Funk Volume has had a quiet, yet productive 2015. Jarren Benton kicked things off with Slow Motion Volume One. Then, DJ Hoppa and Dizzy Wright followed suit with Hoppa and Friends and The Growing Process. So, it’s only fitting that Hopsin join in on the action. Pound Syndrome marks the Panorama City emcee’s third LP on the imprint, reacclimating the lightning-fast wordsmith two years removed from his last effort, Knock Madness.
Hopsin finds himself at an unfamiliar juncture at this stage of his career. The two prevailing themes of Pound Syndrome are tough love and feeling underappreciated. Hopsin sticks to a first-person narrative for the bulk of the album, speaking to loved ones and enemies alike regarding unappreciation both materially and emotionally. Setting the table on “The Pound (Intro),” he declares: “I’m about to sprout to start a new style’s full of envy / I need to cool down what is in me / Everything I have bottled up pukes out when the pen bleeds.” The lyricism on Pound Syndrome is expectedly dark but, the earnestness of it all makes for a more digestible listening experience.
Lyrical chops notwithstanding, Hopsin is no slouch when it comes to production techniques. A true savant, his beats are multidimensional in their layering, and he even sings hooks on occasion. On the third track, “No Hope,” he scolds friends and an ex-fling for leeching off of him and his success by asking, “Where would you be without me?” The mood of the track matches the downtempo piano melody though, moments like these hardly predominate Pound Syndrome. “Crown Me” is grittily dark with Hopsin doing his best Mystikal impression on the hook, while “Ramona” is a truly bumpin’ number that sees him and Jarren Benton humorously spitting rhymes about an obsessive female stalker. As a whole, the tonal mood of the album is consistent, but the lyricism is an emotional roller coaster.
Hopsin has an excellent written voice. Time and time again, he displays his lyrical acrobatics going bar-for-bar and never mincing words. On “Fort Collins” with Dizzy Wright, Hop apologizes to the Colorado fans he jilted while on the Knock Madness Tour in 2014. The mood makes a change for the better on “FV Till I Die,” as he returns to the infectious braggadocio: “I shot a video with my nigga Tech and B.o.B / I went from feeling lonely to how does everyone know me? / 2012 I made the XXL Freshman list / I know that this fuckin’ game was gon’ be mine when I stepped in it.” In a sign of his mindfulness, Hopsin touches on a number of other topics. “Ill Mind of Hopsin 7” is angry, smart and emotional all at once, as he tackles religion and government corruption before speaking directly to God on the last verse. “Fly,” meanwhile, is a socially conscious, spoken word-inspired rap with uplifting messages of self-love: “Focus on your life and the path you’re pursuing / Cause y’all too busy worried about what Kim Kardashian’s doing / Check it, most of this shit that you sheep are watching on television / Is fake as fuck and is not real, I rebel against it.” Throughout the album, this message is articulated in more ways than one, but here it rings through exceptionally powerful.
On Pound Syndrome, Hopsin reaffirms his status as a master orator and a dual threat rapper-producer to be reckoned with. The bars are up to snuff and his musical ear is only getting sharper. Some tracks fall flat in the grand scheme of things, but mostly, Pound Syndrome is a wonderfully chaotic immersion into the ill mind of Hopsin.
Dope album. Hopsin always delivers.
Raw remains to be his best album yet, but this has great songs as well. Production has gotten better.
raw is a project I feel he is most ashamed in due to the fact he promoted immaturity and not pushing yourself to achieve what your capable in life, this album expresses how he feels as a wiser and more in touch human being. If you don’t like this album I feel you have settled in life whether it be emotionally or professionally.
Matt took psych at a community college and thinks he’s Socrates now.
Really, who listens to wack shit like this?
middle schoolers
When you realize that guy likes yeezus. Ye’s worst album by far
People want real original music instead of the repeat bullshit in rap today
Great album
Dope!
If you don’t like this, you probably listen to Young Thug.
don’t be ignorant
Young Thug is actually good at what he does though.
Good shit from hop, been a good year from FV.
It’s better than Knock Madness… That’s all you need to know lol.
Real
The realest in the game right now.
Best Hopsin’s work imo
Nah, Knock Madness is his best album so far.
Expected Knock Madness.
Got like 4 dope tracks and rest was hit and miss at times.
Highlight Song: Ramona ft. Jarren Benton
Worse Song: Crown Me
Disappointed but not to the point where i’ll stop listening.
Knock Madness was great.
RAW was great.
Gazing At The Moonlight was great.
He just hit a wall on this one. Not a big deal.
