Chicago Rapper Joey Purp’s "Photobooth" Is a Thrilling Three-Minute Sonic Crash
There’s a lot going on with Chicago rapper Joey Purp’s “Photobooth,” and it’s counter-productive to translate the music into words. Somewhere in here is James Brown’s “Boo-Ga-Loo,” diced and transformed into horns acting like squawking sirens, along with brass flourishes and what seems to be an actual siren squealing. Producers GARREN and Knox Fortune make it sound as if all of this self-assured instrumentation is emboldened by commitment issues—negative space is used wisely, a baseline peeps its head in and out, and nothing hangs around for long, everything acting as if it needs me time, as if each element’s narcissism keeps it from realizing it’s in relationship with the rest of the song. But it’s a harmonic dysfunction that comes together long enough to be a thrilling rush during this three-minute sonic crash.
This aural boon is put in service of a flurry of brazen bars about Joey’s personal greatness, commitment to being under the influence, sexual conquests, and dismissing women who don’t look good as their online pics suggest. “She ain’t really bad, she a photo thot/She’ll fuck a nigga off the ‘Gram for a pohto op,” he raps. It’s a message that makes you want to scream #NotAllInstagramModels, but no one will hear you over this beat.
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