Hoodie Allen

Steven AJ Markowitz, known by his stage name Hoodie Allen is an American rapper. After graduating in 2010 with a degree in marketing and finance, he worked at Google as an AdWords associate in their Standardized AdWords Reseller Training (START) program. He would leave at 7AM for a bus ride to the Googleplex in Mountain View, work a full day at Google, return home at 6PM, write songs, answer fan emails, and schedule concerts until 2 or 3 AM. Reflecting on this, Allen said, "I was moving so fast, and even while I was at Google there was so much going on that I felt like I was doing two full-time jobs." His dream and passion was music, so when he got opportunities to do live shows, he decided to leave Google.

On his 26th birthday, Hoodie announced the title and cover of his first full-length album, People Keep Talking, along with a pre-order date of August 25th and a release date of October 14th. He has said to have written 24+ songs for the project, and some of their titles and video previews have been posted on social media sites over the past two years. In a surprise twist, Hoodie released his phone number through social media and asked his fans to leave him a voicemail, and said that some of them could be on the album. A contest was also started for those who pre-ordered the album in which they could win prizes such as meeting Hoodie, being in an upcoming music video, and get their name in the album credits. Hoodie has said that he will be releasing new material leading up to the album.

To promote the album, Hoodie is going on a world tour titled People Keeping Talking World Tour, this includes shows in the US, Europe, Canada, and Australia, featuring artists Chiddy Bang and MAX. The first show is scheduled to occur on October 29, 2014, at the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, Michigan, and the tour will extend into 2015. His latest single is entitled, "All About It," featuring Ed Sheeran.

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