Album Review: SpaceGhostPurrp- B.M.W 2: Intoxxxicated

Part of the uniqueness and charm, for lack of a better word, of Florida based rapper SpaceGhostPurrp is his ability to juxtapose unsettling, spooky, and atmospheric beats and production with his own bleak sense of humor. On his latest mixtape, B.M.W 2: Intoxxxicated, he does it right out of the gate on the intro track. While something very Mark Templeton-esq plays behind him, Purrp rattles of his suggested rules for properly enjoying his music. They involve getting high, getting drunk as a motherfucker, blasting the music, getting your bitch and fucking the shit out of her, and then having a good day—you see it’s as simple as that.

That’s all you have to do.

Following his unprecedented 58 Blunts of Purrp compilation, a collection of tracks pulled from his back catalog of mixtapes and guest spots, as well as last October’s Raider Klan group effort Tales From The Underground, Purrp has returned with Intoxxxicated.

At times, Intoxxxicated can be a bit of a frustrating listen. There is some very lo-fi production work happening—something Purrp is known for on his tapes, but the volume levels seem to fluctuate from song to song, and at times even within the same song, most noticeable on the otherwise most excellent “Da Name.”

More maddening than that because this is a mixtape, there are DJ IDs all over the place. “StackOrStarveDVD.com” sponsors the tape itself, and you never forget it. Each track begins and ends with obnoxious, out-of-context sound clips, along with constant reminders about visiting StackOrStarveDVD.com, or someone saying, “this is ASAP Money Gang Official mixtape.” Aside from just growing tiresome, I found that it really detracted from the murky environment that Purrp attempts to create.

Overall, Purrp sticks to a very similar formula when it comes to the beats on Intoxxxicated. Relying on variations of trap-style beats, he incorporates ominous synthesizers and other generally unnerving sounds into every track. There’s enough variation from song to song to keep it from getting too samey, and Purrp does switch it up on occasion throughout the tape’s 19 tracks—“That Good” changes the pace as Intoxxxicated heads into the final act—somehow, it speeds things up even though every track is pretty much drenched in a slow motion, spaced out, codeine haze.

Believe it or not, the similarities in the music, as well as Purrp’s usage of repetition with phrases in each song, works in his favor. You’d think that this would eventually wear out its welcome, but quite the opposite, really. Despite all of the distractions inviting you to log on to Stack or Starve, Intoxxicated can be a rather hypnotic listen. Similarly to his other work, say “Bringing The Phonk,” his 4AD released LP, these repeated phrases are often simple, yet incredibly infectious.

This aforementioned 4AD release, Mysterious Phonk, a collection of cleaned-up version of songs previously heard on his mixtape releases, is going on two years old now, and he has yet to deliver a proper follow up. The label (home to 1980s dream pop, and current indie superstars like Deerhunter and The National) seemed like an odd choice to release a hip-hop record from an artist as dark and unnerving as Purrp. Intoxxxicated’s final moment ends with a sample lifted from Jay Z’s 1996 debut Reasonable Doubt, with the Pancio-esq yell of “OK! I’m reloaded!” taken the beginning of “Brooklyn’s Finest.”

It’s a bit of a confusing move, and one can either choose to ignore it, or read too much into it. In ignoring it, you can write it off as more oddball sound clips added in from the sponsors and hosts of the tape.  Or, one could see it as Purrp himself saying that after putting together this effort, he is “reloaded” in a sense, and is focused on dropping a proper follow up to Mysterious Phonk.

At first, Intoxxicated appears to be not exactly of an inviting, or listener friendly experience. It does take time to warm up to it, and to ease your way into the environment only an artist like SpaceGhostPurrp can create. I sat with it for an entire week, listening to it at my office while attempting to make spreadsheets fun, just so I could be confident in my endorsement of it. Even with all of the shortcomings and unevenness, it is a refreshing kind of soundscape to hear. There aren’t many artists as creative as Purrp, and Intoxxxicated continues to prove that fact.

B.M.W. 2: Intoxxxicated is available now to download from Datpiff.