After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, Steven Markowitz started working at Google as an associate. Not long after, Markowitz, citing difficulties managing his music career alongside his corporate career, jumped at the chance to start performing live shows. Donning the name Hoodie Allen, he was set to put all of his efforts behind his music career.

Taking an in-depth look at the assortment of songs on “Crew Cuts,” I see a contemplative, relaxed and vulnerable Hoodie Allen. This is a diverse mixtape, an ideal grab-and-go collection of songs for any time of day.

“Fame Is For Assholes” is a great introduction to the 24-year-old from New York. Also featuring a verse from Chiddy (of Chiddy Bang), the track is easy-going and a little old-fashioned production wise

Now, stand up, do a complete 360, then sit back down in your chair, because that’s exactly what Hoodie does with “Reunion” and “Good Intentions.” The first is our first hearing of Allen changing up his flow and singing a little for the fans. Overall, this is one of the most entertaining tracks on the free mixtape. Now, the latter drives at the unhinging of a personal relationship, or maybe it’s a song about jealousy, or maybe I have no idea. Quite honestly, this one is a little all over the place. 

Wordplay has always been the glue for artists like this. Their thoughts spill all over each track and are held together with disarming, and somewhat straightforward, metaphors and comparisons.

Hoodie’s lyrics are based in reality but can mistakenly be taken as corny pleas for relevance. Consistently coming across lines like, “Got a kitchen full of food and liquor like I’m Lupe/ But ya’ll fake as fuck like toupees, so I see the world in Blu-ray,” may be a turnoff for some, but it’s what comes before/after these lines that tie everything together.  This is that glue that holds it all together.

There is one track that I want to be sure no one misses out on…“Casanova.” Featuring verses from Skizzy Mars and G-Eazy, this is a must-listen, as their laid back flows feel at home over an anthemic, semi-muffled beat. The chorus runs, “You drunk off a class of wine/ No wonder I’m acting sober/ So cut me out of your life/ And leave me like class is over/ But when the day goes, and the night comes/ I’ll still be your Casanova.”

The contemplative “Let Me Be Me” is at the high end of the seriousness scale while “Long Night,” featuring Chance The Rapper (one of my favorite up-and-comers), can be filed as Hoodie’s most creative effort on the mixtape.  Memorable line: “So let’s just kick it in the back of my apartment/ Or at Madison Square Garden, we could go and watch the Rangers/ Central Park where we could go until it’s dark/ And when somebody try to stalk you I just keep you out of danger.” Chance The Rapper delivers an eccentric verse himself to cap off this catchy track.

I grimace when an artist becomes stagnate after his first taste of life as a “college rapper.” With Hoodie, though, it’s been a few years and its safe to say he’s in the right state of mind to keep growing. While most artists spend night and day thinking about getting signed, Hoodie would rather just be one of the guys and be treated no differently than anyone else. I dig that about him.

The little nuggets of wit go down smooth, but it’s the even smaller pockets of “real shit” that keep Hoodie grounded and his songs on repeat.

By crafting songs with lyrics that are important to him and pairing them with agreeably elementary metaphors, Hoodie Allen has developed into somewhat of a professional amateur. I mean that in the best way, I swear. He’s gone the independent route (He’s self-released all of his content) and is showing no signs of slowing down. After listening to “Crew Cuts,” I definitely look forward to hearing more Hoodie Allen down the road.

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3.5/5 stars