Hoopper makes songs that sit between desire and overthinking. The kind of dark R&B that feels minimal but heavy, where emotions breathe and nothing is overproduced. His music lives in the space between attraction, confusion, vulnerability, and the things people usually keep to themselves. These songs arenโt written to fit trends or playlists. Theyโre written in the moment something hurts, settles in, or refuses to leave. Relationships, obsession, emotional distance, late night thoughts, and the quiet damage love can do are at the center of everything. โHer Showโ shaped the core of this sound. Intimate, stripped back, emotionally direct, and unapologetically dark. Since then, listeners have connected not just with the songs, but with the honesty behind them. Hoopper is an independent artist building his world song by song. Originally from Brazil and now based in Milan. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Your roots can often shape your journey. Can you share a story or moment from your early life that had a significant impact on your path into music?
HOOPPER: I was always into music. My mom loved to tell this story that when I was four, every time we walked past a music store in Brazil I would pull her inside to see the pianos and instruments. Growing up in Brazil, Jandira City, a place where rhythm and storytelling are part of our traditional music and who we are, shaped how I feel music.
In my early teens I got deep into RnB from the 2000s, hip hop, and rock, and I spent years playing bass, guitar, and sometimes drums in small bands.
But writing my own songs and singing them was always my real passion. Starting my own band as a lead vocal gave me a lot of experience, but life pushed me into the business world for a while. Iโm grateful for that phase too, because it shaped my discipline and perspective.
In 2024 I looked back at the last ten years and felt this very clear truth, music canโt just be a hobby anymore. I have too many stories, too many emotions I want to share. I hope that by turning my realizations into songs, other people who lived something similar will feel understood. Thatโs always been the point of music for me, connection and honesty.
2. Did your musical journey begin with formal training, or was it more of a personal exploration? How has that shaped your unique approach to your craft?
HOOPPER: At first it was all exploration, I would find something I liked, study it on my own, and try to create my own version of it. When I started playing in bands and dealing with music in a more professional way, I learned a lot, but sometimes I miss that phase when everything was just about feelings.
Today I write in two steps. First I let everything come out raw and emotional, without filters, so I understand what my mind is trying to tell me. Only after that I bring in the technical part to shape it. For me music is ninety percent intention and emotion, and only ten percent technique.
3. Who were some of the most influential figures in your early musical life, and how did they inspire your sound? Also, whatโs the story behind choosing the name โHOOPPERโ?
HOOPPER: I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Akon, Fresno from Brazil, Eden, Bad Bunny, and of course The Weeknd, They definitely shaped my taste. Iโm always exploring new artists, and I even share playlists on my Spotify so people can see where my influences come from. Today my sound sits between dark RnB, 2000s RnB, dark pop, and a little bit of Latin influence.
As for the name Hoopper, it wasnโt something I chose. Itโs a nickname Iโve had since Brazil, and nobody really remembers how it started. My grandmother says it came from a cartoon with a little bear named Hoopper that I loved as a kid. In my first releases I even used the bear as my avatar, I still want to bring it back in the future.
4. What do you believe sets your music apart? How would you describe your sound to someone discovering you for the first time, and what emotions or experiences do you hope to evoke in your listeners?
HOOPPER: I make dark RnB and alternative dark pop for people whose thoughts get too loud at night. People who overthink, who hold things inside to avoid hurting someone, people who feel more than they let others see.
My music mixes desire, vulnerability, intoxication, and introspection. It lives in dark chords, sensual rhythms, and vocals that are more confessional than polished. Many listeners tell me my songs feel like thoughts they always had but didnโt know how to express. Songs like Her Show and Maybe I Donโt Miss You from my last release I Let You Hurt Me Soft helped people understand my emotional RnB direction.
I try to give the most honest part of myself to the audience. I think thatโs why the aesthetic dark RnB community connects with my work.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as INDIE?
HOOPPER: When you write your first songs, you donโt think about genre. You just try to say something true. After making many songs, you slowly understand who you are as an artist. Iโve always loved The Weeknd and Bad Bunny, and they gave me great inspiration, but I never tried to copy them. Every indie artist should allow themselves to experiment without fear of failing. Sometimes something doesnโt work out, but even that shapes your sound in ways you donโt expect.
Now I know that my vocals and writing live best in dark R&B or dark pop, Dark RnB is slowly becoming one of the most expressive genres in Europe and the USA right now, and I love being part of this movement, with every release I push myself a bit further to understand my thoughts, my message, and my identity. When I collaborate on different genres like rock or pop, I approach them as Hoopper instead of trying to fit Hoopper into another style.
6. Music often transcends entertainment. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
HOOPPER: Iโm a very spiritual person, and I think about personal development all the time, I question life, habits, addictions, emotional patterns, why we hurt ourselves, why we repeat cycles. My songs always hide psychological truths Iโm learning about myself.
Sometimes I even feel shy to show certain tracks because they expose struggles or intimate moments Iโve never shared with anyone. But I understand that being an artist means giving that vulnerability to the world. Music can be a type of medicine. It helps people realize theyโre not alone in their difficult moments. We all go through these internal battles.
