J Harmony
Ever since his mysterious debut with Earl Sweatshirt on “Between Friends,” hip-hop heads have been trying desperately to figure out the identity of Captain Murphy. After months of speculation, we finally have our answer: Flying Lotus is Captain Murphy.
“Between Friends” first surfaced on the internet late July 2012 as part of a promotion through Adult Swim. The song, produced by Flying Lotus, featured Earl and the mysterious Murphy alternating bars and vocal effects and caught the attention of listeners who quickly began asking who Murphy really was. Due to Earl’s Odd Future affiliation, many were quick to suggest that the Captain was none other than Tyler, the Creator, a theory which made perfect sense. Last year Tyler claimed that he had signed a new artist to OF that went by the name “Young N*gga.” After releasing the track “Come Threw Looking Clean,” it was revealed that Young N*gga was in fact Tyler, the Creator in disguise. Others speculated that the mysterious artist was Earl, Flying Lotus, or some combination of the three. Murphy’s twitter kept details scarce, intensifying the mystery of it all.
Murphy followed up his “Between Friends” debut with several singles released over time. “Shake Weight” had Murphy rapping over TNGHT’s “Bugg’n” and came paired with a set of trippy animated visuals. He even dropped another FlyLo produced track, “The Killing Joke.” All of these singles led up to the release of Murphy’s 35-minute debut project, Duality, which was released on November 15. The project came complete with an accompanying 35 minute visual component that simply has to be seen to be understood. The hypnotizing video, done by French Director Xavier Magot, includes a wide assortment of clips showcasing dead bodies, cult leaders, and everything in between. Not to mention, the video is very NSFW and at times features outright pornography.
Riding off the tape’s buzz, Murphy announced that on Wednesday, Novemeber 28, he would be performing live for the first time in Los Angeles alongside Pac Div. Fans lined up around the block to learn the identity of the mastermind behind it all, many rocking Odd Future apparel, assuming Tyler was the culprit. When Murphy hit the stage, he kept his head covered under a hood until finally taking it off during the performance of “Between Friends” where he was joined by Earl Sweatshirt.
And there you have it. Flying Lotus’ response to the revealing:
HahAhHAHaaha
— Flying Lotus (@flyinglotus) November 29, 2012
P.S. It’s worth mentioning that FlyLo’s newest album, Until The Quiet Comes, dropped late September…clearly the dude had some ulterior motives behind his newest venture.
