His most recent work samples a diverse array of artists and sounds from UK pop singers (Marina & The Diamonds & Eliza Doolittle) to indie rock staples and upstarts (Death Cab for Cutie). The idiosyncrasy of the music is very fitting as Hoodie Allen is not your typical rapper. A self-described, college educated music nerd, Hoodie Allen embraces his individuality and promotes it as the main message in his hype-machine breakout “You Are Not A Robot” (2010). The future is bright for Hoodie Allen. He plans to continue providing the masses with feel-good music for a long time.
Go buy his new album People Keep Talking on iTunes now.
Tighten Up
Hoodie Allen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I meet a girl that's so out of this world
I need a spaceship,
We can put it all together
That's make shift
I don't ever make moves, only make hits.
I'm on the fame clique,
Can't die: please save me.
Never a contestant I'm bettin' you'll never claim me.
But I'd rather be the host,
Chelsea Lately.
So I'm feeling like Hercules
And if looks could steal,
This would be a burglary.
Took the wheel and looking like she's hurtin' me,
But I ain't trying to be burned to the third degree.
And it's hard when she say "what did you do to me"
Joel McHale, she up in my community,
Turn me on than turnin me like mutiny.
But I be livin in the land of opportunity.
Say word
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
If you stay down,
When I see kids I remember
When we lived on the playground.
Now we livin in the sky cause we plane bound,
But I don't ever break rules I only break sound.
I'm on my take out,
Can't choose just try me.
Big money budget: I love it like Pat Riley.
I ain't never bought but these labels don't wanna sign me,
I'd rather not talk; insert smiley.
You're too good for me, there's no question
So I came into your dorm like a freshman.
Tell em I ain't trying to leave though the exit,
Because I dream big, let me Inception.
So my head spin we don't even break dance.
And I don't care what your doin don't make plans.
Crowd flipping I'm thinking we got a keg stand,
And every time I'm making my music I know I make fans.
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
Everybody just stand back,
Trying to live a life that might never arrive with the am track.
And so many people want me that it's jam packed,
So I be given them some more like a grahamcracker.
Understand that.
Can't stop, just hold me.
Big money budget I love it like Bon Jovi.
Hittin up the track so we never be gettin cold feet.
Going for the gold, Shaq and kobe.
Stay good like a charity,
And I won't ever get drained like a battery.
But I do beat up the beat like a battery.
Oh you love the double meaning?
Don't flatter me.
And the girls that real messy, they Tara Reid.
I read their mind, Tarot read.
Cards get drawn, lives get on,
Telling I'm revin up their engine on the Camry.
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
All these other women say they know me
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmania.com/tighten_up_lyrics_hoodie_allen.html
All about Hoodie Allen: http://www.musictory.com/music/Hoodie+Allen
The lyrics to "Tighten Up" by Hoodie Allen describe his desire for a girl who is "out of this world" and the excitement and challenges that come along with that kind of attraction. He compares the experience to being in a spaceship and putting things together in a makeshift way. He expresses his confidence in his music career, making hits instead of just making moves. He views himself as a member of the fame clique, but paradoxically also fears death and wants to be saved. He name drops director Sam Raimi and comedian Joel McHale, as well as referencing the tv show Chelsea Lately. He describes feeling like Hercules and being turned on by the girl, but not wanting to get burned. He reminisces about his childhood playground and how far he's come, but still believes in dreaming big. The chorus encourages the girl to stay low key and "tighten up" with him, and he boasts about his love for big budgets and big dreams throughout the verses.
Overall, the song is an upbeat mix of rap and pop, with catchy hooks and clever wordplay. Hoodie Allen's lyrics often have a self-deprecating humor to them, and "Tighten Up" is no exception. He balances his confidence and ambition with his doubts and insecurities, making him a relatable and endearing performer.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the same diff,
It's no big deal,
When I meet a girl that's so out of this world
When I meet a really amazing girl,
I need a spaceship,
I need something as incredible as a spaceship to describe how amazing she is,
We can put it all together
We can make it work,
That's make shift
That's improvised,
I don't ever make moves, only make hits.
I'm focused on making great music, not chasing girls,
I'm on the fame clique,
I'm part of the famous crowd,
Can't die: please save me.
I don't want to lose my fame and success,
Big money budget I love it like Sam Raimi
I love having a lot of money to make music, just like Sam Raimi loves having big budgets to make films,
Never a contestant I'm bettin' you'll never claim me.
I'm never competing against anyone and I'm betting you won't try to claim me as your own,
But I'd rather be the host,
But I'd rather be the one in charge,
Chelsea Lately.
Just like Chelsea Handler, who is always in control,
So I'm feeling like Hercules
I'm feeling really strong and powerful like Hercules,
And if looks could steal,
And if her looks could steal my heart,
This would be a burglary.
It would feel like a burglary because she's stealing my heart,
Took the wheel and looking like she's hurtin' me,
She's taking control and it looks like she's causing me pain,
But I ain't trying to be burned to the third degree.