Crown Me worst song? What is wrong with you? Loser. Learn to be lyrical you little dweebis and stop dwelling in your moms basement. Probably enjoy listening to Lil Gayne. You’re not a real fan stop acting like you are. Kid.
knock madness was shit bro lmao, this shit reminds me of older story telling hop and shit and he brings in mad funny tracks which are probably my favorite now lmfao
“Crown Me” was dope af . . . you probably don’t like it because you think it has a mainstream vibe to it and that is NO reason not to like it. That was one of his best songs on the album.
Best album ever. Period. Illmatic doesn’t even come close to this. Pure genius. Thanks for dropping this hot shit Hop!
Pff..
wtf o.o
saying this beats Illmatic is insanely stupid, yes it was a good album, hell no that it beats that classic tho.
Shit was wack
Knock Madness was Great.
Pound Syndrome is Good.
Dope
One of Hop’s best albums. Definitely a lot better than Knock Madness. He redeemed himself on this one and most certainly stepped his game up in different ways. It’s up there with RAW. Dope album, maybe 2 songs were ehhh, the others were great.
Dope project from Hop!
Only person that will actually last from FV is Dizzy. Was a fan of Hop, but after these two album releases, I realized he’s hella cornier than I previously believed. Stop singing those terrible hooks, learn to write harder bars, please stop using your own production, it’s wack. Hop on the beats Dizzy spits on.
Amazing album.
Sick album with sick songs and real af!
Hopsin is dope.
amazing
So good’
I think this is his 2nd best album behind RAW. He’s really stepped it up in terms of production definitely. He just seemed to give much more effort into this album compared to Knock Madness. 4/5 for me. Very good album
I really don’t like Hopsin. He comes off highly corny and uses production that sounds like some late 90s Eminem or Dr Dre track that was used to wipe Eminem’s ass and tossed in the toilet because it sounded so shitty. However this album. The production actually sounds like it came from today and is honestly very well produced. I like it. Some of the tracks on this album I also really like but there are still a few horribly corny songs too. (Romana or some shit) I couldn’t even listen to that song. Lyrically (aside from being corny at times) Hopsin has greatly improved since past albums. Hopsin still likes to hate on rappers that are better than him though.
+Stellar production
+Some good tracks
+Decent message
-Still corny at times
-A lot of terrible hooks
Overall I’m feeling a decent to strong 6 on this one. Far better than anything he’s dropped before.
Hopsin is a corny guy, of course his music and style is gonna be kinda corny. Y’all just need to get used to that, because that cornyness is part of what makes him great and different.
Decent to strong 6. Lmao. So are you a professional at critiquing music? Moron.
Pretty dope, I’d like to see Hop spit some hard bars over some dope beats tho, like his new track crown me, and his older one rip your heart out. Orrrrrrr his freestyle with tim westwood. That shit was fucking fire, I want to see him make more joints like that. I’d def love to see him collab with Kato on a beat, cause that’d be fire I know it. Alsooo always keep up with the socially conscious shit. But yeah this album was pretty dope, def hit every emotion in me, from sad, angry, scared, confused, to happy, pumped and loving. I’m def going to listen to it a few more times, but so far it’s been dope real shit, keep it up my dude.
black Eminem. verbatim, “I’ll puke, eat it and freak you/ battle? I’m too weeded to speak to”….
like Joseph responded I’m impressed that any one can get paid $4075 in 4 weeks on the internet . straight from the source,,,,,, MONEY-HOURS.COM
loved the album, but i want to know who Mr. Jones is, also i think the best song was FV till i die
Mr.Jones is WAX. Wax was hot last summer and turned down a deal from FV
His Second best album next to Raw.
I guarantee all the people that say Hop/this album is whack, doesn’t know what real hip hop is. And to all the people saying he’s corny…you must be mistaking Corny for Realness.
absolute king
I wanna be a rapper like Hopsin. He’s as enlightening as Lupe and Kendrick
Give me a read and tell me what you think:
