Hollis Herndon-Frazier, more famously known as 2hollis, is quite the polarizing artist as of late; he is the American teenager’s favorite self-made, not-so-nepo-baby of the season. For clarification, Frazier was born to two music executive parents and grew up in Skrillex’s presence, which paved a pristine road to a future career in music. But aside from a privileged upbringing, Frazier appears to have semi-organically garnered a cult following within less than a year, and exhibits innate talent as a performing artist. I was truly blown away at his confident stage presence, his boundless energy, and his palpably unique ethos as a musician. Granted, 2hollis could have undergone extensive media training before his major debut as an artist, model, and public figure. However, some people are just born to be stars, and 2hollis seems to be one of them.
Freshly 21 years old, 2hollis’s dedication to his craft stems back to his early teens, when his original moniker for releasing music was drippySoup. However, it wasn’t until the release of his sophomore album, 2, and his subsequent support as an opening act for Ken Carson’s A Great Chaos tour, that his audience grew exponentially. Since then, 2hollis has amassed dedicated fans who have sold out his entire debut tour, a rare and fascinating feat for a relatively underground act. For this run, fellow musical collaborator (and self-made, not-so-nepo-baby) Nate Sib is 2hollis’s opener, the perfect choice for a seamless transition between sets. And seamless it was; both artists coolly performed their repertoire, with Nate Sib’s smooth Justin Timberlake and early Justin Bieber-esque falsetto vocals easing the audience into a trancelike state. 2hollis followed promptly after, stunning his sweaty, restless fans with gorgeous stage lighting and impressive choreography. Frazier would travel across stage during each song, engage with his crowd in a manner that only seasoned performers would, and experienced next to no vocal slip-ups; in terms of intonation, at least. Indeed, while a majority of his vocals were supported by an autotuned backing track, which is customary for rap-oriented acts, Frazier was able to successfully jumpstyle and shuffle nonstop and still manage to sing in full voice for his entire one-hour performance. Industry plant allegations aside, one must admit how commendable it is that Frazier is able to perform with so much energy. Truly, my first impression of his performance was that he was as captivating of a dancer as a member of the corps of the Houston Ballet, albeit a strikingly different style—he’s that unexpectedly good.
Sonically, 2hollis is as eclectic as an artist can get in this day and age. His sources of inspiration are very clearly indicated throughout his discography, whether it be through interpolation or sampling. His most recent leak, performed and debuted in full on this tour, is a song that samples Kanye West’s “All Of The Lights.” West is notorious for denying samples, but it is fairly likely that due to Frazier’s industry connections (and Kylie Jenner using “jeans” as a song for her Instagram story), his sample may very well be cleared. However, only time can tell for now. Previous examples of 2hollis directly paying his respects to his predecessors include sampling “Char” by Crystal Castles and interpolating Drake and Lil Wayne in two rare, deleted tracks. While those were not included in this tour’s setlist, 2hollis knew to perform his most well-received songs, as a majority of his audience sang nearly every word of every track the entire evening. Naturally, there was a well-deserved, three-song encore consisting of a brand new song and fan favorites: “stop shit,” “light,” and “jeans”.
Afterwards, crowds of loyal fans camped outside of the venue in the chilly 50 degree weather, awaiting a moment to greet their idol up close. Even with venue staff’s warnings of Frazier’s absence, fans stood their ground and waited for an hour upon his and Nate Sib’s return. For the first show of their debut tour, 2hollis and Nate Sib received an overwhelming amount of support from such dedicated fans, and at this rate, it is only a matter of time until they achieve mainstream status.
