Meet Kurupi | Multi-Media Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kurupi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kurupi, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in Asuncion, Paraguay. I came to the US when I was a baby and have lived in California all my life. I grew up in predominately latin neighborhoods and have been surrounded by Paraguayan and Mexican culture all my life. All the music I make reflects what was around me. Growing up in Northern California (specifically Santa Rosa), I grew up listening to Bay Area rappers and anything from the local punk scene and that all reflects heavily in my music.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As cliche as it sounds, I really do think that no one can be better at being you than you. My music blends many genres with the main two being punk and hip hop. In the past few decades we have seen iterations of that from Rage Against the Machine to Death Grips to fusions of trap and punk. I don’t really feel like I fit within any of those sounds as much as I love them. What is more important for me is to have my heart and experiences in my music. My heart shows through my love for my family and community, my frustrations with the current climate, and my grief.

My music weaves immigrant and first generation stories as well as just growing up being a nerdy, punk kid in California. My last project, “No Esperes” was a real deep dive of my grief throughout my teens and late teens with somber and angry retellings of stories through punk and rap. My new project “¡fruta!” with Cudimitsu is an exact opposite and is a celebration of positive and silly memories with a full lean into hip hop. I feel eager to put it out and share some wholesome memories during such an anxious time for me and my community. I’m very happy to be releasing physical CDs of this project with Not Evil Records. All proceeds will be going to support the Equity and Justice Alliance in providing resources for immigrants navigating the legal system.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well I’m always thinking about food so that’s where my head goes to first haha. I’d start the day with coffee at Stories in Echo Park. after that, some immediate restaurants that come to mind would be L.A. Rose Cafe in East Hollywood for Filipino food, Dan Sung Sa in Koreatown for Korean food, and DK Donuts in Santa Monica. For Mexican food, it really just depends where we are because there’s too many options. For a hike, my fiance and I regularly go to Griffith, so I’d definitely take people there. I would look into what concerts are happening while they are visiting but some venue highlights to me are The Echo, Non Plus Ultra, and 1720. Lastly, I’d find a way to incorporate Barcade in Highland Park.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out the Aliso Viejo band, Cime and their new album “The Cime Interdisciplinary Music Ensemble”. It is an amalgamation of hardcore and so many other things that I have a hard time describing it. Their 20 minute song “The North” details an intense story of coming to the US that left me in tears and reaching out to people in my life. It is a difficult listen but I highly recommend people to check it out.

Website: https://linktr.ee/kurupiman

Instagram: @kurupiman

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Kurupiman

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pUSqI1qNoNmKcoijEeF81?si=jCbRd9GZTWK60O-97pQ0EA

Image Credits
Clement Thomas, Megan Maldonado