On a Saturday afternoon, I made Hookz get down on my level. My 4’11 level to be more specific. We sat on some stairs located at the back of a mall. Watching cars go into parking lots and smelling the cigarettes of employees on break.
Shawn Hooks was born in New York City and raised for a short while in North Carolina.
“It explains my charm and my manners.” The 24 year old rapper chuckled. “Very cordial.” He has been recording and posting his music for 3 years. Oddly enough, he has not released any EPs, mix tapes or albums. Not yet, anyway. For now, each track is unique. An individual. The beats to most of his tracks may be gentle but what he has to say is not. Hookz talks about relationship problems, poverty, police brutality, and growing up in New York City.
“I’m going through all these situations in my life and that’s what’s going into my music.”
He describes his music as heartfelt. “[The] true meaning of an artist is to paint a picture as vivid as you want others to see it.” Hookz does more than just paint a picture in your mind.
Just like New York City, his music is genuine. In “My Way Out”, you can hear Hookz pour his soul into this particular track. It lays out the struggles of a kid living in the projects on a rainy day. His description of each misfortunes is raw and intimate. Things and events that people see everyday and can identify with. His hope for something better become your desire as well. The end of the track features Laurence Winston. Winston puts into perspective that there will always be an obstacle or person in the way of someones attempt at a way out.
Hookz does not only limit himself with male characters. In his track “Diamond”, he tells a narrative of the misfortunes of a young woman. As he is reporting each event of her life, you start sympathizing with her. Recognizing that this young woman’s idea of love has been distorted by society and the men in her life. “All she wants to do is party and bullshit.” She starts using liquor to numb her self and forget about the men she has been with. It’s a cautionary tail for young women and in-directly told his listeners to know their worth.
Hookz is a hopeless romantic. At the moment, his heart and his love is in music. I should know. He stood me up one night at a party. Which now he owes me a drink for. He is completely devoted to her and is currently working on 2 projects. One of his next tracks is titled “OG”. Old Greats. It will be his homage to the great narrators of hip hop. “[I’m] saying thanks for raising a nigga like me.” Another new track will be more personal. “I got the ugliest hand in the world” He raises his right hand and laughs. On the side of the back of his hand is a patch of wrinkled skin. “I burnt my hand saving my friend. I use to be super conscious [about it] back in the day, but now I’m straight. I’m about to record a song called ‘Beauty’. Even though it’s not the prettiest part [of my body] to look at, it’s a part of me.”
He has already collaborated with a couple of artists, but he is really looking forward in collaborating with Mick Jenkins one day. “He just put out a new project and I fell in love with it!” He told me eagerly. Another artist he’s hoping to collaborate with is fellow Queens native, Aaron Knight. “It’s cool to see what other people are thinking about, how their minds work when it comes to music. What they think about it.” He also plans to give back to his community in the future as well. If he doesn’t do enough already by coaching a basketball team and flag football. “I try my best to install my personality into them. Reaching out to the kids is super important.”
We have to be very patient and wait until Hookz releases any new tracks or music videos. The anticipation of a full album or even an EP is worse. With the promise of still following the same set of principles that are universal from his old work, we can only hope that we will get more stories that we can put ourselves into or commiserate with his characters. Hookz is more than just a hip hop artist. His artwork touches everyone on an intimate level. He is a story teller that we call all be mesmerized with.
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