collaborating with? Or do you just keep it in the Funk Volume family?
Next year I am actually thinking of doing more collabs, but I have to talk with some people first. But yeah it’s a possibility.
Do you think sub-genre hip hop is a phase? Do you think real MCs will make a come back?
It’s slowly starting to come back, but there is still a lot of garbage out there. But I think it’s for sure making a come back – there are a few rappers who are coming out who are real MCs and others out there poppin’ up here and there. I can see the change coming.
Awesome – I am looking forward to that change.
Yeah, yeah same here!
Have you heard much Australian hip hop?
I’ve heard quite a bit of Australian hip hop; I know 360, he has a lot of dope songs and lots more, I just don’t know names.
Do you think any Aussie MCs could step up to your challenge?
I think anybody can step up to the challenge if they have the money, that’s what it comes down to – and that they are willing to risk it. ‘Cause having the money is one thing, and being able to talk, but risking it is another thing. I’d be willing to lose mine. I know I wouldn’t, but I’d be willing to.
I’m pretty keen to see that battle so I hope somebody steps up.
Yeah, yeah, it’s all good if they don’t though.
Hopsin and the Funk Volume crew are currently touring and will hit our shores in the middle of December. In a pre-album-release-social-media-stunt, Hopsin said he planned to quit rapping and move to Australia. Although he makes no signs of quitting rap, the latter part holds some truth – if his girlfriend lets him, he may just move to Australia. I wanted to check out this possibility.
We are looking forward to having you come back to Australia.
Yeah, I can’t wait to come back.
Since that little stunt you pulled before releasing your album, I guess you’re still rapping and not looking to move to Australia anymore?
Oh, I am probably still going to move there, but I’ll live in [both] LA and Australia.
Which city would you pick?
I kinda like Perth, the Gold Coast and Sydney, I haven’t decided. I have to talk to my girlfriend.
You should try to swing her round to Melbourne.
Nah, I don’t like Melbourne too much, I mean it’s cool but I’m not sure about it. What city are you in?
I’m in Melbourne.
Oh cool, Melbourne. Hey, is it ever hot in Melbourne?
Yeah, but it changes by the hour.
(Laughs) yeah, that’s why I don’t like it.
I mean right now it’s hot, but I bet in a couple of hours those clouds will come through. So pack for all occasions when you’re here.
Yeah (laughs) you see I like hot, I’m from California, so I need my warm weather.
I guess Perth is the spot for you then.
(Laughs) yeah.
So, Perth, make sure you show him a good time. Perth is the last stop on his Australian tour, so you will have your work cut out for you (well, I guess not as much as us Burn City folk) as our all cities will surely be trying to persuade his missus that their city is the spot for them. And who knows, maybe then an Australian city can get a song like Fort Collins written about it (minus, you know, him bailing on the show).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpECHANQESg]
What did it mean to make a track like Fort Collins? How did the people of Fort Collins take to it?
The people from Fort Collins, they liked it a lot. It was hard to make the track, I had Dizzy on it and wanted him to kind of yell at me and talk to me like he was upset at me. I was trying to figure out how that was going to happen. I had to have a talk with him and kind of organise the song in a certain way. I think I did a good job. When I walked away from the show that night, I knew that I wanted to make a song about it. I wasn’t going to leave Fort Collins hanging like that.
You can really feel the sincerity in the song, it came off well man.
Oh, thank you man.
As you develop and produce more and more music, do you find yourself in need of a little reinventing? Like you say in the Ill Mind of Hopsin tracks?
Yeah, I’m constantly thinking about what I am going to do on the next one, if I do one, so I am always thinking of the next sound and making things expand, so maybe 2016 I might do another one.
So come on Straya – insert relevant Sam Kekovich line – let’s have some of our home-grown MCs step up for that $500K.
Here’s my dream squad for the occasion: Pegz, Reason and Hopsin’s boy, 360. I reckon they’ve got the skills to take his money and then use that money to buy Hopsin a (relatively) beachside property. $500K won’t actually buy him anything, but it’s the gesture that counts.
Be sure to check out Hopsin’s new album Pound Syndrome and catch him and the rest of Funk Volume when they get here in December.
God Bless you, Hopsin, for using your platform as one of the best young rappers in the game as well as your shithat insanity and your known lack of fucks to give to come out and say what so many of us are thinking: (a lot of) trap sucks.
If you’re wondering, the LA MC has released a music video for his skit No Words that doesn’t so much take shots at a lot of the more derivative tropes of modern day rap music as it does straight blast them and the artists who perpetuate them face first with the fire of a thousand hyper beams. Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiNNBc557OQ
Simply and utterly amazing. Rap skits can often be hamfisted and cringeworthy, but this is an example of one done to near perfection. From the opening lines of ‘Man rap today fucking sucks bad, I don’t give a fuck what anybody says’ and ‘They’re not even saying words anymore! They just got a hardass fucking beat to trick dumbasses like you to make you think you like this shit!’.
Hopsin then proceeds to demand his producer ‘turn my reverb and my Autotune on real quick’. And from there he makes trap rappers look the damn fool. He doesn’t directly address anyone in particular in the song (doesn’t really need to) and we don’t want to point names or name fingers, (cough–Rich Homie Quan, cough cough-Rae Sremmurd), but Hopsin is so very much on point here. His lyrics are an indecipherable garble of Autotuned gibberish spat over a hideously derivative trap beat and it will have you in tears.
As far as visual highlights go, there’s the customary white Lambo, Hopsin’s ratchet dreadlock wig, an unnecessarily large cup of what one can only assume to be drank that only leaves Hopsin’s hands when he needs to wave around a money clip or a gun that he also uses TO HIT SLIDERS ON THE MIXING BOARD! There’s members of his entourage aiming assault rifles at the camera (while they also hold gold smartphones). There are twerking bikini models with guns too, plus a fat old blunt rolled in gold paper. Hopsin splits time between dancing in front of his Lambo, doing rap squats like it’s an exercise and making it rain to putting in work in the studio, rapping into the microphone while he holds a smartphone up to his face.
It’s all absolutely too much.
The only negative I can give you is that the video goes for but 1:38 when I could have watched it all day. Thank you again Hopsin, some heroes don’t wear capes.
LA rapper Hopsin is set to bring his Funk Volume tour down under. The tour brags support acts like Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton & DJ Hopp and will kick off this friday in Sweden. The artist will hop over U.S state lines until late November, where the Australian leg of the tour begins. Hopsin is set to play here from Wednesday the 16th of December through to Monday the 21st. The MC will be playing at least 5 shows, in each of our capital cities.
Hopsin is no stranger to Australia. Late last year the rapper took to social media to announce his relocation to our country, and his retirement from the music industry.
“The people there are so cool. I like the vibe. I like new places and I like the fact that I’m gonna be there and I’m just gonna not really know anybody,” the rapper wrote on Facebook and Instagram.
While his announcement to move was an adamant one, as of right now he is still based in the U.S and definitely still an active part of the hip hop industry, with his 4th album Pound Syndrome newly released.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MitZ-C0tgQ&w=560&h=315]
Tickets go on sale Friday 21st of August, purchase them here:
Wednesday, 16th December
170 Russell, Melbourne
Tickets: Oztix
Thursday, 17th December
Eatons Hill Hotel & function centre, Eatons Hill
Tickets: Oztix
Friday, 18th December
Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: Ticketek
Sunday, 20th December
The Gov, Adelaide
Tickets: Oztix
Monday, 21st December
Amplifier Bar, Perth
Tickets: Oztix