Hopie is not your average rapper. No, really. First, she independently released her debut album, The Diamond Dame, in July 2008, immediately earning her a nomination for URB’s Next 1000. Then, Hopie did a 180: She went on a musical hiatus to earn a law degree, emerging only to release videos and a T-shirt series, and to perform at Guerilla Union’s Paid Dues music festival. Now, as the ink on her diploma dries, Hopie is returning to the music scene with a dynamic E.P., Dulce Vita. The pint-sized academic has always carved her own path. After a rocky start in Manila, and a difficult childhood in San Francisco, Hopie dove headfirst into music. Hopie is self-taught and classically trained in several areas, including violin, voice, music composition, spoken word, drums and guitar. Still, Hopie’s primary allegiance remains far from the ivory towers of music theory, lying markedly in experimentation with rap. In fact, Hopie’s brand of hip hop is anything but boring or conventional. Dulce Vita is a refreshingly original project that marries early 20th century, Baby-Boom era samples with present-day issues. In “Dulce Vita”, a combination of the Spanish dulce de leche, or “caramel syrup”, and the Italian phrase “La Dolce Vita”, or “the good life”, Hopie uses whimsy and irony to address issues that typically plague minorities, such as teenage drug use and financial woes. Hopie’s inventive wordplay, sweet hooks and confident delivery makes Dulce Vita a must-listen for anyone who knows that sometimes life isn’t always so sweet.