Here’s a paradox for you: How do you buy into the slacker musician craze that’s been popular for 40-plus years now while being a 24/7 hustler behind closed doors in a time when it’s becoming harder to make a living as a musician (or rapper)? You do what Chicago Joey Purp‘s done and give the people equal shots of “I Do Care” and “I Don’t Care.” Leave it up the public to make it personas, Purp is all about hip-hop. Part of the SaveMoney crew, Joey does things according to his own sense of dope.
A 1 minute-and-a-half long single? Why not?
Clouded leopard print legwarmers? You have the balls to rock them?
More love given to a naked puss than a girl? A dude’s more than just his play, ain’t he?
Paired with another hip-hop stalwart in Thelonious Martin, who also plays by his own rules, Purp gives Chicago hip-hop another dimension. Sure, he does the tired hip-hop thing of comparing himself to criminals it makes no sense to put yourself next to – Joseph Kony & John Wayne Gacy, who both have killed kids – but he’s mostly a level-headed emcee with enough zaniness to feel fresh. In a lot of ways – it could just be the hair – he’s like the Joakim Noah of Chicago’s rap scene.
His ceiling is sky-high, almost as much as Martin’s heavenly wailing-heavy cut. Now it’s up to Purp to juggle the slacker/blue collar work ethic well enough and for long enough to get there.