Biography
Born Frank Lopes in Sacramento during 1996, the future Hobo Johnson had already put out two albums of quirky, affable, pop-infused hip-hop before a live clip of “Peach Scone” exploded online in 2018 through NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. The resulting surge propelled his third album, The Fall of Hobo Johnson, into the Billboard Top 100 upon its 2019 release, and The Revenge of Hobo Johnson followed in 2021.
Expelled from his family home as a teenager, Lopes briefly lived in his car and took the name Hobo Johnson. While employed at a pizza restaurant, sleeping in a Toyota Corolla, and using a nearby gym for showers, the nineteen-year-old began shaping his musical identity, writing candid tracks about pursuing romance and navigating ordinary setbacks. He moved to Oak Park, California, in 2015, issued his debut album 1994 Toyota Corolla, and followed it with The Rise of Hobo Johnson in 2017.
In March 2018 he and a circle of friends posted a video of “Peach Scone” as an entry in NPR’s Tiny Desk submissions contest; within weeks the clip had amassed millions of views. That exposure lifted The Rise of Hobo Johnson onto the Billboard charts, where it peaked at number 11 on the Heatseekers list. Johnson issued the single “Typical Story” in June 2019, spent the fall touring extensively across North America, and watched The Fall of Hobo Johnson reach the Billboard Top 100. The Revenge of Hobo Johnson arrived two years later.
Expelled from his family home as a teenager, Lopes briefly lived in his car and took the name Hobo Johnson. While employed at a pizza restaurant, sleeping in a Toyota Corolla, and using a nearby gym for showers, the nineteen-year-old began shaping his musical identity, writing candid tracks about pursuing romance and navigating ordinary setbacks. He moved to Oak Park, California, in 2015, issued his debut album 1994 Toyota Corolla, and followed it with The Rise of Hobo Johnson in 2017.
In March 2018 he and a circle of friends posted a video of “Peach Scone” as an entry in NPR’s Tiny Desk submissions contest; within weeks the clip had amassed millions of views. That exposure lifted The Rise of Hobo Johnson onto the Billboard charts, where it peaked at number 11 on the Heatseekers list. Johnson issued the single “Typical Story” in June 2019, spent the fall touring extensively across North America, and watched The Fall of Hobo Johnson reach the Billboard Top 100. The Revenge of Hobo Johnson arrived two years later.
Albums
Singles
