Pure Sky feat. kuru (@kuru) —The DMV-born, NYC-based rapper and producer who’s as true to the moment as it gets. Blending electronic production with pop and DMV trap sensibilities, his work has helped crystalize today’s internet artist movement. Since breaking in as a high schooler, kuru has worked with Destroy Lonely, xaviersobased, Jane Remover, and dropped a single with the sensation that is jackzebra this January. Ahead of his sophomore mixtape “Stay True Forever” (out May 23), kuru sat down with us for a quick Q&A.
Read on for our Q&A and click here to listen to a playlist curated by kuru.
What should people do while listening to this playlist?
Sit on public transportation and put it on shuffle. Or you can listen to it how I organized it, I guess, but I usually just shuffle my Spotify likes when I listen to music and skip depending on my mood.
When you initially broke out you were (erroneously) labeled a hyperpop artist, but you’ve since asserted yourself firmly in rap territory. What are your thoughts on genre in 2025?
I think genre is loosely necessary, but I don’t really know where I personally sit with it. I just listen to stuff and if I like it then that’s great. I do think subcategories of stuff are cool when accepted by the community that it’s put into though. I feel like there’s so many types of rock, rap, and pop that are such interesting deep dives, but sometimes it’s hard to put a label on stuff.
Congrats on the new single pack, it’s great. How were these songs born?
I made them both during the same session not long before either released. I think
keelie and violet are producers that just really understand what I like because we have similar music tastes. When I was going through keelie’s SoundCloud likes one day and saw an OkameP song, I sat there in disbelief for a second because I didn’t expect him to be tapped into stuff like vocaloid rock.
How has your live set evolved since you first started playing shows?
I think my first show was when I was like 14, lowkey at some college dorm in Texas. I was ass then. I was still ass at 16 to be honest, but it really just took pushing through the horrifying social anxiety and finding an equipment setup that works for me. Nowadays I feel really comfortable about it, but sometimes I still feel like I end up tweaking. Like, my last show in London I was just fry screaming half of re:wired for like 20 minutes straight. Couldn’t even tell you what the hell was wrong with me that entire show.
Who are your metaphysical opps right now?
The concept of 30 minutes. It either feels like forever or way too short. That and feeling real. I have bad dissociation problems but it’s cool.
You teamed up with Jackzebra for “wakeup,” a collaboration that felt like it was a long time coming. How would you describe the cultural energy you guys have been able to capture over the last couple years?
I don’t really know how else to put it other than the music shit is so global now it’s crazy. There’s so many more markets than just the US one but it’s really cool being able to touch all of them. For example, like, I have a lot of music friends out in Japan and Indonesia that are doing their own shit and are really poppin out there, but it’s so cool being able to be on the same playing field and make music together regardless of a language or cultural barrier. It’s all our own ways of expressing ourselves, and for musicians to align those expressions with one another past international borders is beautiful.
As an “internet artist” (non-derogatory), what’s it like watching your music move through the network once it’s out of your hands?
It’s like a 50/50. Usually I either forget I dropped music the next morning until I check my phone or I’m having a panic attack until 5am. It’s usually worth it either way though! I get really happy when people message me or just catch me outside somewhere and say that my art has affected their life in some way, especially considering I feel like I’m not that great of a writer and just let the emotion in my vocal inflections and production speak for itself.
You’ve been steadily dropping tracks this year and we hear there’s a full-length project coming soon. What are some dos and don’ts for putting out music online?
I think a lot of people shit out music with no real image to the art. Like a lot of the times the songs aren’t even bad, but, like, a picture you took off Pinterest for covers
and a blank Instagram page does not give you aura points.
I will say for my do’s though is just be consistent. Like drop times and stuff, maybe just don’t overly-corny promote your stuff, self-quoting your previews and saying it’s ass or something like that. Either way, just have fun with it at first. If you don’t get comfortable, forcing yourself to make it a career won’t be the right path. Trust me, I learned that myself.
Give us your take on aura farming:
I think intentionally aura farming outside is kinda lame. I guess I’m kind of a hypocrite because I’m usually at the back of concerts and shit with them, but I think people that stay in the back of shows, feet up against the wall and shit just waiting for flicks, are nuts. It’s kinda funny in other circumstances though, and I think some people are just fly to the point where people think they’re always aura farming. I think my roommate Gekka probably mastered shit like that at this point. Love him though.
→ Find kuru on Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube.
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