Vid Pick: Jon Hope - F.I.S.H. & Coffee Milk

You all know how incredibly picky I am about new hip-hop artists. Less than a handful per year impress me, and this isn’t a “nose in the air” thing, it’s simply that at age 36 I’ve heard a lot of hip-hop, and most everyone sounds like someone I’ve heard in the past. How does an artist get through that wall? By making music that’s radically unique, and, of course, dope.

The first time I heard Jon Hope, he scaled that wall. Poetic, passionate, and with a point to his music, lines like, “This is for you cowards on Instagram who always crop the sadness,” drew me in, as very few rappers are ever willing to admit they feel anything other than joy, or anger.

Check out the video for “F.I.S.H. & Coffee Milk,” which happens to be where that aforementioned line is from, and hear why Jon Hope is an emcee I’m excited about in 2015.