Hopsin
March 23, 2014
El Rey Theater- Los Angeles, CA
After touring for 3 months, Hopsin brought his USA run of the Knock Madness Tour to a close on March 23, 2014 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, CA. Fans of all ages and different races gathered at the El Rey, anxiously waiting to get inside the venue. To their surprise, Hopsin came out in front and started skateboarding in front of the fans!
Once inside, the fans flocked to the front of the stage and were kept entertained by the openers, ES and Gritty. Closing in on 10pm, the curtains rose and DJ Hoppa greeted the fans. He mixed songs for about 5 minutes, getting the fans hyped up and ready. Hopsin was finally introduced and fans went crazy.
The fans were truly die-hard fans because they knew and sang every song at the top of their lungs, many times, overpowering Hopsin’s vocals. Within a couple songs, Hopsin had the fans put their hands in the air and stage dove into them. He performed Trampoline while standing atop of the fans. Not long after, Hopsin brought out a special guest, Dizzy Wright who performed Independent Livingwith Hopsin and the fans got crazier than before.
Multiple times in the set, Hopsin brought fans up on stage and the first occasion, he picked 3 girls and 3 guys to come on stage and dance with him as he performed Give me That Money. The second time, he brought up 4 guys to rap with him. He performed a verse and one by one, each fan had their chance to freestyle to the fans. 
Throughout the set, Hopsin interacted with the fans, high-fiving them and grabbing onto them as he rapped. He performed songs including Hop is Back, Am I Psycho, Nollie Tre Flip, Nocturnal Rainbows and more. There was no set list so when fans started chanting for Ill Mind of Hopsin 5, he delivered. Every several songs, Hopsin would cough a little, possibly because of a sickness but that didn’t stop him from putting on a high energy performance.
As his set neared a end, he brought 1 more fan up to sing the second verse of How You Like Me Now. The fan came on stage and was told to remove his hat, chain and everything in his pockets. Hopsin showed the nervous, star struck fan how to hold the microphone correctly so it wouldn’t hit him in the face when he crowd surfed. The song began and as Hopsin’s verse ended, he guided the fan to the edge of the stage to crowd surf and rap the other verse. The fan jumped and rode the crowd all the way to the back of the venue and then back to the front of the stage.
Hopsin thanked the crowd and began to leave the stage when Dizzy Wright said “Hopsin, as a friend and a fan, I want to hear one more song!” Hopsin looked back at him and said he can’t because of his lungs were hurting. Wright asked for the song again and said he would be there backing him up on the vocals. DJ Hoppa intervened and made it easier for everyone by just playing the song. Hopsin got right back into it and gave it his all for the last song of the night, Hip Hop Sinister.
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
