Captain Murphy: "The Ritual"

What an odd way to begin a song. "The Ritual" begins with an extended intro that's basically a straight, unfiltered sample of some old 60's psych pop tune, then shifts entirely into a 70's flute-driven funk backing. Don't even get me started on the strange, tribal movie samples that end the tune.

Anyway, this Captain Murphy character is inherently meme-worthy. Introduced on a recent Flying Lotus track alongside Odd Future's inimitable (or not?) Earl Sweatshirt, the dude's persona has been left intentionally hazy, with Murphy himself posting things like "that awkward moment when you realize I'm actually YOU" on Twitter. The buzz has it that Murphy is either Flying Lotus, Earl Sweatshirt himself - basically pulling double duties on the same track - or Sweatshirt's similar sounding bandmate Tyler, the Creator.

I'm not really seeing the vocal similarities. Most likely this Murphy character is a legitimately new rapper, the blogosphere jumped the gun trying to second guess an identity that wasn't necessarily intended to be secret in the first place, and now all relevant parties are rolling with the publicity, wherever it may take them... us. As Murphy's Twitter implored, "doesn't matter who I am. Just listen". No shit.