The Purist & Sonnyjim - White Girl Wasted (Album)
Whetting the appetites of eager fans last month with the release of lead single ‘Barz Simpson’, The Purist & Sonnyjim now unveil the full White Girl Wasted album, out now via Daupe!
Kicking off with album opener ‘Paris Hilton’, the woozy track sees Sonnyjim explore the overarching themes of hedonism and indulgence that is embellished throughout the project, over luxury-sounding production from The Purist. Next comes the lead single ‘Barz Simpson’, containing guest verses from two of rap’s most mythical and elusive characters; a testament to the respect and solid relationships both Sonnyjim and The Purist have garnered through their respective careers. Here, The Purist delivers another nostalgic, sample-driven beat where Sonnyjim opens with a verse full of tongue-twisting anecdotes, before handing the baton to the great MF DOOM to continue the song’s ebb and flow with his unmistakable gravel tone. Jay Electronica is third up to bat, opening with the line ‘I paint a picture like Salvador’, lending to the trippy nature of the track. He continues on to deliver a trademark verse, full of metaphor and spiritual musings.
Featuring the illustrious, boom-bap pioneer DJ Premier, ‘Doc Ellis’ sees Sonnyjim tip-toeing over slightly more menacing production than previously heard on the album. A chilling piano loop, underpinned by stabbing bass notes, make way for scratches and chops undoubtedly provided by DJ Premier. Sonnyjim does find some room for levity on this song, describing himself as “Rick James wearing Slick Rick chains.” Continuing on with ‘No Face No Case’, Sonnyjim delivers a minute and a half onslaught of bars over The Purist’s soaring production where an otherworldly vocal sample floats over skittering drums. The track then segues into a montage of various songs and sound bites centred around drug use and drug dealing.
Taking us further down the rabbit hole, ‘Does Mushrooms Once’ featuring producers’ producer Madlibis a glistening hallucination filled with references to Columbine, flying saucers and Optimus Prime. With unrelenting bass and the non-stop twinkling of xylophone keys, tension remains high throughout the track, transporting the listener to the middle of a 3-hour long bad trip with no end in sight. Taking its title from the hedonist’s guidebook that is The Wolf of Wall Street, ‘Lemmon 714’ opens with a sound clip of Jordan Belfort proclaiming them to be “the holy grail of Quaaludes”. From here, a mysterious sounding flute takes us on another transcendental journey, Sonnyjim again serving as our psyched-out tour guide.
Pressures rise with ‘999’, as The Purist loops choppy anxiety-inducing flutes over a pulsating bass. The track opens with a clip of a police call about a drug overdose before Sonnyjim jumps in with his vivid wordplay. Accompanying him is Runcorn rap prodigy Lee Scott whose distinctive vocal delivery brings a refreshed approach to his detailing of over-indulgence. London rapper Milkavelli concludes the track with a languid verse that opens with “My room’s so messy,” and continues to detail the drawbacks to this excessive lifestyle.
Continuing on from Milkavelli’s vibe, the album finale is hazy laidback cut ‘Buy Cocaine Not Art’ that accentuates the less glamorous aspects of drug use and the inevitable paranoia. Slowing things all the way down and taking the role of a skit of sorts, the track solely consists of a languorous beat from The Purist interwoven with narration from Joey Diaz whose elaborate tale ends grotesquely.
The Purist has built his name as a sought-after producer on both sides of the Atlantic, having churned out beats for the likes of Freddie Gibbs, Action Bronson, CADisDEAD, Danny Brown and Loyle Carner. Similarly, Sonnyjim’s discography includes a strong lineup of collaborations such as Roc Marci, Lord Apex, Da$h and Westside Gunn.
4 years in the making, the White Girl Wasted album is exemplary of two of the scene’s finest artists in the UK and beyond.