This is a guide post about hobocore, introducing the genre as well as providing a few examples from artists at the forefront of hobocore.
First of all, hobocore is defined as "music that was either made by, or sounds to be made by, a homeless person, or hobo..."(citation from the Nejbdictionary, 2014). This usually includes vocals that sound hoboish as well as composition that can be rather simple in cases, showing lack of resources, presumably caused by homelessness.
Leading off, we'll start with perhaps the most prominent hobocore artist, Death Grips. Made up of MC Ride (Stefan Burnett) on vocals, Zach Hill on drums, and Flatlander (Andy Morin) producing. Their style has been called industrial or experimental hip-hop, but it is also hobocore, as seen in Mr. Burnett's vocals on many songs, one of which is below. No Love, off the 2012 album No Love Deep Web, contains vocals that are semi-intelligible, often shouted or screamed, and in slower parts drawled, a key signature of hobocore. Listen to it below.
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Second, another prominent artist. Although Viper hasn't the mainstream appeal or following of Death Grips, he can arguably be seen as the leader of the genre. His 2008 album You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack was an instant classic of the genre, 15 tracks of pure hobocore. The title track can be seen as the seminal work in the genre and has achieved over 19,000 plays on Spotify, and hundreds of thousands of views on Youtube. The drawled vocals sound like they came from that creepy guy under the bridge downtown, and the shoddy production suggests that this was recorded in the back alley behind the grocery store. Two classics appear below, You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack and I Sell Dope Boy
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And lastly, some vintage hobocore. Unlike the other two artists, Moondog actually was a homeless person, and also blind. He lived in New York until his death in 1999. He often dressed as a viking, and was therefore dubbed "The Viking of 6th Avenue". His music is very different from the last two artists, taking on a classical style. His most popular track is Bird's Lament, found below.
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I hope you've enjoyed this guide to hobocore, a genre I hold deep to my heart and will listen and possibly make some later in your life.
Thanks for reading!!!
nejb
