Interview ‣ YUNGMORPHEUS
Seeing The Forest For The Leaves: YUNGMORPHEUS
There are so many ways to mosey about life, yet YUNGMORPHEUS is more than okay with staying in his lane.
Kurt
Writer
Updated
Any time you meet an artist, musician, any creator with an amazing body of work, there’s going to be an epic behind it. This virtue stands in the case of YUNGMORPHEUS, the Floridian who’s been blessing mics all over for years. It’s been a long journey for him, and there’s no rest stop in sight.
There are so many ways to mosey about life, yet YUNGMORPHEUS is more than okay with staying in his lane. Thumbing Through Foliage is his latest offering to the world; 12-tracks of, simply put, sweet music. Ewonee is the tape’s Executive Producer, and the project has features from Obijuan and DMH. Even with the help, the project just yells YUNGMORPHEUS, whether the letters were capitalized or not. In other words, Thumbing Through Foliage is his way of keeping you updated on the happenings of his life.
We spoke with YUNGMORPHEUS at his LA-residence, where we learned about his beginnings in music, the depth of his knowledge on the “Revolution”, and the other details that comprise the artist you are seeing today.
What is your name, age, location, and pronouns?
Half Moon
YUNGMORPHEUS. My age is 27. I go by he/him.
YUNGMORPHEUS
What’s the story of your moniker? How did you get the name YUNGMORPHEUS?
Man, that was some college shit, when I was in school and shit. I was rockin’ them circle joints all the time.
Oh the circle eyeglasses?
Yeah yeah yeah. We were just starting to smoke dope pretty heavy, so I’d be at hella functions, smoked out in the cut with them jawns. Niggas would be like “This nigga think he ‘Young Morpheus’ or something.”
I wasn’t making anything at the time. Whenever I decided to make some shit, I remembered that and was like “Yo that’s kind of funny.” The young niggas will be like, “Oh that’s some trap shit.” It was funny to me so I ran that.
What made you get started in music? What’s your earliest experience with music?
Shit, I don’t think I ever really thought about that shit, for real. Originally, I was just a fan cause my moms and pops was big on it. They was bumpin’ hella shit. My pops was a huge DMX fan, hella Sizzla, Damian Marley. Moms was on her Mase, Mary J. Blidge, and all that type of shit.
And then I started breaking in the beginning of high school. That was the first, “I’m gonna do a thing that’s related to music” I eventually got disillusioned with the scene of it all, and was like “Yo, hold up.” It was in college, being high and hearing a lot of shit that was like, “This is wack.” Like, if these niggas could get away with this, I could definitely get away with something. Because if nothing else, I know what a good beat sound like. And as a fan, who’s been a fan for hella years, I know what good rap sound like, you know what I mean. It was really just that thought, for real. Dawg, if their letting these niggas do this… let me try.
The very first line on your single “Sovereignty” is, “I took a step back to think about how life changing.” What’s particularly changed in your life, recently?
Yo, lowkey, alot. Like, niggas was very, very not in a good place a couple months ago. I don’t know, I found myself getting too jaded by the stuff that’s part of the journey that happens to all of us. All the losses, yadda yadda. Niggas really had to take a step back and be like, “Yo, shit is kinda poppin’.” Remember when nobody was listenin’ to nothing. Remember when you was like, “Yo, it would be fire if I could buy an ounce with money from music.” That’s inconsequential now. To think that that’s where it once was. Yeah, it’s opening up - the ears are. People are listening in a way that I didn’t necessarily anticipate. Even though that was the goal was for that to happen. It’s definitely like, “Oh shit, let me take this more seriously than I was.” Cause I started making shit, just like, high.
So even though you were feeling jaded, etcetera, would you say the change is a good thing as far as elevation?
Yeah, for sure. Just kind of learning to appreciate every single win. The small ones, the medium ones, the big ones, cause they’re there. And we all got em, and I feel like we all can get jaded with the, “Damn that wasn’t that big of a win.” Like, nigga? 13-year-old you would be freaking out right now. You know what I mean?
Gotta appreciate the small things.
[Off to dog] Alan, don’t do that my nigga!
YUNGMORPHEUSI found time and time again, the cats who are white who raise those qualms are like, “The problem is respectability politics, and niggas shouldn’t say nigga.” Word? That? That’s the thing? They could hold that.
How does this joint compare to the rest of the project?
I feel like it’s one of the relaxed notes of that jawn. I’m trying to figure out the best way to discern it from the rest of the joint. I tried to make a point of having that joint be varied sonically, and not just be a gang of loops or a gang of beat-ass-beats. I think it’s a good supplement to the rest of it.
After looking at your catalog, I want to ask how much sleep do you get at night? Since last year, you’ve been releasing projects left and right, so how’s sleep for you?
[Laughing] Not good. Not good, yo. I be trying, I be doing my damndest for sure to make sure I take care of the body. But if there’s an idea, I’m gonna see it through. And I be fuckin’ myself, cause it might be like two or three or some shit, and I’m like, “Let me just burn one and listen to this record before I go to bed.” Then I’m like, “No, you’re gonna flip it.” You know what I mean? Niggas really just be runnin’ with it whenever it hits. Never on no, “Well this is the time that I work on stuff.” I know some cats can operate like that, and I respect that, but I can’t. It gotta be whenever that bitch it, for real.
