Smokepurpp: I Don't See Racism
I was backstage prepping to take photos for Post Malone and his management on the Boulder stop of the Stoney Tour when I noticed Smokepurpp's dressing room door was opened. I then realized that was Smoke mother fucking Purpp just sitting there alone at the current moment looking at his phone and that I had to cop an interview unplanned randomly then and there on the spot... so I did just that.
Smokepurpp is undoubtedly one of the hottest rappers to come out of Miami, Florida in recent years alongside long-time interracial friend Lil Pump. He hasn't even dropped a completed mixtape or album yet, nor has he headlined his own tour yet entirely... and yet this dude is still slaying it with singles and music videos while appealing to a generation that loves to go crazy to trap music while throwing water and moshing to beats filled with angst and youth. Purpp has collaborated with legends old and new as well as being recognized by some of the biggest names within the music industry. Recently the news broke out that Cactus Jack himself had signed Smokepurpp to his label. Travis Scott is one of many artist on Smokepurpp's new upcoming project around the corner entitled Deadstar. I had the opportunity being in the right place at the right time to sit down with him briefly before his set (which he absolutely destroyed with his team) in Boulder, Colorado. Yoppa Bam also sat down and joined us last minute, and Purpp's manager Raheem hopped in too luckily.
This is what they had to say...
Much love for doing this interview man. So for the people who don't know you, can you state your name and what you do?
Smokepurpp: My name is Smokepurpp, that's Yoppa Bam.
Yoppa Bam: GANG!
*Eats gummy bears*
Smokepurpp: I smoke weed, I make music, I produce, I'm just like an all-around creative.
I like that. So I want to dive right into it, can we end racism? Is it possible?
Smokepurpp: Yeah, I mean that shit been ended in my head. I don't see racism. Like I don't see somebody and be like oh I don't fuck with them because of this. But, I think there should be an end to it. Like can we end it? I don't know, but there definetly should be an end.
Absolutely. So you've gone to so many states, and you've toured internationally, how do you stay on your grind and stay motivated when this industry is so oversaturated?
Smokepurpp: I mean it is oversaturated, but I just like stay around the same people I started with, the same people I started making music with so it's like nothing changes. Everything is like the first day I started making music. Cause I wasn't really taking it serious. Like he told me to take it serious. I wasn't really taking music serious. So like I just stay around the same people and keep the same energy pretty much that I started with.
I like that, I like that. What's been your favorite place on tour so far? (Referencing the Stoney Tour)
Smokepurpp: Umm so far... I mean we've only been to like 5 cities. But, so far... St. Louis?
*Looks at Yoppa Bam
Yoppa Bam: Kansas City.
*Eats Gummy Bears
Smokepurpp: Ah okay, Kansas City was lit! I mean I don't know like, I like Denver. Like I came to Denver before! So...
*Yoppa Bam yells out over Purpp:
Yoppa Bam: THIS 'BOUT TO TURN UP BR0, LIKE I ALREADY KNOW THIS BOUT TO TURN UP BRO!!
Smokepurpp: Yeah yeah it might be today! Like, it might be today because I've come here before and you're wild, you're wild.
We got love for you. Yeah we got a lot of love for you. So what do you have coming up?
Smokepurpp: Yeah I have a project, I have a project coming out Friday. It's my first project, like I've never dropped a project before, it's my first project. I got like Chief Keef on there, Yo Gotti, Travis Scott. I got mad people on there. Yeah, it's going to be fire.
This sounds fire as fuck dude, I'm looking forward to this. Where can the people get it?
Smokepurpp: Hell yeah I mean, anywhere! It's going to be available on all platforms like...
*Yoppa Bam and Raheem both yell out very excitedly:
Yoppa Bam: EVERYWHERE! EVERYWHERE!
*Eats more Gummy Bears
Raheem: EVERYWHERE!
Is there anywhere it's going to hit first? Or it's just going to hit everywhere at once?
Smokepurpp: Everywhere. It's going to hit everywhere at once. So like if you use Amazon Music, I know nobody uses that shit but if somebody does, it's still going to be there. Google Play, all that weird shit. Everything, everything. All that extra shit that people don't use it's going to be there too!
*We all laugh
Raheem: I feel it, I feel it!
So I like that you don't even see racism as a thing. You and Lil Pump are just a great idea of interracial friends. Tell me about Lil Pump and how you met and your relationship with him.
Smokepurpp: I met Lil Pump... we actually met through a mutual friend. So I met him through him, and he was like way older than us. So he was like 6 years older than us, maybe. So like, once he brought me around Pump, and I was just like two years older than him, we just started hanging out. And I just ended up hanging out with him more. Ha, like no offense, but I just started chilling with him more, feel me? And that was just like from there; we were good friends. And we met him.
*Points towards Yoppa Bam
And we were already making music, but like we weren't taking it serious. Like we would just go to my house and freestyle. Like we weren't recording it or putting it out and then he was just like, "Yo you guys gotta like put it out..."
Sounds like this guy was the pushing light?
Smokepurpp: Yeah, he was! Cause we were making music but we didn't know what to do. We were just making the music. He had already been doing it, he had like a whole label and stuff.
I like that. Tell me about your label, how long has that been going, what's it called?
Yoppa Bam: Shit bro, it's called Black Society Records... and pretty much it just started with one person which was like me. And it kinda just like gravitated towards the underground scene, you feel me?
Smokepurpp: Yeah, he pretty much picked up like everybody he thought was talented pretty much and put them in on one group. It's not only me and Pump under there, it's like way more people. Like everybody that was in this room pretty much is in it. Like our boy Richie, he just left, but he's in it. And yeah, like pretty much I didn't even know what the fuck a blog was... none of that. I thought people were just... you were good, and you were famous.I didn't know there was anything in between.
*We share a laugh
There's some in between work, yeah?
Smokepurpp: Yeah, there's in between! But then he was just like, "Yo you feel me, you gotta pull set on this, this, this." And yeah, just kept going up.
I love it guys, I love it. So, thank you for this interview, do you want to leave the people with any message; what do you want to leave them with?
Smokepurpp: DEADSTAR! SEPTEMBER 29TH! GET IT!
Yoppa Bam: Get that shit. Be yourself. Do what you want to do, and fuck everybody that says otherwise. Gang.
Thank you for your time guys!
Smokepurpp and his team are young, motivated, and beyond humbling towards what the future holds for them. Deadstar is now available everywhere to the public. I had a chance to listen to it and I can now see why Purpp and his team were so enthusiastic and truly excited for this project. With his first mixtape, a current tour with Post Malone, Smokepurpp has a bright future. This is only the beginning for these artist and I wish them nothing but the best.
September 29, 2017
You can see the publication from this event or return to the interviews section by clicking one of the links below.
Follow Smokepurpp on Instagram and Twitter, like him on Facebook.
Follow Yoppa Bam on Instagram and Twitter, stream and follow him on Soundcloud.
You can also see his official YouTube for Black Society Records by clicking here.
Also keep up with me, Mowgli Miles on INSTAGRAM, TWITTER and FACEBOOK.
