Childhood & Early Life
He was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA on 15th May, 1997, and was given the name Omar Jeffery Pineiro. His mother is of Hispanic ethnicity while his father is of mixed heritage. When he was three years old, he moved with his family to Miami (Dade County), Florida.
In one of his interviews he said that the area where he grew up was not a nice neighbourhood and had a lot of criminal activity and violence. He has described of himself in childhood and high school as a calm individual surrounded by diverse types and groups of people.
He began using drugs at a young age. He began smoking marijuana at the age of eight years and started using Xanax at the age of sixteen. He even sold Xanax for a few years.
He attended North Gardens High School in Miami. It was in high school that he started to seriously pursue music and became a music producer. He dropped out in his senior year at high school after tasting success in music.
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Career
He started producing music in high school. He used to work on the software DWA FL Studio to produce music. He did not like the attention of being a rapper and therefore preferred to work behind the scenes as a producer.
He has himself admitted in multiple interviews that he failed to find success as a producer as his beats were not very good and nobody wanted to rap on them. He started to rap over his own instrumentals after failing to find success as a producer.
He uploaded his first song on the online audio distribution platform ‘SoundCloud’ in July 2015 but deleted it as he felt it lacked quality. Soon after, he uploaded his second song on SoundCloud, titled ‘Live off a lick’, featuring rapper XXXTentacion.
His first song that became successful on SoundCloud was ‘Sam$ung Jumpin’. His next hit on SoundCloud was the song ‘Ski Mask’ which went viral and had millions of views on the website.
He is categorized in the media and the music industry as a ‘SoundCloud rapper’. His musical style is categorized as ‘Lo-fi rap’ and/or ‘trap’. His songs contain recurring lyrical references to drug use, luxury cars, gang violence, and sexual activity.
In March 2017, he signed a deal with music industry executive Todd Moscowitz’s new record label ‘Alamo Records’ under the Universal Music Group. As a bonus gift, he received a diamond chain worth $50,000. In the same month, he also signed a deal with Interscope records. He also released an extended play (EP) record called ‘Up Now Fuck Next’ on May 12, 2017 on the Alamo Records label which was in a digital download format.
He is a frequent collaborator with fellow Florida rap artist Lil Pump whom he is acquainted with since childhood. He is also a collaborator with Canadian producer and rapper Murda Beatz.
In May 2017, he released his single ‘Audi’ that became his biggest hit till date with 25 million plays on SoundCloud and 33 million streams on Spotify. The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song was included in his mixtape Album ‘Deadstar’ that released in September 2017. Following the release of his mixtape ‘Deadstar’, he signed on to the record label Cactus Jack Records.
His mixtape ‘Deadstar’, released on September 28, 2017, is a compilation of his released as well as unreleased singles and features collaborations with artists Chief Keef, Juicy J, Travis Scott, Yo Gotti, D.R.A.M., and Lil Pump. The producers on this mixtape include veteran names like TM88, Ronny J, and Harry Fraud. As a gift for signing on to Travis Scott’s label Cactus Jack Records after the release of this mixtape, he was gifted a chain.
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The mixtape Deadstar debuted at no. 42 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Deadstar also reached at no. 24 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop albums chart and at no. 16 on the Billboard Top Rap albums chart. It reached no. 77 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
The mixtape ‘Deadstar’ features eighteen tracks and is the first major album of Smokepurpp. Its initial release date was September 22, 2017 but was eventually released on September 28, 2017.
On November 8, 2017, he announced on the MTV show ‘TRL’, that he is collaborating with Canadian producer and rapper Murda Beatz on a new mixtape titled ‘Bless Yo Trap’. He later released two singles from the mixtape, ‘123’, and ‘Do Not Disturb’. ‘Do Not Disturb’ featured rapper Lil Yachty as well as hip hop artist Offset from the American hip hop trio the Migos.
The mixtape ‘Bless Yo Trap’ was released on 13th April 2018 and debuted at no. 40 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. On the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop albums chart, the mixtape reached no. 22. On the Billboard Top Rap albums chart, the mixtape reached no. 17. On the Billboard Top Canadian albums chart, the mixtape reached no. 30. The single ‘123’ from the mixtape reached no. 19 on the Billboard ‘US bubbling hot under 100’ chart.
Smokepurpp has announced that he is working to release a sequel to his mixtape ‘Deadstar’. The sequel is tentatively titled ‘Deadstar 2’ and its release date is yet to be announced. There have been leaks of tunes and lyrics that are supposedly from different singles in the mixtape from but so far there is no confirmation from Smokepurpp that these leaks are authentic. On 25th December, 2017, a song titled ‘Distance’ was leaked on SoundCloud that is supposedly part of the ‘Deadstar 2’ mixtape.
In March 2018, in an interview with Canadian music journalist ‘Nardwuar’, he announced a new project. The new project is a mixtape titled ‘Sound of Space’ and its release date is yet to be announced.
Trivia
He has said that rapper Chief Keef, with whom he has also collaborated, is his favourite artist. Apart from Chief Keef, he has cited Lil Yachty, Gucci Mane, Young Thug, and Juicy J also as his influences.
The album art for his mixtape ‘Deadstar’, has been inspired by notorious punk rock artist GG Allin. A friend of his came up with the idea of the album art for Deadstar. On the album cover, Smokepurpp is seen in a coffin, surrounded by a newspaper clipping, photos of himself, alcohol and a lean bottle which is inspired by the funeral photographs of GG Allin.
