Exploring the iLL Mind of Hopsin

For quite a while now, mainstream hip hop has been growing through an identity crisis.  As the most popular music today has been getting more and more rooted in club and dance culture, hip hop has similarly shifted it’s sound and sometimes it seems as though the former West Coast vs. East Coast dispute that dominated hip hop culture in the 90′s has returned in the form of mainstream vs. “raw” hip hop.  Today, a new artist from Southern California emerges that could potentially change the rap game as we know it.

Hopsin brings a unique style, massive talent, and positivity to the table, spitting a unique kind of fire that fills your heart with inspiration and fierce motivation rather than burning rage or mindless, manic debauchery.  Hopsin’s unique brand of rapping, a confrontational talk-style  technique I dub “Lecture Rap“, seems to simultaneously maintain a smooth and lyrically sound flow while emoting individual words in such a way, it’s as if Hopsin is grabbing your shirt collar, shaking you hard, and telling you that you can be better.  It takes significant skill to so perfectly skate the line between hard edged and morally responsible, and the fact that Hopsin has already successfully brought these two clashing idealogies together in a hip hop context makes him one MC, producer, director, and editor that you definitely want to keep your eyes on.

Having already developed a sizeable presence on Youtube, the multi-talented MC artist just released his excellent new video “Ill Mind of Hopsin 5“, which is a perfect introduction to Hopsin’s distinct musical and visual style.  Check out the video below and don’t forget to visit his website at www.myfunkvolume.com