by Justin Davis (@AnkhDeLillo)
In his 1970 book Seize the Time, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale recounts the group’s beginnings from a jail cell in San Francisco. At a time when many prominent civil rights leaders were focused on the respectable middle class, Seale highlights that the Panthers looked for the folks left behind: “the brother who's pimping, the brother who's hustling, the unemployed, the downtrodden, the brother who's robbing banks, who's not politically conscious… if you didn't relate to these cats, the power structure would organize these cats against you.” Rapper and producer YUNGMORPHEUS keeps a similar audience in mind on his newest release for Lex Records, From Whence It Came: a soothing, hazy romp through stories of Black working-class survival and lush self-care. Insurgency has never sounded this suave.
Born and raised in Miami, YUNGMORPHEUS has spent much of his career working in the more left-field spaces of L.A.’s underground hip-hop and neo-soul. On projects like Affable With Pointed Teeth with producer Eyedress, Burnished Sums, and Bag Talk—a collab with Pink Siifu that was reissued last year—he’s quickly become a prolific voice. If you follow jazz rap’s underbelly, especially in California, From Whence It Came has plenty of familiar faces popping in, too. The guest features include Fly Anakin, M.E.D., Ahwlee, lojii, and singer Jimetta Rose, while the wide cast of producers includes Ohbliv, Graymatter, and August Fanon—along with YUNGMORPHEUS himself.
His political reference points have spanned a variety of Black revolutionaries known for being targets of state repression, like Seale, Malcolm X, communist poet Claude McKay, and former SNCC Chairman Jamil al-Amin, who famously argued in a 1967 speech that violence “is as American as cherry pie.” Even though the music is militant, it’s not heavy-handed or academic—like Earl Sweatshirt or Siifu, he prefers to couch his politics in scattered moments across his verses. These reference points aren’t there to teach a lesson: they’re ways to show off his personality, to contextualize his style within longer strands of Black culture.
Across YUNGMORPHEUS’ projects, people learn to confront anti-Blackness and capitalist dispossession just from surviving everyday life. From Whence It Came is bursting with lyrics about covert moves for a quick buck and artistic growth; about fighting back against killer cops and racist white civilians; and finding moments for solace, calm, food, and good weed in between. His flow is slick and understated, often going from bone-chilling to bored to brazen in the same song. This versatility leaves a lot of room for his lyrics to flit between reflective vignettes (“caught lightning in a couple bottles, couldn’t plan those”), cold-blooded provocations (“I’m tryna buy a new gun and name it the Problem-Solver”), and playful commentary (“n*ggas from the future, see the pigs shoot lasers”). He’s less likely to brag on his own rap skills than to point out what his peers are missing—on “Hold Tighter // Don’t Mention It,” he slyly quips, “No idea’s original, but y’all n*ggas could try at least.”
The sound of From Whence It Came is consistently smooth, dreamy, and downbeat, finding inspiration in plush corners of 70s soul, 80s and 90s funk and R&B, and moody jazz. Al Dali’s production on “For the Evening” sounds like something J Dilla would have given Busta Rhymes in the early 2000s, while DMH’s album closer “Faded Memories” leans on flutes and dusty horns that would fit on a 60s psych rock record. Even though there are so many different touchstones here, all the beats seamlessly complement YUNGMORPHEUS’ style: intimate, secretive, tucked away. It’s like ducking out of a raucous house party and running into the lone group of smokers in the backyard, casually talking about things that might fluster the people inside.
Some of the album’s best moments use dark humor and biting commentary to flip the soundscape on its head. Take “Escovitch Fish,” a standout track featuring Quevin and Brussels-based producer ShunGu: over warm R&B harmonies, gentle keys, and a fluttering saxophone that drops in and out, YUNGMORPHEUS describes waiting alone at bars and in cold weather to make a sale, dodging cops while his less cautious counterparts get caught up in federal charges. The song’s title takes food imagery from vivid scene-setting (“I had the rice, no beans, red snapper”) to a caustic dare for his opponents: “everybody food now, n*ggas born carnivores / tired of keeping shit peace, I’m tryna start a war.” On “Fiya Haffi Bun,” he trades barbs with Philly-born rapper lojii, chastising people who maintain a fake self-image to chase trends. Both rappers excel at writing deceptively concise lyrics that keep bringing you back for more listens: “fire burn way too quick, throw the water on it,” YUNGMORPHEUS chants on the hook, “only said a few words, had to ponder on it.” Producer August Fanon (who’s crafted chilly soundscapes for Mach-Hommy and Armand Hammer) laces the track with sparse, shaky percussion, and a subtle woodwind melody that stretches like thread leaving a spool.
If “freedom is a constant struggle,” as well-known prison abolitionist Angela Davis titled her 2016 essay collection, From Whence It Came is an album for the downtime that keeps people energized to seek freedom out—no matter the cost. “Today looking like it’s ripe pickings for a great play,” YUNGMORPHEUS raps on the final track, before the horns drown out the flutes and the track fades out. It’s relaxed and sharp all at once, like someone’s patting their hand on their pocket to remind you there’s a gun bulging underneath.