Westside iiiDeology

Seated in a Bucktown boutique alongside his then-manager Juany Worldwide, the West Side lyricist lets me in on his envisioned timeline for the project's unveiling. “I don’t have the exact release date yet," Purp says, "but soon. Probably a month or so after Chance drops Acid Rap."

"Definitely before this summer.”

As the conversation continued, I asked Purp about some of the things he was into that people wouldn't expect from him. He answered quickly: meditation and yoga. The thought of a rapper practicing yoga (especially three years ago) seemed strange at first, but Joey Purp proved to be a rather spiritual and unique individual. Implementing themes of chakras and consciousness in his daily life as well as his verses.

The filming came to a close with an understanding that the piece would be published in a week or two and the album would shortly follow about a month later. That summer came and went, as did the next and the one after that, all with no signs of the interview or the album.

an unfinished edit:

Instead of releasing an album, Purp's journey over the next few years would pull him down different paths. He would see some of his best friends become superstars while others got locked up, he too even briefly spent some time behind bars as Noisey so properly documented. 

He would make his way to Coachella and SXSW, performing a legendary cypher at the RapGenius house and later freestyling over the phone while Vic Mensa paid a visit to Sway in the Morning. 

Purp would go on to have a daughter and a parole officer at the same time, two life changes that forced him into maturity and adulthood simultaneously, that allowed him to cherish what he has while also being filled with a passion and desire to provide for his newly formed family. 

He would put out a pair of projects (an album and an EP) as a duo alongside KAMI under the Leather Corduroys moniker. They would play to packed crowds throughout Chicago and even receive coverage in The New York Times. 

During all of this, the legal troubles, the shine and the struggle, Joey Purp continued to work on iiiDrops, his debut manifesto. Perhaps the most autobiographical and intellectual release by Purp to date is "Don't Stop", a so anthem to his life and his vision. It was released in 2013 but didn't see a music video release until 2014, during the buzz of Leather Cords. It was a reminder that iiiDrops would be arriving soon, even if it was still a couple of years away from becoming a reality. 

As an artist, a father, and a person, he continued to grow. Guiding that growth in many ways was/is the chakras - a piece of Eastern religious ideology that happens to notoriously resonate in the West. To put it simply, it can be used as a tool of self awareness and personal development. This awareness has helped Purp form a unique understanding of self and surroundings.

Of the practice, Purp tells me, "When I was a younger, I was super, super diligent and - I’m still very spiritual but - into the Eastern spiritual ideologies of chakras and consciousness. It always bleeds through in music. I think generally that any religious models are just supporting the mantra of living by something and standing by something and in that keeping your mind and body in tune."

It's January of 2016 and Joey Purp and I pick up where we left off. I meet him down in Pilsen and begin to talk about iiiDrops - an album title he decided to follow through with after months of contemplating between a short list of options. 

In the weeks prior to our meeting, Purp began his resurgence as a solo artist with loose singles “Morgan Freeman” and “Run it up” - two high energy tracks full of lyrical head spins that prove to the world (and to himself) he's still got it. 

"With both of those tracks," Purp admits, "I really just wanted to put out some fun, hot shit. Really just to put something out, but 'Run It Up' did really well so I might put it on the project. I might just have to run it up again."

Having an idea of the type of catalogue of unreleased music he's amassed over the years (I once watched him record and almost finish five songs in four hour session with producer oddCouple), the uncertainty of what will make the final cut is not in the slightest bit surprising.

However, having taken the time to capture a larger sampling of himself on wax allows Purp the opportunity to make a stronger first impression with an audience that might only know him for his guest features and work as Leather Cords.

As he grew both musically and personally over the years, Purp was able to filter out what didn't represent him fully. Certain tracks might have autobiographically highlighted his life, but after weeks and months of evolution and maturity, those songs may no longer strike a personal chord, may no longer describe his current self, like they might have done during the recording process. 

Paying homage to the third eye chakra in the album title, iiiDrops is a subtle nod at Purp's philosophical beliefs and outlooks. A Joey Purp solo project has been a topic of discussion for quite some time and with the highly anticipated album expected for the first quarter of 2016 we decided to speak directly to the man himself. Addressing to him about spirituality, living in Chicago, and yes, iiiDrops. Honing in on all seven chakras through descriptions and Purp's own accounts we are able to capture (and exhibit) the world and mindset of one of the most unique artists in 2016 hip-hop.  

The first chakra is the Root Chakra (or Muladhara), which develops in childhood whens one's awareness is focused on survival and physical comfort in the world around them. When those needs are satisfied one begins to feel safe, gaining trust in the world. Unstable environments and jarring experiences in this are can misshape views of the world in a negative way.

