Introducing: rapper Hoodie Allen
Hoodie Allen will be rapping as the headliner of the Union Board of Governors’ Big Event at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28. He most recently released his album “Whatever USA” last summer. His songs on the album combine laissez-faire living, parties, love and honesty.
In a recent podcast interview with Hannah Berner titled “Hoodie Allen: Cake Throwing and DM sliding,” Allen said, “I’m always going to say exactly how I feel to everyone.”
Steve “Hoodie Allen” Markowitz didn’t have a traditional route to finding music. According to Mashable, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in marketing and finance and then landed a job with Google.
In 2010, with low expectations, he uploaded “You are not a robot,” a rap sampling Marina and the Diamond’s smash hit “I am not a robot,” changing the song’s message from one of hiding to one about embracing oneself. According to Billboard, the song gained massive popularity (earning him a No. 1 spot on Hype Machine, a music aggregator for the top songs around the globe), so he began balancing working at Google, writing music, responding to fan emails and touring.
As he moved on from rapping for friends at house parties to performing at bigger concert venues, Hoodie Allen realized that balancing work at Google and his love for music wasn’t possible.
He quit his job at Google in 2011 and put all of his effort into music. Soon after, he put out a music video with the Youtube cartoon band “Your Favorite Martian” for his rap “8-Bit World,” which discussed struggles in real life through video game nostalgia.
He continued to collaborate with other creators, both in the music industry with artists such as Ed Sheeran (even head-lining for Kendrick Lamar) and in comedy sketches with HeadGum.
Although Allen’s Billboard popularity peaked in the early 2010s, he still follows his love of music. Staying true to his interactivity with fans, Allen has Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and even Tik Tok, all of which he uses to respond to and make jokes with his fans.
