The Break Presents: Popp Hunna

Struggle can inspire greatness and open up doors to success—even if it’s internal conflict. Back when he was 17 years old, a short three years ago, Popp Hunna made a song about his breakup with a then-girlfriend. He made the track because he couldn’t get over it, and the small but notable feedback he received from those around him made Popp feel confident in his music-making abilities.

The next year, the then-aspiring rapper went to work on his first project, One Year Later, which dropped in January of 2020. The effort features the tinkly track “I’m Single,” one of the first songs that got him some traction and included the blueprint of Popp’s style: fun, celebratory, melody-driven rap that seamlessly works in the darker side of things.

The “rock star” song that officially put him on the map dropped soon after. “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)” arrived in October of 2020, with its accompanying TikTok dance challenge following soon after—there are now over 26 million TikTok videos using Popp’s banger. The track and dance was so popular that it became the signature celebration of Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. At its core, “Adderall (Corvette Corvette)” is a fun dance song, but Popp’s verse and sing-song approach to hooks adds to the appeal. As of now, the song has over 46 million streams on Spotify, and the remix, which features hometown hero Lil Uzi Vert, tacks on another 27 million streams. It’s clear Popp has himself a certified hit.

However, some trouble lied ahead. In late December of 2020, as the song continued to blow up, paperwork was leaked to the internet that allegedly included info of a then-14-year-old Popp being interviewed by the police after the murder of a classmate in 2015. The young man was allegedly shot and killed in front of Popp, his mother and several others. Once this info went public, an image began circulating online that showed Popp allegedly sharing a screenshot of an Instagram DM that included a message from Lil Uzi Vert asking him to be removed from Mud Baby, Popp’s days-old EP at the time. “I’m about to just quit rapping all that paper work just fucked my whole reputation up,” Popp allegedly wrote over the screenshot of Uzi’s DM, sharing it in an Instagram Story. Uzi still remains on the EP on DSPs, which leads many fans to believe the photo of the DM was fake.

Popp hasn’t addressed talk of the paperwork since it began making waves on the ’net. As of press time, the 20-year-old rapper doesn’t really have much of a comment on it, sharing that he’s opted to let his music speak for him, and using his “tunnel vision” to stay focused. Either way, his buzz has maintained, and there is still significant interest in his upcoming new music.

Now, Popp Hunna is this week’s featured artist in XXL‘s The Break.

Age: 20

Hometown: Philadelphia

I grew up listening to: “I listened to Drake and Dej Loaf growing up. I liked Drake because he spoke on different things in his music, and I like Dej Loaf because she came out with a unique sound that I never heard before.”

My style’s been compared to: “Music-wise, I haven’t really heard anything. But as far as appearance, everybody was saying Roddy Ricch. Now that I got some brand new hair, everybody is saying Lil Tjay. They just won’t stop.”

I’m going to blow up because: “I seen Kobe Bryant’s daughters dancing to my song. That was crazy. Seeing Obama daughter, seeing that stuff just motivated me even more. Everything is just crazy, man. I know for sure I’m going in the right direction, if they dancing to it.”

What’s your most slept-on song, and why?: “It was a few songs on my project, that I felt were slept on. There was a song on my project called ‘Congratulations,’ that was slept-on. I mean, that’s how I feel. I’m just the person that’s making the music.”

My standout records to date have been: “Obviously ‘Adderall (Corvette, Corvette).’ The song before ‘Adderall,’ called ‘I’m Single.'”

My standout moments to date have been: “Working with [Lil] Uzi [Vert], honestly. That’s my biggest moment.”

Most people don’t know: “I’m not a rapper, it’s bigger than that. I’m a pop star, man.”

I’m going to be the next: “Pop star.”

Follow Popp Hunna on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Standouts:

“Adderall (Corvette Corvette) Remix” featuring Lil Uzi Vert

“Take Off”

“Mud Baby”

Mud Baby