In Chicago, the state of gun violence, police brutality, and a slew of systemic inequalities have been well documented in recent years. These problems have made the environment in many areas of the city something that its residents have had to overcome physically and mentally. For many, there's a mental strain caused by consistently having their survival instincts on high alert. Something Chance The Rapper had referred to both in song and interview as 'Paranoia'.

When asked if Joey Purp has ever felt that effect himself, he quickly shakes his head yes. 

"Everybody has, from first person and from just seeing things. I vividly remember when I was eight or nine years old watching someone get killed in front of my dad’s house and I didn’t really understand what was going on until later when I thought back on it. I literally watched the whole thing - there was a fight and then somebody pulled out a knife and then the other person ran to the car and they shot the dude hella times and shot him in the head. He was bleeding and shit was all over the pavement and I didn’t really know what was going on, I was just watching it and my dad grabbed me."

This problem persisted as Purp grew older. "You would go to parties and someone gets in a fight and someone gets shot at, or you hear about a friend who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets hit with a stray. It happens to everybody. The majority of people that are close friends of mine have had guns drawn on them or have been there when someone was shot or have been robbed at gunpoint."

"It’s positive and negative obviously," he continues, "but if you’re the type of person that’s going to not back down and let your environment control you, then you’ll kind of learn how to finesse out of it, but it turns other people into turtles in the sense that they’ll just fall into their shell because they don’t know what’s going to happen to them."

Although Chicago has affected the personality and mentality of Joey Purp, he doesn't have the "turtle" traits that push him into his shell. Instead, in regards to the fight or flight instinct, an instinct that we all have, Purp remains grounded, remains visible in his city, growing to remain fearless when handling daily street struggles. According to his newest song "Run it Up", if you're looking for Purp, he's not hiding. "I hear they taking shots, I make them bite the bullet. Then we be right around the way, you know how we movin'."

The second chakra is the Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana). This is the stage where one begins to explore the world through their senses. Our views and understandings are shaped by experience and this is the stage where one begins to explore the world through their senses. An important stage of growth, this is where we figure out what we want and how we feel about the constantly evolving things that surround us.

As humans, we naturally gravitate towards things that help provide us with different experiences. In this stage we see relationships, friendships, desires and more develop. Additionally, one begins the understand the expressions of internal emotions derived from direct experience. As always, these expressions can often be hindered by societal surroundings. It is in this stage that creativity is fueled. 

"I think my main fuel for creation is life and experience," Purp begins. "Whether it be conversation or experiences that really leave a stamp on your memory. Interactions with women in my life. That’s a big thing. I think being aware of social situations in general - just watching how people move or watching the things that make people tick. I think that’s what makes music great is when somebody says something and it’s not just painting a picture, it tells why that situation is happening."

One of the challenges of this Chakra is that social norms tend to hinder the development of it. Being told how to act or not act. I ask Purp if he experienced anything like that when he decided to be an artist. "Were you embraced to be able to do so?"

"I think even before I started making music," Purp explains, "I realized I had a knack for not doing what people told me to do. It just never made sense to me. It started in school really, where we were learning about [unimportant] stuff. Even as a child, you don’t know that you’re not going to be an engineer or a mathematician or teacher or some shit, but you know that you’re never going to use that shit ever again. I didn’t start making music until I was eighteen, nineteen, but at that point, my lifestyle been against the grain. I had left school, and my parents were already used to the idea that I was going to be doing things differently. It was just a matter of figuring it out."

Being a stage that coincides people seeking personal pleasure and alternative experiences, topics like drug use, alcohol, and sex go hand and hand. "How have you grown to view these pleasure-seeking parts of life?" I ask.

"I think all vices are necessary," Purp says. "It’s just a matter of controlling it. Everyone has a different conditioning to what they can handle and what they’re going to choose to do, and I think all of those things are obviously good in moderation. Everybody has a drink once in a while, everybody might dabble in some type of substance, everybody interacts with someone on a sexual level. I just think as long as you’re aware of what you’re doing and the importance of what you’re doing and the power of what you’re doing, then it doesn’t get too far."

The third chakra is the Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura). It is where one derives their perception of self. It's the core of our identity, ego and personality. A valuable source of empowerment allows the ability to feel confidence and responsibility. To flourish in this chakra one must overcome fear of rejection, being overly sensitive to criticism.

"As a musician," I ask, "how do you balance that and the critique that comes with it?"

"Dealing with criticism has a lot to do with the idea of fear and just being fearless. I think that everything boils down to fear. Every situation that you’re in boils down to fear if it’s on a very small level or you’re actually afraid of the shit."

"I do know that we make music for ourselves," he continues, "but we make music for other people to listen to. I have to be aware that I should say something that someone else might feel, but that’s where the whole social analysis comes in. I know this is a situation I have lived in at this point. I focus less on trying to make my music individual and sensational where you’ve never done this. We’ve all been here and we’ve all thought this, it’s just you say it in the right way so it strikes a chord."

