Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed acclaimed Chicago rapper Joey Purp to a worldwide deal. A founding member of his home city's hip-hop collective SaveMoney alongside the likes of Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa, Purp delivered one of the most critically-praised releases of 2016 with his second mixtape iiiDrops.
Sony/ATV Co-President, U.S. Rick Krim said: "Joey Purp is one of the most dynamic new songwriters and artists to have emerged in recent years and we are thrilled to get involved with this major talent so early on. We can only begin to imagine what he has the potential to achieve and cannot wait to start working with him."
Sony/ATV Vice President, Creative Tyler Childs said: "Joey is one of the most exciting young artists of his generation. We're so happy to welcome him to Sony/ATV."
Joey Purp said: "I'm excited to join the Sony/ATV family and I'm looking forward to a fruitful partnership."
Joey Purp's manager Kevin Zheng said: "We are super excited to partner with Sony/ATV and be a part of this amazing family of people. We're really looking forward to working with the whole staff."
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Chicago native,
Joey Purp grew up with an eclectic taste in music ranging from rappers such as JAY-Z, Kanye West, Andre 3000 and
Wu-Tang Clan to the seminal New York rock band
The Velvet Underground who he has cited as his favorite group.
A first mixtape under his own name called The Purple Tape appeared in 2012 when he was 18, while he co-founded the
Chicago hip hop collective SaveMoney whose members also include
Vic Mensa and the now Grammy-winning Chance The Rapper.
With SaveMoney colleague Kami de Chukwu, he also went on to form the duo Leather Corduroys and in early 2015 they put out their first project called Season, which showcased Purp's musical diversity as the hip-hop release incorporated elements of rock, trap and neo-soul. His growing popularity additionally led to him performing on Hannibal Buress's Comedy Central show Why?, helping word to spread even further about Purp among critics and music fans.
His second mixtape iiiDrops was released in May 2016 and included contributions from SaveMoney colleagues
Chance The Rapper and
Vic Mensa as well as Mick Jenkins, Saba, Teddy Jackson and The MIND. Rolling Stone hailed it as one of the 40 Best Rap Albums of 2016, while
Complex placed it among its 40 best albums of the year, noting that Purp's "ear for beats is nothing short of impressive". The release also won critical acclaim from outlets including Pitchfork, The Fader, Spin and Noisey.
Over this summer Purp has made a series of festival appearances, including at the
Pitchfork Music Festival, which was held in his own city and which had Stereogum describing his set as "one of the most entertaining shows of the weekend". He also made a guest appearance with indie rock band and fellow Chicagoans
Whitney at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago's historic Grant Park in early August. It was widely viewed as one of the standout moments of the four-day event.
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North American headline tour will begin in Vancouver, Canada on
September 20 and will run into November.
Pictured in the photo, left to right, are Tyler Childs (Sony/ATV Vice President, Creative),
Joey Purp and Kevin Zheng (Joey Purp's manager).
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