For Fans Of: twenty one pilots, Jamie T, The Front Bottoms
Sacramento, CA hip-hop artist Hobo Johnson is better know as Frank Lopes Jr, while often backed by his bandmates The Lovemakers (Derek Lynch – Guitar/Piano, Jordan Moore – Guitar/Piano/Drums/Vocals, David Baez-Lopez – Bass and Ben Lerch – Drums). Lopes’ music is built on poetic lyricisms layered over subtle off-the-beat melodies ranging from hip hop to folk.
In November 2017, he released the record The Rise of Hobo Johnson, which was written during a time he had to live out of his ’94 Toyota Corolla – hence his self-given pseudonym. On April 17, 2018, he released the highly-anticipated single ‘Peach Scone’ (both the studio and live versions), which debuted on Spotify’s New Music Friday. The new single comes on the heels of the ‘Peach Scone’ live performance video, which was posted online in hopes to win the 2018 NPR Tiny Desk contest.
However, this live video got Hobo Johnson much more than expected. In just 7 weeks, the video racked up over 14.6 million views on Facebook and YouTube. Across all socials, their followers have grown from 10,000 total to well over one million followers. Their rabid new fans boosted the 2017 The Rise of Hobo Johnson album to #8 on the iTunes Hip-Hop chart and #60 album overall. It also charted at #11 on Billboard’s Heatseekers. Five different songs from The Rise of Hobo Johnson have also charted on Spotify’s Global Viral 50, US Viral 50, Australia Viral 50, UK Viral 50, Canada Viral 50, Philippines Viral 50, Spain Viral 50, NZ Viral 50, Ireland Viral 50, Netherlands Viral. It has also appeared on Spotify’s Tear Drop, Viral Hits Canada, Viral Hits AUS & NZ.
He’s thrived off this success, and continued with follow-up album The Fall of Hobo Johnson in September 2019. Filled with more honest, endearing rambles of heartache and authority, it continues the dramatic endeavours of Hobo Johnson in a varied degree of sounds. NME rated it 4/5, stating “his latest body work is a worthy representation of who he is: a talented and undeniably funny underdog with an addictive persona.”
Website – hobojohnson.com
Facebook – /hobojohnson94Corolla
Twitter – @hobojohnson