Hopie Spitshard

Hopie Spitshard is not your average rapper. Really. First, she independently released her debut album, The Diamond Dame, in July 2008, immediately garnering national attention and a nomination for URB’s Next 1000. Then, Hopie did a 180 & took a short hiatus to earn her doctorate from U.C. Hastings, emerging only to release 2 music videos & a T-shirt series w/ Adapt Clothing, & to perform at Paid Dues in April 2010. Now, as the ink on her law degree dries, Hopie is again returning to the music scene with an eclectic body of work, her second full-length album, Raw Gems
The pint-sized, tattooed academic has always carved her own, decisively rebellious path. has always carved her own decidedly rebellious path. To distract from realities of her rocky start in Manila, & a difficult, short-lived childhood in San Francisco, Hopie dove headfirst into music. To date, Hopie is self-taught &/or classically trained in violin, voice, music composition, spoken word, drums, & guitar. Still, Hopie's primary allegiance remains far from the ivory towers of music theory, lying markedly in experimentation with rap. In fact, Hopie’s brand of hip hop is anything but sullen, or conventional.

Raw Gems is an experiment. It’s an ode to inventive hip hop, drawing influence from 90s-era underground rap, dubstep and outer space. It’s an album made for a hip hop fan by a hip hop fan, boasting features ranging from anointed up-and-comers to pioneers of independent rap. Armed with inventive wordplay & no-holds-barred beatmaking by the same producer behind The Diamond Dame, 6Fingers, Raw Gems is sure to prove that 2 years hitting the books hasn’t derailed Hopie’s left brained schemes or creativity in the least.