Marcus Jamal Hopson (born July 18, 1985), better known as Hopsin, an alteration of his last name, is an underground rapper who is slowly but steadily growing in popularity.
His style is generally described as angry, cynical and somewhat melodic, and is often compared to early Eminem albums. Hopsin has admitted that Eminem is one of his primary influences, so he seems to be aware of this. He is very critical of mainstream hip-hop's glorification of drugs, alcohol and glamorized gangsta lifestyles, as well as mainstream rappers who use them as part of their act.
In 2009 he released his debut album, Gazing at the Moonlight, which was received quite well. Unfortunately, it was ill promoted by the label, Ruthless Records, and Hopsin was later dropped. His second album, Raw, was released the next year as a digital download on his own label, Funk Volume. In 2013, he released his third album, Knock Madness. He also releases yearly freestyles on his Youtube channel, found here
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Tropes present in his work:
- Anti-Love Song: Generally averted, but "I'm Not Introducing You" is an example.
- Album Title Drop: "I am raw, I am raw, just to let you niggas know..."
- Armor-Piercing Question: His famous statement from "Fly":"Did the man who invented college go to college?"
- An Aesop: "Nocturnal Rainbows" contains a few. Hopsin points out that our brains are a terrible thing to waste on recreational drugs and that black people shouldn't support Obama simply because he's half-black.
- Boastful Rap: Done differently than most. Rather than bragging about how much money, women or fame he has, he boasts about his musical skill.
- Conspiracy Theorist: Present throughout Raw, but never taken to insane tinfoil hat levels. It was also present throughout Knock Madness.
- Deal with the Devil: Openly defied in the opening lines of "I Need Help".I'm back, nigga, what's up?"Hop, how'd you get your buzz up?""I heard you signed over your soul to the devil, was it true?"NIGGA, SHUT THE FUCK UP!
- Drugs Are Bad: "The Ill Mind of Hopsin 6" is all about this, and how drugs destroyed the life of someone he knew.
- Horrorcore: Had a large part in "Am I A Psycho?" by Tech N9ne, which was this genre.
- Last-Name Basis: His stage name is based on his surname.
- Noodle Incident:
Ill Mind Of Hopsin 6 was originally going to be a separate song, but according to this tweet, the real Ill Mind Of Hopsin 6 was too personal to be released. It's never explained what the original song was about.
- Prophet Eyes: His trademark pale white contacts.
- Shout-Out:
- The album cover for Raw is a homage to the Saw film series, as is the music video for "Kill Her".
- "Rip Your Heart Out" contains the line "Motherfucker, I got balls like I'm Ash Ketchum!"
- Take That!: Several tracks on Raw. "Sag My Pants" and "Pillow Man" have lyrics taking shots at popular rappers like Drake, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Gucci Mane, and even Lupe Fiasco. "Kill Her", however, is the most notable example, a vicious song that absolutely rips into the late Eazy-E's widow, and her record label Ruthless Records. The "Ill Mind of Hopsin 4" song also takes a jab at Tyler the Creator. He has clarified the jab at Lupe Fiasco was for claiming he could skateboard and does say he likes his music, at the very least. Lastly, the skit "No Words" on Pound Syndrome is a clear and unambiguous shot at trap (specifically the heavily slurred and often nonsensical nature of the rapping; the Autotune usage in particular seems to be mocking Future), and the video is a clear shot at Lil Wayne.
- Ill Mind of Hopsin 5 is one for most modern day rappers and their fans.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- He gives one to the entire rap fanbase in "Ill Mind of Hopsin 5".
- "Ill Mind of Hopsin 8" is a huge call-out of former close friend and business partner Dame Ritter over many of the issues behind the dissolution of Funk Volume.
