Captain Murphy surfaced on the Internet as a completely
anonymous entity, and there was much speculation as to the rappers
identity. We now know that Steven
Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, is the man behind the mic. It makes perfect sense that Ellison would choose
to make a hip hop record, after all his work as FlyLo has always been somewhat
indebted to artists like Wu-Tang and J Dilla.
On Duality, his debut mixtape as Captain Murphy, he
totally indulges in those influences and in the process makes one of the better
hip hop records of 2012.
While Ellison’s M.O. is all over the production he also
enlists help from Brainfeeder producers like Teebs and Samiyam to make Duality happen. After learning the true identity of Captain
Murphy it is easy to hear the FlyLo influence in the woozy beats, but for the
most part he does a good job of disguising his identity. An eclectic assortment of samples including
everything from Flying Lotus’s own tracks, to Homer Simpson, to Godzilla to
cult leaders, helps to amp up the mystery.
Once you get past the guessing game of who Captain Murphy
actually is you’ll find that Duality is
a very easy listen. It’s not an attempt
to change hip-hop, in fact it’s rather low brow, but that only adds to the
enjoyment. Tracks like ‘Mighty Morphin’
Foreskin’, ‘Between Friends’ which features OFWGKTA member Earl Sweatshirt and
samples the FlyLo track of the same name, and ‘Immaculation’ are them most
straightforward tunes on the mixtape, while ‘Hovercrafts and Cows’, ‘The
Ritual’ and ‘Drive Thru’ offer a more eccentric take on hip-hop.
A rap album is something that Ellison has always talked
about, and now he’s actually done it.
While his work as FlyLo shoots for the stars his work as Captain Murphy
is much more down to Earth. This is an
endlessly accessible album that is simply fun to listen to.
Grade: B+
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