Fall Concert Headliner Revealed
Hoodie Allen
Hoodie Allen to headline fall concert
by Nick Bailey ’16
Alternative hip-hop artist Hoodie Allen will headline the MOB fall concert on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) Auditorium. Hailing from Long Island, N.Y., Steve “Hoodie Allen” Markowitz is a former Google AdWords associate turned rapper whose 2014 debut album, People Keep Talking, features collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Alex Wiley and MAX.
A 2010 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Hoodie Allen began his postgrad life in Silicon Valley, but after a few months he decided to leave Google to pursue his passion—music. According to his website, his 2012 EP, All American, sold 100,000 copies, establishing him as an irreverent hip-hop artist to watch.
Allen's self-deprecating, ironic sense of humor takes center stage on People Keep Talking, which portrays him as an Ivy League-educated intellectual who refuses to act his age. In his video for the single “All About It,” featuring Sheeran, Allen dons an astronaut suit and eats a burrito on a treadmill. Rapping that he’s “Larry David plus Miles Davis,” he weaves pop-culture references and personal anecdotes into a narrative, drawing inspiration from jazz, hip-hop, pop and soul.
And his eccentricity is expected to set the tone for future acts at Dickinson. MOB, the student-led organization that oversees campuswide entertainment and programming, brings a headlining musical artist to campus every semester. The organization began the 2015-16 season with an all-student survey to identify genres and artists that would have wide appeal. Allen clearly fit the bill. “We’re really excited to be bringing someone so current [to campus],” said Kerin Maguire ’18, MOB concert co-chair.
Allen is currently on tour with fellow rapper and hip-hop artist, Allan Kingdom, and the two will take the stage in ATS after an opening performance from Dickinson’s Alex Schechter ’18. A Boston native, Schechter has released two albums, and he completed a five-city tour in August.
Tickets for the concert are required for entry and will be available online to students first in the coming weeks, with remaining tickets made available to the general public.
Learn more
Published September 21, 2015