Los Angeles, CA – Smokepurpp recently stopped by the RealStreetRadio offices in Hollywood to talk about his career, which has evolved from uploading tracks on Soundcloud to working with Gucci Mane and Kanye West.
During the conversation, Purpp revealed he removed a Kanye verse from his new album Deadstar 2 because he knew the song didn’t fit Ye’s new Gospel-inspired brand.
Then the topic shifted to mental health and addiction. When asked if record labels should be supplying artists with therapists, Purpp got honest and said, “I definitely feel like, if they need it, that should be the labels job to keep their artists mental health intact.”
While he has not directly attended a therapy session himself, the South Florida rapper admitted to checking himself into a rehab facility for a couple of weeks in the past.
“I kind of knew I wanted to go when Peep died,” he said, referring to his friend and collaborator Lil Peep, who died of a drug overdose in 2017.
Purpp admitted he initially wasn’t planning on talking about the experience stating, “If I talked about drugs, then I can talk about going to rehab. I don’t want my fans going through what I’m going through. If people think it’s cool because I did that, then ya’ll got to think it’s cool to go to rehab because I did it.”
He said he stopped drinking lean completely a few months ago and urged his fans to seek help if they need.
“I just want to say that’s not where it’s at,” he emphatically stated. “If you feel like you’re addicted to drugs and you need to talk to somebody, then you should. If you feel like you are addicted to something then you shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk to somebody. If you need help, then go get help. If you want to live, then you got to do it.”
Watch DX’s full interview with Smokepurpp above.