The game is full of clowns ima smash that silly shit,
Finna end all the hate from my snap chat nemesis,
and the wack rap gimmick shit
I’m a beast they keep me locked up in the stewy,
From the streets where you can catch a bullet or a cock up in the booty,
Hopsin look at my bro johnny white hes awsome bro
Always good to hear a new Hopsin album
Pretty good album overall beats have stepped up tremendously
love this album
**Warning** I am not a Hopsin Hater. This is a first reaction, so I did not have time too fully analyze his album.
1. The Pound (Intro) – Great Start to the Album. It got me in the mood. 9/10
2. Forever Ill – It is interesting. Nice beat. It adds a new flare to the old Hopsin. The singing hook to me was funny. Hopsin’s not a singer, but he manages to keep me entertained throughout the entire song. 8/10
3. No Hope – Had a slow start. It has some sentiments from Knock Madness. Its a traditional Hopsin sad/love song. Its a slower pace from the first two. Slow ending as well. 7/10
4. Ramona – The beginning is a little different. The song doesn’t actually start until twenty seconds in. I thought this piece is hilarious. Its centered around this crazy stalker. Jarren Benton’s part was funny too. It was a little overdone by the end with the Ramona impression, but I found it to be funny. Some may not enjoy the impression as much. 8/10
5. Mr. Jones – The hook was pretty catchy. It is mostly about an envious rapper. The beat is slightly repetitive for my taste. 7.5/10
6. Fort Collins – Great start. It is about a dark time of his while he was on tour. Dizzy’s feature in the song was great. Him and Hopsin work very well together. 8.5/10
7. No Words (skit) – It is really funny. He made fun of mainstream rap nowadays. 10/10
8. Crown Me – It has grown on me since he first put it out in June. I did not care for it too much initially, but after a second listen or a third… It grew on me. Its probably one of my favorite songs right now. The beat is awesome. His satire is also a plus. 9/10
9. Ill Mind of Hopsin 7 – Out of all his Ill Mind’s this is not my favorite. I like four the best. His message is pretty clear here. It is preachy but I think he wanted to get more and more serious after each Ill Mind. The song, on another note, is very real and relatable. 7.5/10
10. FV Til I Die – The beat is different. It has a slow start, but it picks up 2 minutes in. He talks about his career from his perspective a little more. 8/10
11. My Love – Its a more positive love song compared to No Hope. It is much more optimistic than his past love songs. 7.5/10
12. No Fucks Given – I enjoyed the story and that it was relatable. The beat got really good a minute in, and managed to make the song very catchy and unique. 8.5/10
13. Fly – It is pretty preachy but it has a solid message. He bashes how monopoly’s control our lives. Its a very relatable topic. 7.5/10
14. I Just Can’t – He just bashed everyone here. It was funny to me. Many may hate on him because of his dissing but I find it hilarious. He’s just kidding around. 8/10
Overall, this album is probably his best work so far. His production value is way higher. I really love his stuff, and I know many may disagree, but to me he was one of the most entertaining artists out there.
Average Score: 8.2
nice album
Not gonna shock the rap world, but its a solid album
Album is awesome. Hop continues to up his game.
5
Great album!
great fuckin album…
Everyone, please get Pound Syndrome or at least stream it. It’s absolutely amazing.
Loved it
I thought it was awesome!
4.5/5
Hop did better than Knock Madness, thats for sure.
There were only a few songs i wasn’t feeling, other than that, this album bangs!
Honestly, prob one of the best albums to drop this far in 2015. No doubt.
LMAOOOO that track with him and Jarren was great! One of the highlights from the album for sure
Sooooo underrated lol. Go cop this banger
Kind of a let down compared to knock madness but was a good attempt
Are you kidding me. Knock Madness was fucking awful. There was maybe 4 or 5 good tracks but the rest was shit.
Dope
Didnt this only drop like 2 days ago?…. Damn HipHopDX “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it”
lol. how long do they need to wait to review an album? Should film reviewers watch the film 10 times and wait a week after its release to review it as well? Your ideas are flawed.
Lyrics-8/10, beats-7/10, subject matter- 7/10, muscles-10/10. All in all it was a good album from a nice chocolate man no homo.
No homo won’t save you here queer-boy.
I smoked a lot of crack to this album must say Idr anything but no words skit very funny hella slapped understood all the words oddly
Bruuuuuuuuuh
Flawless album
Dope
dope
Pre’ mean
4.5/5
Dopest album
Album was great. Lyricism is on point and the beats are a lot better than knock madness. This album speaks volumes if you can interpret the messages buried in the songs. In order to really enjoy the album you have to know the way hop uses lyrics to voice his opinions and not be expecting straight bangers on every track. Favorite track would have to be No Words just because of how real it was. “Shit be dope bruh!”
Messages buried in the songs? dude has no idea about subtlety! his messages are too on your face and preachy, that’s why people are calling him corny.
He can spit though.
Don’t see the hate for Hop. Dude’s corny at times, but you’re lying through your teeth if you say he can’t spit or flow. Hop’s got bars no doubt. This album proves it. I’d say it’s ONE OF the best albums this year so far. FV be doing work this year.
best album of 2015 one of the best rappers at the moment
Hella lame fool, que la cienga way fool, best song is no words fool I swear omm fool
I loved this album and almost every song on knock madness niggas b sleepin on hop but he speaks the painful truth no one will that’s y he’s always gonna be the greatest crown him his a real prince
.