I mention to Purp that fans have been expecting music at a pretty grueling late over the fast few years, a factor in the music world that makes for a great deal of pressure. "Is that something you’ve noticed or that you’re aware of?" I ask.

"Somewhat. I know that it’s important to put something out when I really feel it. I’m all about feeling, and if I don’t feel like it’s necessary, I won’t do it. I have this theory that my train, everyone’s train is always on schedule and if you try to work too hard against the natural pace of things, then it’s probably not going to pan out the way it could have or should have. Even Vic [Mensa]. Vic was in a position where (he’s from Hyde Park) a lot of his older homies were hip-hop heads and active in the culture of music in Chicago, so he was kind of thrown onto the track with his feet moving already, so he was supposed to go get it at the fast pace. Even Chance, Chance was put in positions where he was supposed to go do that. I feel the same way about me. I’ve been put in positions where I’ve been fortunate enough to watch it happen around me first, so now when I do start running, I’m not running blindly.

Ego is a key element of this chakra It's also something in hip-hop that goes to extreme degrees. Continuing to hone in on the characteristics of the Solar Plexus Chakra, I ask Purp if he feels like ego is a problem in hip-hop. "Or is it just part of the culture?"

"I think about this a lot. I feel like ego and its relationship with hip-hop is kind of flawed, especially in relation to other music because some of my favorite music is made from a place of vulnerability, which is fearless. If you can strip yourself in front of people, that’s fearless. But at the same time, I think that it’s important. Even in psychology and in spiritual philosophy, the idea of being ego-less would make a lot of people passive, which I don’t think is really good for hip-hop. I think hip-hop is made from an aggressive place. It started as a rebellious movement. I think ego has a place in hip-hop, it just really has to be right with people before we can even think about ego being right with music."

The fourth chakra is the Heart Chakra. Centered around love, the greatest driving force, the Heart Chakra (or Anihata) is the source of care and compassion. It allows for meaningful, deep bonds with other people and it is the gateway into higher chakras.

“Heart and love are two themes really central to positivity,” I say to Joey. “Where does this rank amongst the things you keep front of mind?”

"I try to do everything out of love and positivity. Even if it’s a song that has a negative feel to it or has a dark feel to it, it’s out of a place that's shedding light on this darkness. I think it’s really important to approach every situation with love, regardless of what it is."

I reference his friends in SaveMoney, young creatives that he looks at as brothers, as family. "How has the love of being with friends in SaveMoney spread light on what you do professionally?"

"I think the fact that we were all friends before we were all musicians and we were all friends before we were all SaveMoney is a major key. I think it’s important just because you can really trust someone’s opinion when you know they don’t have anything but love for you. Your opinions might differ, but you can still trust that it’s valid and you can trust that they’re telling you their honesty."

As mentioned earlier, Purp has a daughter. With the heart chakra connecting self to others through love, I ask him if his concept and viewpoint of love has changed.

"Having a child changed everything for me really," he begins. "It just made me value people more, especially women. It made me value women more just because, you never think about it and everybody says it, but until you have a daughter, you don’t think about your interactions with women or what might’ve made them the way they are now. Then you realize that, as a parent, you’re almost 100% in control of that - shaping this person into the type of person you would want them to be. It makes me understand that if someone that I know is personality type A, B, or C, it probably has a lot to do with where they’re from or their parents or how they grew up. It’s definitely made all of that stuff more intrinsic to me."

The fifth chakra is the Throat Chakra. Also known as Vishuddha,it may be understood as relating to communication and growth through expression.

The fifth chakra relates to the ability to express who you are and what you stand for. I ask Purp, "What would you say is your manifesto, as an artist or of your album iiiDrops?"

"I never really thought about that because a lot of the time, when I think about my project, one of the things I always had in mind was to show a broad variety of sounds. I th

"I never really thought about that because a lot of the time, when I think about my project, one of the things I always had in mind was to show a broad variety of sounds. I think the only true mission I have in music doesn’t come out sonically, more so in the positions I take in statements. I want it to be like all of these different sounds are coming from this one person or this one group of people, but the type of things I’m saying, you can tell I’m taking the same stance and it’s the same personality behind it. It’s really just a matter of being an individual. Whether that’s being different, or being the same. If you’re cool with working a regular job, make sure it’s a job you’re happy with. Just do some shit that makes sense to you."

A large part of the throat chakra is finding your voice and your style. "How would you say you found your individual voice as an artist?" I ask. 

"I think the main thing that helped me find my individual voice as an artist was finding my individual voice as a person. Initially, I was so young when we started rapping, and I still am super young. I am a fearless thief when it comes to music. I will take some shit fearlessly and effortlessly. That’s tight to me. It’s really cool that Jay Z always raps Biggie lyrics. It’s really cool to me. That shit’s super tight. I think that’s important, but I think you have to find yourself as a human before you can find yourself as an artist, and the two work hand in hand." 