7. Do you feel the rewards of your musical career match the energy and passion you invest in it, or are there different kinds of fulfillment youโre still seeking?
HOOPPER: 2025 was intense. I released more than thirty songs and managed everything alone, social media, posts, website, writing, producing, recording, mixing ideas, collaborations, even the business side. I also invested a lot in mentoring, courses, plugins, Fiverr sessions. At the end of the year you begin to question everything, and I did too. But the numbers and reactions told me Iโm on the right path. More than a hundred thousand people listened to my music this year across 141 countries. Hundreds of listeners had Hoopper in their top ten on Spotify. And I was mentioned on Reddit, Quora, Medium and other platforms as one of the rising dark RnB artists to watch for 2026.
These things give me so much motivation. Knowing that my songs are part of other peopleโs lives is the biggest reward for an artist.
8. Can you walk us through your creative process?
From the first spark of an idea to the finished track, whatโs the most essential part of your process, and how do collaboration or external influences shape your work?
HOOPPER: I write all the time and most of the ideas come when Iโm walking around the city. A thought or a verse hits me and I save it immediately. Later I revisit it, reshape it, rewrite it, some ideas stay with me for days, weeks, or months.
I only work on the instrumental when I truly understand the lyrical idea. For me the beat should feel like an extension of the words. Once I have a demo, I revisit it many times, fix production details, and then send it to a friend who mixes it.
I push myself to write at least two songs a month and finish at least one.
For collaborations the process is different, I prefer when both artists agree on a theme first and then build the beat together. I feel limited when someone sends me a ready beat and asks for vocals over it. Iโm too perfectionist for that. For me music isnโt something you force on the spot, it needs space to breathe.
9. Whatโs been the most challenging hurdle in either your personal life or music career, and how has it shaped you as an artist?
HOOPPER: Iโve taken many wrong turns in life, but I donโt see them as mistakes. They pushed me where I needed to go, when my mom passed away when I was twenty one, everything changed, I left Brazil, stopped music, and focused on building a stable life abroad.
The last ten years in the business world werenโt a waste, I learned five languages, developed strong communication skills, lived in different countries, and went through heartbreaks that I now use in my songwriting.
All of this made me more mature and gave me the emotional depth I need as an artist.
10. On the flip side, what moment or achievement in your career so far has made you feel the proudest, and why? And letโs talk about your latest release and future plans.
HOOPPER: I celebrate every milestone, reaching more than a hundred thousand listeners from 141 countries was a big moment for me. Seeing more than 500 people have Hoopper among their top artists this year was surreal. And being mentioned in many forums as a rising dark R&B artist for 2026 means a lot to me.
My latest release is I Let You Hurt Me Soft, a project that showed me the real power of social media and word of mouth, the response proved that the dark RnB community around my music is growing fast, not only in Italy, but globally.
For 2026 Iโm preparing my next album, MMAM, the meaning of the letters will be revealed later, but it explores deeper psychological themes, late night thoughts, and some uncomfortable truths we try not to admit. The album comes in September, with singles already starting in January and later spring.
11. How has living in Milan shaped your sound as a Brazilian dark RnB artist, and what makes the European RnB scene exciting for you right now?
HOOPPER: Moving to Milan changed everything for me, Brazil gave me rhythm, emotion, and the intensity of storytelling, but Milan gave me space to experiment. The city has this quiet, cinematic atmosphere where dark R&B feels natural, especially late at night. Milan is a hub for dark RnB and alternative pop, and itโs inspiring to see more artists exploring this emotional direction
Here in Europe the underground RnB scene is growing fast, and people are much more open to emotional music that sits between genres. Being a Brazilian artist in Milan helped me blend my roots with this European aesthetic, and that contrast became a core part of the Hoopper sound. I think thatโs why a lot of people describe my music as emotional RnB with a European dark pop edge.
12. Your songs often explore late-night thoughts and emotional introspection. Why do you think listeners connect so strongly with this side of your music?
HOOPPER: Most people have a version of themselves they only meet after midnight, and thatโs the space where my music lives, I think listeners connect because I say things theyโve felt but never verbalized. Dark RnB gives room for that honesty.
People who follow my work tell me the songs feel like conversations they have with themselves. I think the combination of intimate lyrics, psychological depth, and moody production creates a kind of emotional storytelling that resonates with anyone who has gone through love, loss, overthinking, or quiet heartbreak, and I believe the world right now is searching for artists who arenโt afraid to be vulnerable.
13. Your next album, MMAM, is already generating curiosity. What can listeners expect from this new project, and how does it expand the Hoopper universe?
HOOPPER: MMAM is my most personal project so far. It goes deeper into dark RnB, but also into the psychological side of who we become when the lights go off and our thoughts get louder. It explores the way people love, lie, detach, repeat patterns, and sometimes break themselves without noticing.
In terms of sound it mixes minimal dark pop with emotional RnB, cinematic pads, and late-night atmospheres. If I Let You Hurt Me Soft was about surviving a toxic relationship, MMAM is about understanding the mind that allowed it in the first place. I think this project will define my identity as a rising dark RnB artist in Europe and show a clearer version of who Hoopper is becoming.
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