By Matthew Shircliffe–
It’s 2016 and the city of Louisville is finally beginning to catch up with the times, musically speaking.
The hip-hop community has been completely boxed out for quite some time now, and even this upcoming July when the Forecastle festival is here, Danny Brown remains the only hip-hop oriented artist involved. But venues like Mercury Ballroom, which opened up in 2014, are bringing talent such as Machine Gun Kelly, Joey Bada$$ and Big K.R.I.T. Other high profile artists such as Tech N9ne, B.o.B and Lupe Fiasco will be there in the month of April proving it is the spot for concerts in Louisville.
The most recent artist to perform in Mercury Ballroom was Hoodie Allen. Hoodie Allen was here for his Happy Camper tour, coming off the January release of his latest album “Happy Camper.” Before his show, I got to meet him.
It was a cold and rainy day as the city was catching the tail end of the winter; however, this did not stop the dedicated fans of the New York native from lining up five hours before doors opened. I have been to many concerts, in various cities, and you have your J. Cole “stans,” who still remains the most determined fan base I have ever seen, you have your Machine Gun Kelly “stans,” who are wild, and then you have Hoodie Allen “stans,” who are up there as some of the most dedicated fans.
I watched as this line extended, then, out of nowhere, I saw Hoodie himself walk up. I was shocked as he walked through the crowd and talked to fans.
Finally I was let in and escorted to the basement lounge where all of Hoodie’s friends were relaxing. Hoodie came out, shook my hand and led me to his dressing room. It was a nice, relaxed atmosphere and a surreal experience sitting face-to-face with his undivided attention. I asked him a plethora of off-the-wall questions ranging from the amount of people he trusts to give him a haircut, to his favorite eateries in Long Island, to how many pairs of shoes he currently owns.
I then asked more music-related questions such as his favorite collaboration in his career, to which he said “Ed Sheeran.”
I asked him who his dream collaboration is, Justin Timberlake. I concluded the interview by asking for his top five hip-hop artists: Nas, Big Pun, Phonte from Little Brother, J. Cole and Kanye West, who were very similar to my own top five.
Hoodie Allen’s persona was reflected in his performance. He put on an energetic show and you could tell he cared about his fans as he worked the crowd.
Hoodie Allen showed Louisville love and that is all we can ask for. The turnout was nice and I can tell he will be back for his next tour. Let’s hope Louisville venues do their part to bring in more artists like him in the future.
