Hopsin

Marcus Hopson, 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 2012 he will be releasing a third album, titled Knock Madness. He also releases yearly freestyles on his Youtube channel.

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..."
 * 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.
 * Doing It for the Art: Just listen to his lyrics, he does this because he loves it.
 * Horrorcore
 * Last-Name Basis
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: He is VERY sociable with his fans on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, much more so than most rappers of his status.
 * One of Us: Just look at his room in his music videos. On I'm Not Crazy he even mentions....the BME Pain Olympics.
 * 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.
 * 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 latest Ill Mind of Hopsin freestyle also takes a jab at Tyler the Creator.
 * The Teetotaler / Straight Edge: He is very vocal of his disapproval of drugs and alcohol.