Despite rolling with a name that brings to mind some sort of rejected Adult Swim cartoon character, there’s nothing buffoonish about SpaceGhostPurpp’s music. A South Floridian producer and emcee, he’s been slowly creating ripples throughout the underbelly of the Internet with a series of low-fi (and sometimes brilliantly cruddy sounding) mixtapes that excel at conjuring up a ominous vibe. Now, with Mysterious Phonk: Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurpp, he’s gone back to his dingy lab and tarted up some of his older material while adding some fresh additions to his vault. By doing so, he’s created one of the essential Rap albums of the early Summer.
“Mystikal Maze” opens up the ten-track project and sets the tone for things to come. The eerie beat is topped by Purpp’s hazy and hushed vocals, as he outlines his agenda: “I don’t have money/ I don’t have cars/ All I got is the truth and a couple of bars/ All I need is a beat some O-to-the-E/ Destroying competition ’cause the style is unique.” This knack of weaving together brag rhymes and nuggets of introspection is one Purpp continues to pull off throughout the album, capped by “The Black God,” which resonates like an eerie trek through the recesses of his inner mind.
Purpp’s association with new generation Rap stars like A$AP Rocky and the Odd Future oiks is well documented, but as Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurpp unravels, it’s the influence of sometime collaborator Juicy J that begins to come to the fore. Just like the Three 6 Mafia man, Purpp is beginning to craft a signature production sound that exists in it own zone and is receiving recognition without pandering to popular fads; songs like “Osiris Of The East” and the closer, “Paranoid,” testify to his talent, as they muster up a spooky atmosphere without ever becoming cliched or (ugh) coming off as Horrorcore-like. This singular sound gives the project a wonderful sense of cohesiveness and gels Purpp’s vision together with a maturity beyond his young years. Long may his chronicles continue.
