Frank Lopes Jr. (born December 22, 1994), known professionally as Hobo Johnson, is an American vocalist and former frontman of Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers.
Early life
Lopes is a Mexican/
Portuguese-American
Portuguese Americans ( pt, português-americanos), also known as Luso-Americans (''luso-americanos''), are citizens and residents of the United States who are connected to the country of Portugal by birth, ancestry, or citizenship.
Americans and ...
from
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
When he was 19, he was kicked out of his house by his father and subsequently lived in his car. For a stretch of time, Lopes worked at a pizza restaurant in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, but he soon quit to pursue his passion for music. He is a fan of the
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
and has referenced them multiple times in the lyrics to his songs, most notably in the song "Sacramento Kings Anthem (We're Not That Bad)", written about the struggles the Kings have in the NBA.
Music career
At age 15, Lopes began performing music and hip-hop. He came up with his stage name "Homeless Johnson" but soon made it "Hobo Johnson" while living in his car, a 1994
Toyota Corolla, and named his 2015 debut album in honor of his car. Starting in December 2016, he released a series of live recordings on YouTube subtitled "Live from
Oak Park".
In 2016, he released the album ''The Rise of Hobo Johnson'' independently, but later created a new version of the album in 2017 which had changes to the production and a different tracklist. After the release of the second version of "The Rise Of Hobo Johnson", Lopes signed to Reprise Records. That year, he won four Sacramento Area Music Awards: Artist of the Year, Best Hip-Hop/Rap, Best Emcee and Best New Artist.
Hobo Johnson and the LoveMakers released a music video on Facebook as part of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's
Tiny Desk Contest
Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of ''All Songs Considered'' host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C.
The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Th ...
on March 7, 2018. The song "Peach Scone" collected millions of views in just a few weeks. Following the attention of the "Peach Scone" video, their album ''The Rise of Hobo Johnson'' charted at #11 on the
''Billboard'' Heatseekers Chart for the week ending March 31, 2018. At this time, Lopes also drew criticism from the Sacramento chapter of
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...
, who accused him of using Oak Park's name without consent and of cultural appropriation. On May 12, they staged a small protest that delayed the beginning of his sold-out show at Sacramento's Ace of Spades nightclub.
While not winning the Tiny Desk Contest, Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers appeared on Tiny Desk on an episode released on September 12, 2018.
In 2018, the band toured North America and Europe and appeared at Australia's
Falls Music & Arts Festival. In 2019, the band appeared at
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in ...
in Manchester, Tennessee.
In 2019 he released the singles "Typical Story" and "UglyKid" from the album ''The Fall of Hobo Johnson'', which was released by Warner Records on September 13, 2019. That same day, EA Sports released the video game ''
NHL 20
''NHL 20'' is an ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Vancouver and published by EA Sports. It was released globally on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on September 13, 2019. It is the 29th installment in the NHL video game series and f ...
'', which featured the single “Typical Story.”
Lopes released the single "I Want to See the World" in June, 2021. He announced that the album ''The Revenge of Hobo Johnson'' would follow later that month.
''The Revenge of Hobo Johnson'' was subsequently released on June 23, 2021.
On 1 August 2021 he released the Album ''Hobo Johnson Alienates His Fanbase''.
In 2022, Lopes canceled several upcoming tours and broke up the LoveMakers band, citing a focus on school over music.
Hobo Johnson & the LoveMakers
![Hobo Johnson at the House of Blues Cleveland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Hobo_Johnson_at_the_House_of_Blues_Cleveland.jpg)
Current members
*Frank Lopes Jr. – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, production
*Derek Lynch – guitar
*Jordan Moore – guitar, keyboards
*David Baez-Lopez – bass guitar
*Ben Lerch – drums
*Jmsey – keyboard, guitar
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Hobo Johnsons 94 Corolla'' (2015)
* ''The Rise of Hobo Johnson'' (2016, re-released in 2018 on
Reprise Records)
* ''The Fall of Hobo Johnson'' (2019,
Warner Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
) No. 99 US, No. 98 UK
* ''The Revenge of Hobo Johnson'' (2021)
*''Hobo Johnson Alienates His Fanbase'' (2021)
Singles
*"Peach Scone" (2018)
*"February 15th" (2018)
*"Typical Story" (2019) – No. 30 US
Hot Rock Songs
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alterna ...
, No. 25 US
Alternative Songs
*"Uglykid" (2019)
*"Subaru Crosstrek XV" (2019)
*"I Want to See the World" (2021)
*"I Want You Back" (2021)
*"You Want A Baby" (2021)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Hobo
Rappers from Sacramento, California
West Coast hip hop musicians
Living people
American rappers of Mexican descent
American musicians of Portuguese descent
21st-century American rappers
1994 births
Reprise Records artists
Warner Records artists
People from Loomis, California