2hollis Transforms Trauma into Triumph with New Album “star” and Emotional Shrine Auditorium Performance
A sold-out crowd at USC’s Shrine Auditorium witnessed a moment of raw catharsis on September 24, 2025, as artist 2hollis – Hollis Frazier-Herndon – delivered an acoustic rendition of his song “Eldest Child,” culminating in a deeply emotional breakdown on stage. The performance, his first hometown show since the devastating January 2025 Altadena fires, underscored a remarkable journey of resilience and artistic rebirth.
During the performance of the lyrics, “Eldest child, eldest child, I know your momma and your daddy so goddamn proud. They don’t know me, no. They don’t know me now,” 2hollis’ delivery shifted from a fractured growl to a silky falsetto before collapsing into tears. This wasn’t merely a performance, but a culmination of personal and professional growth, as revealed in a pre-show interview.
The artist explained that the “momma and daddy” referenced in the song are, in fact, his fans – those whose expectations he feels driven to fulfill, despite the impersonal nature of fame. The enthusiastic response from the audience, singing the lyrics back to him, triggered a powerful emotional release. However, the concert held a deeper resonance, marking his return to the community that supported him after losing his childhood home to the wildfires.
“I’m at a place now where I feel like, in a way, it’s sort of a phoenix situation,” 2hollis stated, reflecting on his rise from the ashes. “The whole town burned down. It was terrible and insane. But it weirdly felt like that needed to happen [to make the new album what it is]. I don’t know, it’s hard seeing somewhere you grew up just be a deserted place.”
The trauma of the fire directly fueled his fourth album, “star,” released in April. Prior to its release, 2hollis posted a picture of a burnt-edged tarot card bearing the album’s title, explaining it was the only item salvaged with his mother when they assessed the damage to their property. Further details reported by 032c Magazine revealed that a beloved childhood landmark – a wooden and metal star statue illuminated with lightbulbs atop a nearby hill – was also destroyed in the blaze.
“star” represents 2hollis’ most ambitious work to date, a fusion of crystalline hardstyle EDM, grimy rage trap, and velvet emo pop punk. The album is deeply interwoven with the sonic landscape of the fire itself. He incorporated recorded sounds of wind chimes from his Altadena home, triggered by the Santa Ana winds that preceded the disaster, and subtle gusts and flame sounds throughout the project.
“There are a lot of self-reflective moments, and it is very personal and emotional, but it’s also like one big party,” he explained. “I feel like, in a f—ed up kind of way, that’s what a fire is, too. It’s so big and full of visceral anger and emotion and almost a sad kind of wave. But then, also, it’s lit.”
2hollis approaches music as a visual thinker, crafting his “rave-like soundscapes” through imaginative inspiration. Grammy-winning producer Finneas recalled a studio session where 2hollis described a desired sound as “a crystal with a pretty face on it.” This practice extends to his songwriting process, as he detailed how he juxtaposes intense trap drops with synth piano melodies inspired by a porcelain Chinese lucky cat from his former bedroom studio. This combination is featured in his song “burn,” the last track recorded in his home before the fire.
His most introspective song on the album, “tell me,” explores themes of identity and anonymity with lyrics like, “Everybody I don’t know tryna know me these days I don’t even know who I am.” 2hollis envisioned a dramatic electro drop accompanied by imagery of heavy rain and lightning illuminating a face, perhaps a metaphorical confrontation with his ego, reminiscent of a scene from Squid Game. He actively seeks to create immersive, fantastical worlds for his listeners, offering an escape from reality.
“I think there’s become this thing with a lot of artists where they feel the need to be relatable,” he questioned. “That’s cool, but I want [to present] the fantasy of, ‘Let me listen and pretend I’m not me for a few minutes.’”
Beyond the music, 2hollis’ artistic persona is often accompanied by a white tiger, a symbol deeply rooted in his personal history. The animal, which shares the name of his first album, appears as a large figurine during his live performances. He revealed that during a period of psychosis at age 18, he found solace in meditation and prayer, visualizing the white tiger as a force that destroyed the “darkness and demonic shit” surrounding him. “It was wild and sounds insane, but it really helped me come out of it,” he admitted.
Those who know 2hollis describe him as embodying the Shakespearean notion that “All the world’s a stage.” Even from a young age, as a little league player and theater kid, he experienced a similar “butterfly in the stomach feeling” from performing. Yet, he also deeply values solitude, a quality nurtured by his upbringing in Altadena, a place he describes as “untouched, unscathed innocence.” Despite the destruction, he continues to visit the site of his former home, finding comfort in the lingering energy.
“I go back there all the time even though there’s nothing there anymore,” he said from Detroit. “It’s just comforting to be there by myself. The energy that was there before didn’t die.” He envisions telling his younger self, “Dude, you’re doing it, you were right, you knew. Now it’s beautifully harmoniously coming together.”
On “tell me,” 2hollis acknowledges his fears of “press,” “death,” and “judgment,” but now, with the chaos of the past behind him, he proclaims, “I’m running headfirst into everything. I’m not dying. I’m not scared of sh—.” 2hollis continues his tour with a performance at the Shrine Auditorium on Monday.
