Interview: pure powers + definitionoffresh.blogspot.com + dunn deal pr

Northern California-born, Hawaii-bred vocalist Pure Powers presents the Will Rushton-directed music video for “Woke”. Powers has collaborated with Del the Funky Homosapien, Opio of Souls of Mischief, Ellay Khule, Cookbook of LA Symphony, Vocab Slick and many more underground West Coast emcees over his three full-lengths One Dream, My Album and A Pure EP (Bandcamp). Powers says his new single is about “awakening to our own infinite potential, realizing we manifest our reality. We can obtain whatever our hearts desire once we open our minds to this fact. It’s about tapping in”.

Describe the typical Pure Powers fan.

It’s hard to pinpoint who the typical Pure Powers fan is because there are so many different types. I guess one thing I feel most of them have in common is they are all willing to support underground artists they are generally open minded & people striving to better themselves. People who like music with meaning or a message in it. Something that makes you think or feel something emotionally & people who like a lot of bass:)

Hawaii is a place most of us only dream of. How was your upbringing there and how do you think it contributed to who you are today?

Well I moved to Maui from the north Bay Area when I was in high school so I had a bunch of influence and had been soaking game from Bay Area music and lifestyle before I had got there but Hawaii definitely helped mold me into who I am today for sure. I learned the true meaning of Aloha, self love & love for others, respect for indigenous cultures & life in general. Leading me to truly develop a connection/relationship with the earth/islands that helped me discover who I really am & my purpose for being here. 

What track of yours do you think you should go down in history for and why?

I feel it’s still to be determined to what song I go down in history for. I hope there are multiple honestly. I really believe in the music I’m making these days so I guess time will tell.

You’ve worked with a lot of heavyweights in the underground west coast scene. How did you get into these circles?

Growing up I have been influenced by a lot of west coast legends & have been lucky enough to work with a handful of them. It’s an amazing feeling & honor to work & because peers with your idols. Playing shows as an opener had provided some opportunities for sure. I’m really outgoing as well and once I get introduced to an artist part of a crew like A-Plus of Hieroglyphics by my buddy Gavin Darrow, or Scarub of Living Legends by my friend Citzn, or Gift Of Gab from Blackalicious by Max Bundles. It was only a matter of time before I became friends with other members of each crew. The underground, golden era, independent back pack scene is a pretty well connected scene and really isn’t too big as in everyone for the most part know each other or at least has rocked a show or two with each other and word gets around. If you are solid, good to others, make good music, work hard & put on a good show people will show you love. I always do my best to offer help to someone before asking for anything like a collab or anything really. Basically be nice, show love & work on your craft & the rest will follow. 

How did you get your start rapping?

I got started rapping when I saw a couple emcees in my area playing shows and putting out music locally and I was able to see firsthand that it’s possible & if they could do it so could I. I started writing and freestyling every day until I was able to record my first couple tracks with my childhood best friend Oe at his house over some mp3 mixtape style beats we downloaded off the internet.