At just 19, DMV-born rapper and producer kuru is already a veteran among his contemporaries. Spurred by the online renaissance that accompanied the pandemic, he first turned heads while he was still in high school with tracks like “clueless”, “typo” (4M Streams), and “atmosphere”, soon finding himself at the nexus of an internet-based artistic movement. Known for his distinct sound that blends elements of electronic music, pop, and DMV trap as well as his production work for artists like Black Kray and Destroy Lonely, he cut his teeth in the underground alongside Jane Remover, xaviersobased, jackzebra, ian, FearDorian, quinn, twikipedia, and Hi-C, who have all served as key collaborators. After signing with longtime affiliate deadAir, 2024 saw the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album re:wired, a conceptual piece that fused the aesthetic characteristics of cloud rap, anime, and designer fashion into one cohesive experience. But while re:wired was “a study in emo-aggro duality”, kuru’s forthcoming sophomore mixtape Stay true forever (out May 23rd) is a fluid, free-flowing project that serves as a sort of yin to his debut’s yang. “I don’t want everyone to have a think piece about me,” he explains. “I just want people to enjoy the music.”
Growing up in Maryland, kuru was inspired as much by the work of Future, Hikaru Utada, Yuyoyuppe, and the sounds of Japanese math rock as he was by his native DMV’s rap scene. He first began making music in 2019, garnering buzz with early tracks like “clueless”, “typo” (4M Streams), and “atmosphere” (9M+ Streams) — cuts brimming with the catchiness you’d expect out of a mainstream pop hit, but uncharacteristic of the internet rap landscape at the time. Developing his unmistakable blend of DMV trap, electronic, and pop music in online chat rooms and Discord servers, where he first met xaviersobased, he would go on to become known as a pioneer of a new underground sound before he even finished high school.
Choosing to forego the pursuit of an audio engineering degree to focus on his career as an artist full-time, kuru moved to NYC upon graduation from high school and inked a deal with longtime affiliate deadAir, through which he released the aforementioned re:wired in 2024. The project earned him a 7.1 rating from Pitchfork, with the outlet hailing it as "a panic room crammed with miseries, victories, betrayals, realizations, and music so dreamy it somehow sounds idyllic." In addition to his work modeling for Yasuyuki Ishii, recent months have also seen the rapper do a show with Frost Children and Oklou and perform alongside jackzebra, Lucy Bedroque, and Harto Falión at UCLA's Sigma Pi Fraternity in the lead-up to the release of his sophomore project Stay true forever, due out May 23rd via deadAir.
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