By : DJ Honey Bucket
Hook is an up-and-coming rapper from Riverside, California. (Shoutout to Queen Beats (on KZSC Tuesdays at 10 pm) for enlightening me.) Her stepdad was a rapper and encouraged Hook to pursue music by helping her and her stepsisters form a rap group. In that group, Hook became the standout talent by writing all the song’s hooks, thus coining her name. Hook went on to college and worked at Sonic but soon dropped out to pursue rapping. At just barely 22 years old, Hook has pioneered a new subgenre of rap called “ramble rap,” and has since made a name for herself in the West Coast rap scene. She has released three albums: “Bully,” “Crashed My Car,” and “I Love You 2, Hook,” as well as over a dozen singles.
Link: https://open.spotify.com/track/1FcPNWGbtcBJ4Igg0uMKy9
Hook’s most streamed song is called “Crashed My Car,” which features comedian, rapper, and internet personality Zack Fox, who has worked with big names in the industry such as Thundercat. The inspiration behind this track comes from Hook’s various car accidents. Spending a few years commuting between her home in Riverside to shows in LA accounted for some rough stories from the road. “Crashed My Car” is ramble rap in its truest form. The song spans from lines about getting into car crashes, to lines about sending nudes and getting left on read. There is no consistent theme, but that is what makes it endearing. Fox’s verse adds humor and relatability to the track, while Hook makes a universally shared experience of a car crash sound brand new.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFvBXQaeMZ0
“Answer!” by Hook is a more slowed down, ominous song compared to “Crashed My Car.” The track starts off with a voicemail message from a man, perhaps an ex, trying to reach Hook and make amends. This classic hip hop storytelling device shows how Hook takes inspiration from the past and makes it sound new again. We can imagine that the song can take place over the phone, as the beat is slow and melodic like a difficult conversation with a lover would be. As an artist who was born into the digital age, Hook is able to bring heartbreak and technology into the new age with “Answer!”.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dykoX81MXMc
Clocking in at just under 2 minutes, “FTN” might be the song that hooks you into Hook. “FTN,” from her album “Bully,” is a vengeful jingle that displays Hook’s alter ego. As a self-described, “non-confrontational person,” Hook lets it all out in this song. Taking inspiration from a childhood video game of the same name (“Bully”), “FTN” sounds like it could be played over a Windows commercial, in a perfect world. The unforgiving lyrics over the melodic beat prove that Hook chose the correct name for herself.