2hollis has released Pirouette, his fifth album, on Interscope Records today, November 11, with a cover hand-drawn by the Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano. The Chicago-born rapper and producer is 22.
The release completes a rollout that began with the summer singles “Hurt” and “Sex” and continued with “Warhorse.” According to the label’s announcement in September, the first two songs point to a more romantic and expressive direction while keeping the electronic production and pop songwriting heard on his recent records.
Amano on drawing 2hollis
Amano said the match felt natural. “There is a delicate, sensitive quality to 2hollis that aligned perfectly with the image I had in mind for the artwork,” he said in the announcement. He added: “Rather than having to adapt my style to fit him, I was able to portray him naturally within my own world.”
That fits an artist who treats his public persona as a character. 2hollis has said he likes keeping things “a little theatrical,” and he has pointed to Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle as an influence on how he presents himself.
From bedroom producer to Interscope
For readers just catching up, here is the short version of how Hollis Parker Frazier-Herndon got here:
- 2018: Starts producing in high school under the name Drippysoup, after learning Ableton from online tutorials.
- 2022 to 2024: Self-releases three albums, White Tiger, 2 and Boy; the last one leads to an Interscope deal.
- April 4, 2025: Star, his first major-label album, reaches No. 11 on the US dance albums chart.
- 2025: Opens for Lorde on her Ultrasound World Tour.
- March 2026: Posts a concert film of his October 27, 2025 show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles to YouTube.
- September 22, 2026: Announces Pirouette.
- November 11, 2026: Pirouette comes out on digital, vinyl and CD.
He grew up around music. His father is John Herndon, drummer of the Chicago band Tortoise, and his mother founded a PR firm and co-founded the label Owsla. The family moved from Chicago to Los Angeles when he was about 10.
Where Pirouette sits in his sound
His music has been tagged as electropop, rage, hyperpop and electroclash, labels he has mostly brushed off. He has cited Skrillex, Salem, Bladee and Yung Lean as influences, and has openly credited the Swedish collective Drain Gang as a big reason he started making music at all. That lineage links him to another release we covered this week, Ecco2k setting a November 12 date for his solo album Echo.
He has also said that after Star he started focusing more on vocals and songwriting, after years when production felt like the main point. Pirouette is the first full record made in that frame of mind.
His profile has been rising outside his own releases as well. Ken Carson reworked his track “girl” as “ShadesOn” in July, and that song reached No. 15 on the US Bubbling Under chart. For a different corner of this year’s rap release calendar, see our look at Earl Sweatshirt’s Tabula Rasa with Armand Hammer.
Next comes the road: a Pirouette Tour is listed for 2027.
Further reading
Illustrative image. Image: Stephanie Kemna, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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