On Wednesday, Feb. 18, a handful of fans had been anxiously waiting outside the Ogden Theatre for over twenty-four hours before the doors finally opened. That evening, hip-hop artist Hoodie Allen was welcomed to Denver by over 1,500 loyal fans, making for his third sold out show at the Ogden.

Hoodie Allen, born as Steven Markowitz, released one of his most popular albums, “Happy Camper,” on Jan. 22. Since its release, the album’s success skyrocketed, reaching number two on iTunes, behind Adele’s “25.” This was especially meaningful to Allen, seeing as he had offered the album for free download.

“I was really happy and shocked because I figured there was a certain amount of people who were going to buy it regardless, since they do tend to support,” Allen told the Clarion. “My goals were set way lower for it. I just knew we couldn’t get past Adele though. She’s had the strong hold on it for a while now,” he said jokingly.

Allen had three artists open the show for him: Splyt, Blackbear and SupaDuperKyle. The crowd’s energy seemed to escalate with each act. Several fans were at the venue strictly to see Blackbear or SupaDuperKyle, two well-known hip-hop artists that are featured in a few of Hoodie Allen’s songs.

When SupaDuperKyle’s performance had ended, fans chanted Allen’s name repeatedly as strobe lights from all directions flashed down on them. Within moments, Allen burst onstage with his opening song, “Introduction to Anxiety,” the first song on “Happy Camper.”

Allen’s set included some of his most renowned songs from each of his albums, including “Champagne and Pools,” “Act My Age” and “Two Lips.” Allen surprised many of his fans by blending some of his original songs with covers of other popular songs. The audience’s reaction was noticeably louder when he mashed up his well-recognized song, “No Faith in Brooklyn” with Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.”

Both Allen’s honest lyrics and upbeat, highly-entertaining performance express how confident and genuine he is about his music. In fact, to say Hoodie Allen is an average artist would be completely untrue.

During his performance of “Cake Boy,” Allen sprinted to the balcony of the theater, standing amongst hundreds of fans and threw a full-sized yellow cake off the balcony, onto all the fans down in the pit. Despite being stained by yellow frosting, the crowd roared with laughter and cheers.

“I think we put together a really fun, really high-energy show with a live band and some really crazy production,” Allen said. “My mantra is to try to give people an unforgettable night, one of the best nights of their life.”

The most memorable part of the night was after Allen’s performance of “All About It” when he pulled out an orange blow up raft from backstage and informed the fans in the pit that he would surf the crowd on it. His plan took an unexpected turn when the raft became unbalanced and Allen jumped out. Fans swarmed around Allen, pulling him in all directions, attempting to take photos with him. It took about ten minutes for Allen to make his way back to the stage.

“Denver, you are so unpredictable. But shows like this keep the magic alive,” Allen said when he returned back onstage.

Despite the raft incident, Allen finished out the concert with more energy than ever, and even sported a Broncos jersey during his performance of “No Interruption.” His willingness to do anything for the happiness of his fans was repeatedly demonstrated throughout the show.

“I feel like [connecting with fans] is what can help endear a fan to an artist, because they know [the artist] more than just musically. It fosters a stronger connection,” said Allen.

Allen is currently writing more material for his upcoming project, which he predicts will be released either over the summer or early fall.