Hopsin – RAW

Let me get one thing straight before I start this review. Just because an artist talks about dismembering people, causing chaos upon the world and trying to take revenge on his backstabbing “friends”, that does not mean that said artist should be compared to someone else that came before him/her. If that’s the case, everyone in the hip-hop game should be compared to Sugar Hill Gang and Kurtis Blow, so how about we let each artist do what they feel and stop with the “oh, he sounds like this guy” or “his flow is just like blah blah blah”. With that small rant out of the way, I think I would like to shine a little light on someone that has been making some noise in the bay area but also cracking pavement in other spots of the world. Now, even though this is the first hip-hop review for the site, don’t be fooled because it won’t be the last. The one man that can give me chills with his delivery, his heart and just the imagination he puts into each and ever track, Hopsin is killing the hip-hop game right now and deserve to be heard on levels that most artist don’t.

Hopsin has been putting down verses and twisting people’s heads off since the early 2000’s, the only negative thing for me was that I didn’t hear noise from him until recently when I got my hands on his sophomore release that was released last year titled “RAW”. The title is the perfect word to describe Hopsin on this record, simply because he doesn’t have any care in the world and will talk about anything he wishes to. “RAW” gives you sixteen tracks that are filled with some great word play, imaginary worlds that if you laid back and thought about each line Hopsin is flowing with, you might be trapped in that world for a very long time. The one thing that caught my attention about “RAW” was that no matter the subject matter at hand, Hopsin puts his heart and soul into each word that passes by his lips. Call it a gimmick, an act or whatever but Hopsin really does have me believing that he could crush the world with a single slam of his fist.

As great as Hopsin flows and as original the beats are on “RAW”, there’s only one thing that can create such hypnotic atmospheres inside a hip-hop record, that one thing is lyrics. The words that Hopsin combines on this record are pure torture, it’s as if he’s writing about you or someone you know. On the track “You Are My Enemy”, Hopsin refers to various people on from his past that have fucked him over for money, a past friend that got jealous over him getting noticed in the hip-hop world and even an ex-fling/girlfriend that lied and cheated on him several times. It’s all about how well Hopsin paints his pallet for the listener to read and see things through his eyes. You can feel his urge to commit several crimes just to get revenge and ruin certain peoples lives because in reality, people have fucked him over and ditched him for no good reason. My favorite track on the record, “Nocturnal Rainbows”, really hits close to home with me. I know, it’s corny to say that but with a verse that questions why the human race follows a President as if he was Jesus himself and why the majority of the people in the world can’t think for themselves, it’s hard not to support an artist that isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

Obama’s president, so? What’s he represent? Just because the nigga’s half black don’t mean he’s Heaven-sent. You’re clueless to evidence and all the minds he’s messin’ with. His charm and smile hasn’t got my ass up out this debt for shit. Frontin’ like he’s truly Jesus and all you fools believe it. The change he’s making isn’t good, that’s just how you conceived it. It’s like we all broker than ever, it’s due to reasons. Dealing with self-beneficial plans and the movement he’s with, Illuminati, or whatever the fuck they go by. They’re the reason weird shit happens, and we don’t know why.

So, as all of the mainstream hip-hop “artist” keep making songs about drugs, whores and making money, I’ll be supporting a more positive artist in Hopsin. Although he might talk about ripping people apart, smashing babies into the face with bags of oranges and taking a ton of shots at Lil’ Wayne because of how horrible he is (yes, I agree, Wayne is garbage), it’s all imagery and very well done imagery at that. “RAW” is real hip-hop, it has the guts, the passion and the energy of what a record should. If you enjoy hip-hop to the point that you think it’s “dead” or “dying”, pick up “RAW” and get your rejuvenation on with Hopsin.

Official Myspace. Official Last.fm. Official Facebook. Official Twitter. Official Reverbnation. Buy his shit here.