Steven Adam Markowitz[1] (born August 19, 1988), known professionally as Hoodie Allen, is an American rapper from Plainview, New York.

[2] After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, he began working at Google before ultimately quitting to pursue a full-time career in hip hop music.

His debut studio album People Keep Talking (2014), peaked at number eight and spawned the single "All About It" (featuring Ed Sheeran), his sole entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

His second album, Happy Camper (2016), peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200, while his third, The Hype (2017), narrowly entered the chart.

He is regarded as a preeminent artist in frat rap, a subgenre of hip hop lyrically centered around coming of age hedonism.

[3] Steven Markowitz was born on Long Island and raised in a Jewish household in Plainview along with his brother, Daniel.

[5][6] He would leave at 7:00 am for a bus ride to the Googleplex in Mountain View, work a full day at Google, return home at 6:00 pm, write songs, answer fan emails, and schedule concerts until 2:00 or 3:00 AM.

[11] The album was largely produced by RJF, and sampled songs from Death Cab for Cutie, Flight Facilities, Marina and the Diamonds, Ellie Goulding, and Two Door Cinema Club.

Hoodie spent five months developing the album, building tracks from scratch with his producer, RJF, rather than using sampled beats.

[26] On February 11, 2013, XXL premiered the music video for "Cake Boy," the first single off of Hoodie's upcoming mixtape.

[28] A week later, the music video for "Fame Is For Assholes" (abbreviated FIFA) premiered on YouTube which features rapper Chiddy Bang.

[29] Hoodie commented, "I wanted to write a track that mixed a classic doo-wop vibe with the more upbeat hip-hop style that my fans have come to love.

During the Cruisin' USA Tour, Hoodie directed the audience to chant that they wanted to see him on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

[32] Hoodie performed his new single "Make It Home" on Fuse alongside Kina Grannis which was released on April 30.

[citation needed] The EP's guitar work was composed, recorded and produced by Our Last Night guitarist Matt Wentworth.

The lead single off of Hoodie's debut studio album, People Keep Talking, was released on May 7, 2014, titled "Show Me What You're Made Of."

It premiered along with its music video, which parodied the film Happy Gilmore, and featured fellow rapper D-WHY and Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe.

[citation needed] The commercial success of People Keep Talking is considered a development in the mainstreaming of frat rap.