YUNGMORPHEUS
Burnished Sums (Lex)
LA’s Colby Campbell makes music under the moniker Yungmorpheus, which, yes, is a direct reference to The Matrix series’ cool-headed mentor figure, played by Laurence Fishburne. The actor’s silky tone and measured manner of speaking as he dispenses prophetical wisdom to his loyal followers give you a good idea of what to expect from Campbell’s rap style: effortlessly listless and smooth, flowing over the jazzy hooks of latest EP Burnished Sums like water over a sandbed.
As an MC, Yungmorpheus is conversational and observational, as though talking to you from an armchair across the room about his day. That isn’t to say the content of Burnished Sums is ephemeral, though, Campbell touching on police brutality and racial profiling with dour chill. Figure-Four Leg Lock closes with a sample of a comedian riffing on being pulled over for speeding in Alabama despite having a flat tyre; the laidback manner doesn’t diminish its impact, rather highlighting how uncomfortably everyday it is.
Absorbing as this is, there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking here. Burnished Sums is an accomplished and polished piece of work, but for a hip-hop subgenre that’s been around since the 80s, it’s less of a standout and more of the same perfectly serviceable smooth beats.
words HANNAH COLLINS
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