Tunes From The Whip: Captain Murphy "Duality" (2012)

Creative outlets shine when the world burns. There is no doubt that whatever the new normal turns out to be (news flash: we are already living it), as a society we will look back on the art created AC (After COVID) as a transition into new realms. Genius minds paid to stay home and cook up whatever inspiration they could muster. If you have been able to walk through this wild ride and not entirely succumb to the detrimental effects that isolation, fear and chaos all around can have on the mind, an applause is warranted. These last eighteen months have been hard. But they also have been an opportunity to explore different paths, change careers, reinvest in spiritual practices and connect once more with what it means to be productive for yourself.

If we flashback into time to look at the world post Y2K as the towers fell, war erupted and banks collapsed there was a distinct feeling in the air that times had changed. Out of that chaos musicians around the world were concocting evolved sounds to soundtrack the end days. Inspired by hiphop and electronic club music as much as by astral jazz, dubbed reggae and nasty vintage funk this brew of sounds took root and flourished in the headphones of many youth looking for what was next and in need of an auditory salve for the mess they seemed to be inheriting.

Many cities were responsible for these new frequencies but it’s hard to imagine how it would have evolved if it hadn’t been for Los Angeles and in particular Steven Ellison bka Flying Lotus. Birthed to a lineage of greats that’s been hammered to death (just look at some credits on his albums or his wiki page), FlyLo was a Jaylib disciple with much broader intentions than almost all the knock off beat tapes that came after Dilla’s passing. He was a student and an observer of many styles. Schooled by an internship at Stones Throw, attendance at Sketchbook before Low End Theory popped and adopted by the likes of Daddy Kev, Ras G & Sacred who heard the promise from the jump he was here to elevate what a “beat tape” could be.

His evolution was quick from his debut, 1983 (which scored a meger 5.8 on Pitchfork), to the real coming out party that was Los Angeles which dropped two short years later. While the growth was obvious the real question was how would he continue to elevate this music he was now being held up as the champion of. Well he did it again, and again. By the time 2012 was rolling to a close it seemed Flying Lotus was channeling a flow of energy that had to be in the blood. It was also time for a flip of the script.

Ellison dropped off Until the Quiet Comes in October of that year, described as a dream state and hated on for it’s more subdued vibes, it is a time tested beautiful journey not to be discredited. The world was in need of some peace and the internet had music progressing faster than the Millenium Falcon. Of course he knew the whole picture.

Enter Captain Murphy. Designed as a tribute as much as an opportunity to exert a stranglehold on a rap world that was rising from the dead via an emerging underground of young minds not tied to any of the traditionalist tropes that had started to make even the most die hard fans wonder if the genre could survive. FlyLo donned a mask, altered his voice and within two months of Quiet’s release dropped off this project for the internet and huddled masses who were questioning if the style was even worth being saved. It was a time bomb of energy that crystalizes the astral projection and DMT inspired previous official album.

What happened is simple. FlyLo connected with the youth that were making rap out of fun and love and decided what better way to continue to rock the consciousness of the world than to embrace a super villain alter ego much like a beloved couple of emcees who had experienced acclaim and success via an “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. A real world Batman focused on shifting what you hear and how you hear. Put out for free with no promotion or machine behind it, it really was designed to burn the old mentalities of the music industry down. And so it did.

Filled with an energy these words will never do justice, it opens with talk of the occult and conspiracies before smashing away at your ears with thumping bass and gorgeously haunting vocal samples. Far from human indeed. The hypnotic and apocalyptic combine to inspire a new reality that has no rules. This is the soundtrack to Carrie’s prom.

The project plays like a film featuring many snippets of clips from archival footage, all designed to keep you engaged. There are some guests, the biggest of which comes from a freshly freed Earl whose monotone bars are delivered with precision and care over a floating chime filled beat on “Between Friends.” Murphy and him tag team the beat with ease and really just flex on us for the duration before it flips into vintage FlyLo bounce for you to ride out to.

The joys of this record are intangible. It hit our ears out of nowhere and was so far away from what anyone was doing. Captain Murphy was claiming his music to be works of art long before Westside Gunn and the Griselda camp had made vintage boom bap high art. The vinyl prices for Duality seem to indicate it’s certainly in the same realm.

There is so much to unpack throughout this album. It’s not a lyrical miracle project. It’s not a producer’s rap album. It’s a concept album designed for the times and out of time. While it pulls on so much history and draws inspiration from many, it is it’s own singular thought. Captivating your mind with talk of the devil, midichlorians, orgies, dissections of the comedy of fame and sometimes just braggadocious bars delivered for no other reason than for the simplicity of the fact that he can.

At almost ten years old and possibly forgotten to the music gods, it’s a project forever worth revisiting. The energy, the hope and the anger at how nonsensical the world can be is timeless. The beats are broad, constantly changing, designed to keep your ears piqued and guessing how they will swerve next. There are moments of joy (the Brazilian tinged outro of “Gone Fishing” - so fitting), subdued celebration (“Immaculation” featuring an oft overlooked Azizi Gibson) and straight up party music (“Shake Weight” - a TNGHT banger to come). It’s a project for digestion and investigation. A project not meant to be playlisted and passed by twenty four hours after it’s release. Dig around the internet and find it, sit with it. Enjoy. It might just bring you to clarity in a world on fire.