But I don't want to be hurt too badly,
And it's hard when she say "what did you do to me"
It's hard when she accuses me of doing something wrong,
Joel McHale, she up in my community,
She's hanging out with me and my friends, just like Joel McHale,
Turn me on than turnin me like mutiny.
She's turning me on and then turning me against myself,
But I be livin in the land of opportunity.
But I'm always willing to take a chance and live in the land of opportunity,
Say word
Agree with me,
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
I'll buy the drinks,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
We can have fun but keep it between us,
All these other women say they know me
All these other women think they know me,
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
But don't tell anyone about us, just be discreet,
If you stay down,
If you stay loyal to me,
When I see kids I remember
When I see children, it reminds me of my childhood,
When we lived on the playground.
When we used to play on the playground as kids,
Now we livin in the sky cause we plane bound,
Now we're living the high life, like we're always flying on airplanes,
But I don't ever break rules I only break sound.
But I don't ever break rules, I only break records with my music,
I'm on my take out,
I'm working hard on my music career,
Can't choose just try me.
I'm not easy to impress, but go ahead and try,
Big money budget: I love it like Pat Riley.
I love having a lot of money to make music, just like Pat Riley loved having a big budget to make NBA teams,
I ain't never bought but these labels don't wanna sign me,
I never paid money to get signed, but labels still don't want to sign me,
I'd rather not talk; insert smiley.
I'd rather not talk about it, just insert a smiley face,
You're too good for me, there's no question
You're too amazing for me, it's beyond question,
So I came into your dorm like a freshman.
So I came into your life like a new, inexperienced person,
Tell em I ain't trying to leave though the exit,
Tell everyone I'm not trying to leave you, even though it would be easy to do so,
Because I dream big, let me Inception.
Because I have big dreams, let me make them a reality like in the movie Inception,
So my head spin we don't even break dance.
My head is spinning so much from everything going on, we don't even need to break dance,
And I don't care what your doin don't make plans.
I don't care what you're doing, don't make any plans without me,
Crowd flipping I'm thinking we got a keg stand,
The crowd is going crazy and I'm thinking we should do a keg stand,
And every time I'm making my music I know I make fans.
And every time I make music, I know I'm gaining new fans,
Everybody just stand back,
Everybody just step back,
Trying to live a life that might never arrive with the am track.
Trying to live a life that might never come, like waiting for an am track,
And so many people want me that it's jam packed,
And so many people want to be around me that it's crowded,
So I be given them some more like a grahamcracker.
So I keep giving them more and more, like breaking off pieces of a graham cracker,
Understand that.
Understand what I'm saying,
Can't stop, just hold me.
I can't stop, just hold on to me and enjoy the ride,
Big money budget I love it like Bon Jovi.
I love having a lot of money to make music, just like Bon Jovi loved making music,
Hittin up the track so we never be gettin cold feet.
Working hard on my music career so we never get scared or hesitant,
Going for the gold, Shaq and kobe.
Going for greatness, just like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant did,
Stay good like a charity,
Stay good-hearted like a charity,
And I won't ever get drained like a battery.
And I won't ever feel drained or tired like a battery,
But I do beat up the beat like a battery.
But I do make beats that are strong and energetic like a battery,
Oh you love the double meaning?
Oh, you like the way I use double meanings in my lyrics?
Don't flatter me.
Don't compliment me too much,
And the girls that real messy, they Tara Reid.
And the girls that are really messy and unorganized remind me of Tara Reid,
I read their mind, Tarot read.
I can read their minds and emotions like a tarot card reading,
Cards get drawn, lives get on,
Things happen just like the cards get drawn in a tarot card reading,
Telling I'm revin up their engine on the Camry.
Saying that I'm getting them excited, like revving up the engine on a Toyota Camry.
Oh yeah, the drinks on me,
I'll buy the drinks,
We can mess around if you stay low key.
We can have fun but keep it between us,
All these other women say they know me
All these other women think they know me,
But shh, tighten up, just tighten up
But don't tell anyone about us, just be discreet,
Contributed by Miles D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
msemanify
this album needs to be on spotify!
whatisgolf
One of my favorites, must have listened to this song at least 200 times. Never gets old!
Stephen Junior
I've been listening to Hoodie for a few weeks. I've been showing all of his song to my friends. He deserves to be known. Keep it up bro!
Sean Nurse
One of the best songs on this album. I cant believe how quick i became a fan of hoodie.
BilJack08
I've never been a fan of rap but, his music is quite good. good enough to make it to my ipod.
xxTaKe2xx
my favourite track on the album.
Pheyt14
My friend def introduced me to his music... Its too dope. I can see this song playing in a movie at a party.
Brooke Hunley
I'm loving this song right now!
Aline Heerlein
HOODIE I LOVE YOUR REMIXZ! You take my favourite songs and make your own versions... LOVE YOU
hannah
combination of my two favorite things. hoodie allen & the black keys. perfection.