“Alone With Me” by Hopsin

Hopsin is what some people may refer to as a deep or intellectual rapper. That is because his subject matter does not tend to focus on the frivolous things of life but rather more-serious topics, such as mental health or the lack thereof. 

Indeed internal psychological and emotional challenges the rapper has faced are topics he harps on regularly. And such is the case in terms of the lyrics of “Alone With Me”. For here Hop is confronting the issue of having a split personality if you will, i.e. your normal side and then like this dark character lurking deep within. 

More specifically, that dark side sometimes makes an effort to come to the forefront. And this is something which Hopsin actually went through for a couple of years.

So in relaying this story, Hopsin uses a tactic similar to DMX’s 1998 classic “Damien”. That is to say that he actually takes on the role of his own dark side. So what we have is a psychological battle between the rappers own Damien, if you will, and the regular Hopsin which we all know and love.

“Damien”

Damien starts off by letting Hop know that he’s been a part of him since his teenage years, “f–king (him) up mentally”. Or put into layman’s terms, he’s been planting negative thoughts into Hopsin’s mind since his youth. This includes those which make Hop depressed and/or lower his self-esteem. 

For instance, Damien mocks him for being 35 years old yet unmarried. He also makes fun of him for achieving monetary success yet feeling “empty”, as in unfulfilled, on the inside. Then this Damien suggests that Hop might as well commit suicide since, after all, his life isn’t really worth anything in the first place.

The second verse operates along a similar vein. What we’re basically bearing witness is a soliloquy in which Hopsin is using a creative, roundabout way to express his inner insecurities. Indeed such self-revelatory tracks are sort of normal in the music industry in this concurrent era.

Meanwhile the third verse comes off more like an Eminem song, being reminiscent most notably of “Stan” (2000). Here, we have the vocalist picturing the aftermath of a scenario where Hop totally spazzes out and kills himself. 

But in conceptualizing such a horrible fate, he also sort of comes to a conclusion. For it appears that he begins to realize that this Damien actually exists, and it is trying to push him over the edge – something which he obviously didn’t really pick up on before. 

Moreover in the grand scheme of things, his problems aren’t anything that unusual. Or stated differently, Damien wants to make him believe that his life is more messed up than it actually is. But even Hopsin coming to this realization, that he is being manipulated, doesn’t quiet the demon. For it still has the tendency to encourage Hop, in light of issues with his baby’s mom for instance, to really, really hate himself.

At the end of the day…

Ultimately the song concludes with some words being uttered by an Indian mystic known as Sadhguru. And what he is putting forth, simply put, is that we should not give so much power to our thoughts. So apparently that’s what Hopsin has picked up first and foremost throughout this whole ordeal – that even though Damien is there he doesn’t have to entertain him. 

And sadly enough this is something that he learned in the midst of actually wrestling with suicidal thoughts.

Information about “Alone With Me”

This song, which was written and produced by Hopsin, came out on 22 March 2021. It’s existence was first announced, along with news of its music video, on 18 March 2021. 

Said video, which Hopsin described as being “wild”, features the rapper confronting a physical representation of his own self (i.e. two Hopsins). He also went on to thank the clip’s director, Moses Israel, for helping him come out with his personal favorite video thus far.

This label behind this track is one which Hopsin founded himself called Undercover Prodigy. “Alone With Me” is a part of Hopsin’s sixth-studio album, which is entitled “Minor Disturbance”.

Indeed Hopsin has been in the game for a minute and earlier in his career and was previously signed to Ruthless Records, the former label of NWA and other classic West Coast hip-hop acts. 

Being an L.A. native himself, he has been professionally active since 2001 and as of the release of this track, as stated in the lyrics, is 35 years old. His most-successful single to date has been 2016’s “Ill Mind of Hopsin 8”. And throughout his career he has collaborated with the likes of Travis Barker, Tech N9ne and NF.