NICE ULBUM
Some people jump on any album thats not highly commercial even if its average. This album deserves the 3.5 they gave it and nothing higher. The production could be much better. When people where comparing him to eminem it was ridiculous. With the right production he could be much better but still wouldnt reach eminems level. Its a decent album but one that will be forgotten by most and removed from their librarys within 3 months.
i think it deserves a 4/5
this album bangs son!
a
a
safsaf
Awesome album
This albums so fuckin dope. Best album yet
Flame
I loved it. Few songs aren’t top tier. But overall this entire thing is great.
Damn HOP you’re the future of the new school
Best album he came out with is “Pound Syndrome”. Every track speaks a story and makes you think.
This is a modern day Classic in my opinion. Every track is FIRE!
better than future
The skit on the album was better than most his songs
amazing album
Raw
Honestly this album was wack had like 2-3 good songs on it. 2/5
Dude talks about real stuff
wouldn’t you know, the kinda stuff real hip-hop was made of a long time ago.
FV til I D.I.E. … great album!!!
Dope as ever. All you haters are just mad that he dissed your favorite artist (who is garbage).
The artists hopsin disses are better than hopsin himself
You’re retarded nigga
Solid Album, the fact that Ill mind 7 was on here makes it a 4/5
Complete garbage.
The most honest dude in hip hop. People out there don’t even realize the genius of Hopsin is that you actually hear his thoughts developing throughout a track. His words are so engaging because hes not claiming to know the answers. He just wants you along for the ride while he tries to figure it all out himself. Pound Syndrome is honest, brutal, sincere and at times awkward, dirty, and emotional. But it would be a hard sell to label it fake, contrived, or empty. Hopsin IS whats missing in most rap today
love it
Dope LP. Hope he continues making more.
Cool 🙂
great! already waiting for his next album.
Dope one
That Nigga Hopsin gayer than Liberace
hopsin just kicks ass nothing more to say
Shit is so trash, nigga can rap but cant make a good album to save his life.
sick album
Great album
Best album in 2015 FV Bitch!!!!
This album had some very good songs, but also some very bad, corny songs. 7/10
Wack…
The Pound (Intro)- 8/10
Forever Ill – 5/10 terrible hook
No Hope – 4/10 so bitter
Ramona- 5/10 again with the terrible hook
Mr. Jones – 8/10
Fort Collins – 9/10
Crown Me – 9/10
Ill Mind Of Hopsin 7 – 6/10 sounded like a religion temper tantrum
FV till I Die – 7/10
My Love – 2/10 never make a song like this ever again Hopsin
No Fucks Given – 6/10 meh
Fly – 6/10
I Just Can’t 7/10
Overall : 6/10
Hopsin has some really great songs on this album, but there were also a lot of boring and Corny songs too with some terrible hooks.
Love it
Honestly I expected Better. Hopsin is overrated in my opinion. I was briefly hyped during the intro and then it slowed down quick. Dude needs better production perhaps do a collaboration with black milk, 9th wonder, or madlib. Hopefully this will grow on me at a few more listens.
Yeah and they called him a production savant hahaha… like what?
Lol I had no idea that HipHopDx was full of Hopsin stans.
This was not a good effort, and did you really just call him a savant? Most people could make the beats he creates after about two years on fruity loops….
and if you’re going to praise his lyrical dexterity, why would you use lines that aren’t even that good as examples?
Horrible album Fly is the worst song in hip hop of the year the cornyness in that song is just shocking.
Good enough to beat mgk
Crown Me was this album’s only redeeming feature…and it wasn’t redeeming enough to make it a 2. He needs to stop trying to be deep and philosophical. It’s just not him.
Coming from a Hopsin Stan, who’s opinion is that Knock Madness is one of the greatest albums of the decade and been to a incredible unforgettable concert of his, this album is still dissapointing. It’s more 50-50 type than neutral. It has 7 terrible-bad filler’s, that sounds like he’s running out of ideas, while the 7 bangers don’t even match the Knock Madness level. In a positive perspective, it’s great to see that Hopsin tries something new, Raw was early-mid 2000’s style, Knock Madness was horrorcore beast in the booth, while this one is the trendier trap taste. Bangers: Crown Me, Ill Mind 7, No Fucks Given, Fly, I Just Can’t. Fillers: The Pound (Intro), No Hope, Mr. Jones, FV Till I Die, My Love. The ones that’s really enjoyable but could have done more professional; Forever Ill (flow is perfect but lyrics has been better), Ramona (he could have done the girl’s voice better), Fort Collins (nearly a banger but kinda akward 2nd half verse from him, while Dizzy’s clever). And who can forget No Words, it deserves to have the seat as the 8th banger here, but it is a skit. Overall 3/5 -average. – Still better than anything Future/Young Thug/etc has ever put out 🙂
This album shows a lot of meaning especially relating to real life
loved it