It appears that 20-year-old South Florida rapper and Soundcloud (rap) pioneer Smokepurpp is a fan of horror films. The Deadstar sensation, signed to Cactus Jack Records as of last fall, has dropped two stellar music videos in less than a week, both of which feature some genuinely unsettling imagery.
The first set of visuals was released last Friday to accompany Purpp’s newest single, “Geek A Lot.” In addition to lethargic hi-hats and throttling bass, the track features an urgent siren effect that brings to mind an alarm for an incoming nuclear missile.
The music video opens with an after school film preaching the values of the traditional American family dinner. Once the song kicks in, the viewer alternates between a young Purpp dancing on the dinner table between his squabbling parents and current Purpp throwing around pills like they’re going out of style. There are also some quick cuts to crudely animated sequences of a ghoul-like Purpp ascending from a bloody coffin without eyeballs.
The iconography of these shots is undeniably chilling and harkens to the disturbing tone of meme videos one can find deep on 4chan. After a brief intermission of eggs frying on the stove and a warning from the narrator that drugs are, in fact, bad, the song kicks back in and we see a drugged-out Purpp performing with an ensemble of zombie women. The highlight of the video, believe it or not, is the credit sequence. To the tune of an upsetting, high-pitched ring, we watch as the animated Purpp floats above his coffin, ostensibly taking our souls through the screen.
The second video, released on Wednesday, February 7, accompanies Purpp and Travis Scott on “Fingers Blue,” one of the lead singles from Deadstar. Slow, nightmarish keys lurk beneath characteristically muddy bass as Purpp and Travis lament the injuries they sustain while they count out the deads. The Cactus Jack duo shows up at Purpp’s grandmother’s house to use her VHS player and fails to notice that the old woman is cooking up a smoky blue concoction of death on the stove.
The first half of the visuals is pretty standard, showing Purpp and Travis throw around bills as practically naked women grind all up in their business. Halfway through, however, Grandma gets fed up with the antics and unleashes a crew of homicidal, undead women on the boys. The final ninety seconds is a masterfully edited and heavily layered sequence of horrific, ghastly images. The tone does not remain dark for long, though; as the nightmare ends, Purpp gives Travis a knowing half-smile that indicates to the audience just how much fun the young rapper is having with these videos.
