80purppp - “uni"

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 9

Pairs Well With…Smino, The Kid Laroi, Saba

Chilled, psychedelic beats underlie 80purppp’s tracks, infused with jazz melodies and filtered in a weirdly soulful manner. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the Canadian rapper’s style, part indie rap and part hazy pop. The combination gives 80purppp a unique space to create, peeling away banging beats and instead getting into the root of cerebral hip hop. While this sounds experimental, his two albums, Violet High and 2022’s If Anything, are smooth and accessible especially from a lounge/R&B perspective. Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that early single “Hex” has racked up a quarter-billion streams already with tons of listens beyond that across his catalog, On the other hand, it feels like 80purppp is just getting starting, setting up a closing slot at The Drafting Room Friday night for Range Magazine to point more forward than back for this cooly exciting artist. (Kevin McStravick)