"Before I even started rapping," he continues, "I said I want someone to hate on me and make a seven minute compilation of me rapping Lil Wayne lyrics, the way that they did with Jay Z and Biggie. Cam’ron made a long ass compilation of Jay Z stealing peoples’ lyrics and that was tight to me. It was super cool. It was like damn, some of these lyrics I didn’t know were other peoples’, some of them I obviously knew, but I really want that to happen, so if any haters hear this: holler at me."

Ajna is the sixth chakra, better known as the Third Eye Chakra. It is this that balances the higher and lower selves, trusting deeply in inner guidance. This includes intuition, vision, and overall understand.

As we move on to the most notable chakra in hip-hop. I say to Purp, "do you think people are going to pick up on the play on words of the title iiiDrops?

"Maybe," he says. "The right people will. If you’re meant to pick up on the allusion that I’m making towards just being awake and enlightened in general, then you’ll pick it up. If not, it’ll miss you and something else will hit you at the right time."

I ask him his reasoning for naming his album after the Third Eye Chakra. "What was it about the third eye that led to you naming your album after it?

"I just think it’s so important. The idea of the third eye and the idea of just being connected to something that’s bigger than all of us is the only constant between any philosophy of existence or religion. There’s always a god or a deity or a something that is the creator or where we all came from. Even in science, to a basic physical level in physics, there is an everlasting energy that is around us."

"There’s matter in the air, and there’s density to space. There’s a field around us that is working. That’s the one thing that’s unavoidable in all religions, so I just think that’s the most important to always think about. If you pray, there’s a correlation between prayer and meditation. It’s the same thing. You’re speaking to yourself through God or whoever you see as God. That was something that, when I first encountered it as a child, I always stuck with that idea that all of these ideas and things that we’re thinking of are just coming from the matter around us."

"When they built the radio," Purp continues, "they don’t go into the radio to see where the voice is coming from. The waves are in the air. You don’t go into your head to find these thoughts. The waves are in the air. We’re just the radio. The right people will get it, you can’t force it on everybody because you might push other people away. You have to let everybody get it at their own pace."

I mention how artists like Raury and The Underachievers and Flatbush Zombies have displayed the idea of indigoism and third-eye spirituality. "Do you see any differences in the ways you use it? "

"Yeah, I see the differences between myself and other people who have used the phrase Indigo or use the ideology of Indigoism mainly because I’m a student of all religions, so that was one thing I took from there. I think that I don’t focus as much on the strict concepts of the whole idea as much as just what it means to me. I feel like everybody has to find their own truth and their own individuality. At that point, if you’re really on some third eye clean chakra shit, you probably wouldn’t drink any liquor, you probably wouldn’t do any drugs, you probably wouldn’t do a lot of things that a lot of people are doing that say they’re on that shit. I would never fake that because that’s just disrespectful, but this does mean something to me, and I feel like that just comes out differently."

The final chakra in the series of seven is the Crown Chakra. Known as Sahasrara, it highlights deep peace about life, oneness, gratitude, and faith. This chakra has a great deal to do with inner peace, meditation and connectivity to the divine.

"Would you say you’ve found inner peace?" I ask Purp, knowing it was a bit of a massive question.

"I think I’m still searching for my inner peace," Purp ponders. "I don’t know if anybody ever finds full peace with themselves, but you just strive for it."

Reflecting on inner peace, self comfort and self appreciation, I ask Purp "What are some of the most important life lessons you’ve learned so far?"

"Damn," he says, "that’s a good fucking question. I think we touched on it earlier. One of the most important lessons I think I’ve learned is to do things with love and just approach things fearlessly and truthfully."

A major factor in reaching the Crown Chakra is education and determination. On Purp's SoundCloud, he only follows eleven accounts, one of which is San Francisco Zen Center and another is Royal Society Literature. "Are you constantly reading and learning?" I ask.

"Somewhat. I used to way more when I was younger just because I had way more free time and I was kind of just a fucking bag of chips in the wind, but I try to as much as I possibly can."

"In terms of spirituality and education," I ask, "what have you found yourself gravitating towards for learning?

"As I get older, it’s more acute. I’m really big on capturing images, whether it be in film or in photographs, the things that make imagery good. Whether it’s a good ass shot in a movie or a really good photo, I have yet to really formulate a theory about it, but I really think that has something to do with human experience. I think that human experience as a whole snowballs into this feeling we have for certain things, so I’ve really been paying attention to that lately. But I think everything comes back to spirituality."

As we wrap up the interview, just as we had done years before, we talk about plans on releasing the article as well as plans on releasing iiiDrops. Both intending to see the light in early 2016, this year will see a great deal of energy and growth placed on the shoulders of the talented Joey Purp.

Follow Joey Purp on Twitter & SoundCloud