KUR

Armed with intense lyrics and a rapid flow, Philadelphia rapper Kur (pronounced “core”) takes a raw, aggressive approach to his music, packing his hardcore street tales with grit and honesty. A local favorite, he made a steady rise in the early 2010s, and a co-sign by another Philly native pushed him to the fore. With a series of mixtapes to his name, he made a breakthrough in 2015 with How It Never Was.
Born Chauncey Ellison, the uptown Philly native had a rough upbringing and was involved in street life at a young age. He started writing songs as a teen and honed his flow by watching videos online. In 2012, he issued his debut mixtape, Straight from the Kur, just as he was graduating high school. He quickly followed with its sequel, Straight from the Kur 2. Prolific with his output, he continued to issue singles, including “33 Shots,” which received support from fellow Philly emcee Meek Mill. The collaboration helped expand Kur’s audience and, in 2015, he issued breakthrough effort How It Never Was, which featured appearances by Omelly, Guordan Banks, and Meek himself, and his appropriately titled fourth mixtape, Finally Happened.
The next year, Kur signed with Entertainment One, issued the Have Not EP, and teamed with New York rapper Dave East for the collaborative effort Born Broke, Die Rich, which the pair recorded over just two days. Without resting, Kur maintained his momentum into 2017 with 180, a nine-track set that featured guests Casey Veggies and Chynna of A$AP Mob. A slew of singles followed into 2019, including “Crack” and “Back Then.” ~ Neil Z. Yeung