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SpaceGhostPurrp - The Year In Review: SpaceGhostPurrp - Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp
SpaceGhostPurrp : The Year In Review: SpaceGhostPurrp - Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp
13th December 2012

"The year's hottest rapper." - Dazed & Confused
“Some of the murkiest rap out there.” - The Guardian
“A distinctive style that plays out like ’90s Houston burnt to the ground.” - FACT
"One of the essential Rap albums of the early Summer." - HipHop DX
"If you want a rapper soundtracking your scariest cinematic nightmares, Purrp’s your guy." - Prefix

June 11th marked the release of south Florida producer and MC SpaceGhostPurrp's debut album. Entitled Mysterious Phunk: Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp, the record compiled both new and old material, tracking the early years of this intoxicating prodigal talent.

Cast in the classic mould of producer/MC, SpaceGhostPurrp's musical influences read like a checklist of hip-hop touchstones - Three 6 Mafia, UGK, DJ Paul, Eazy E, Tupac and DJ Screw - a trait that plays out across the various contours of the record. Given his relative youth, the reference to such rich heritage shows Purrp as a child of the digital era: his rhymes veering between the hallucinogenic, somnambulant and visceral; his productions syrup-thick, schizophrenic and refreshingly off-kilter. 

SpaceGhostPurrp also released an instrumental version of his acclaimed debut album, simply named Mysterious Phonk: The Instrumentals. With his lugubrious, hypnotic verses removed, the release of The Instrumentals provided an opportunity to showcase the unique production that defines Purrp as an artist unafraid to take risks and step away from conventional genre tropes.

SpaceGhostPurrp recorded a 4AD Session in August. Taking place in late Spring at Brooklyn Fire Proof in Williamsburg (an arts complex named to honour Brooklyn Fire Proof Sash and Door Company, a factory that had thrived at it’s location at the turn of the last century), this 4AD Session is the third to be shot by director Robert Semmer. Revisiting three tracks from Mysterious Phonk, the intention of the shoot was to capture an intimate portrait of an artist who to date has favoured a more low key profile. Taking cues from the shadowy intrigue of Purrp’s own Raider Klan collective, the rapper/producer is fore-grounded against a smoke-flecked backdrop, its monochrome intensity in-keeping with the claustrophobic nature of the music. Watch it below.

Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp saw SpaceGhostPurrp take a further step towards the spotlight, and one that brought new shadows with it too - his current status is MIA...

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