So the main cause of the lack of sleep is getting ideas out and getting work done.
Yeah, and you know, thinking about shit. Shit niggas been through, life. Niggas dreams is weird. A lot of shit.
Do you plan to attack 2021 the same way you did last year?
Yeah, but no. Yes, but more pointedly. Doing a lot of shit with my niggas. This is the year of fleshing out the canon of what the YUNGMORPHEUS story is. It’s different in that way.
Tell us about how you and Ewonee hooked up? What was the process of putting together the collab project?
That’s the bro. When I was living in New York, that’s how we met. I came out there on some fan shit. Like I said, niggas always been fans. There was a gang of producers that I was like, “Yo, this nigga hard. It’d be tight to meet this nigga.” We got relatively close while I was living out there, but never wound up making mad shit.
I don’t know, something clicked one day. Actually, by the time I moved out here, niggas was like, “Yo, send me some pack,” and I was like, “Yo, I got you.” And that shit just bloop bloop bloop bloop. I was working on a gang of other shit at the time as well, so it was like a slow-cook. I was maybe doing at the same time as States of Precarity, that spans to like a year-and-a-half.
I see that you rap a lot about Black empowerment, along with a ton of knowledge itself. Tell us more about that. Were you around groups like the Five Percenters, The Nation of Islam. How did you get your foundation?
Already, already. I’m gonna have to give that to my pops, for real. He never really claimed to be a Rastafarian, but was very immersed in that culture in Florida. That nigga came out to Florida when he was 16. I was a jit, and whenever you had summer vacation, that nigga would not let me chill. It would be like, “Iight boom, you gotta do a book report on Marcus Garvey my nigga. You gotta do a book report on Malcom X, on this book.” As a jit, I’m like, “Damn dawg, I’m tryin’ to kick it,” but also being like, “Oh shit, this is extremely valuable, and I’m a thousand percent not getting this nowhere else, cause they’re not gonna tell me about these niggas, like at all.”
Shoutout to that nigga for helping me build on that - gave me those seeds. As niggas moved on, got peace with couple brothers from Philly in the Nation, couple homies from New York. Just trying to learn. Never being like, I’m this or that. Just trying to learn from my brothers.
Getting fruit from different trees.
Of course. Because they’re always valuable fruit. For me, it would feel disrespectful to be like “Nah, just this,” when there’s so many that us as a people have made. We all have some valuable knowledge, I’m trying to see what’s up.
What do you think Black people need to do in order to speed up the process of liberation?
Man…
That’s a deep one.
Nah, you good bro, cause I be asking myself that fucking question every day, for real. They snuffed us out so many times. So many iterations of the movement have been snuffed out, so I be thinking about “What’s the thing? How should niggas attack it differently?” And the only common denominator that my mind comes to is niggas [clasps arms]. It’s only gonna be that. If niggas connect, it can only be that. We have to really, really form a vanguard that we all agree with and are rockin’ with. It’s been shown time and time again that the only thing they need is one shaky fucking brick my nigga. All you need is one nigga who’s like, “I’m fuckin with the movement, but fuck them niggas.” And then the FBI, CIA be like, “Yo, I heard you wasn’t fuckin’ with them niggas. You wanna go and dig and that nigga trash and tell us what he be eating and where his lady stay and yadda yadda?” It just takes that.
That’s the only thing I can think about. Niggas need to really fucking focus and lock arms, man. So I don’t know how else that shit gonna get fast. Every time we try it’s because it be like almost, but the only thing that be wrong is that everybody not with it. Niggas like, “Yeah I’m with it, but them niggas marching in the streets crazy.” Damn dawg, come on.
Great answer bro. Literally just unification. It’s the only way we can do this shit.
Straight up.
I recently watched Judas and The Black Messiah, and that movie made me cry. Have you watched the movie, or do you know the story and what are your thoughts on that whole situation?
I’m familiar with the story, I haven’t watched the movie yet. Partially for that reason. I’m glad that you and a couple other niggas who are homies have been like “It’s good.” I was worried, like “Ah shit, I hope they don’t fuck this up.” So I’m glad that is the case. But I don’t know dawg, that was a young man bro. That was a young, beautiful man who was really really trying to do the thing.
Let’s say a white person was listening to your music, and from your lyrical content, references, the speeches you sample and such, what if your whole message is, “Oh my god, he hates white people!” What is your response to that?
That’s the most shallow way to engage. If they feel that way, then you the ones. Let’s remove the racial context for a second, if you hear a joint and nigga say some slick shit about, “Niggas be doing this but yadda yadda,” you gonna let that rock unless you that nigga. “Niggas be borrowin bread but don’t be paying it back.” You gonna let that bar slide, unless you like “Yo fuck that nigga.” Like, “Yo, why you hate that? You not a part of the problem so what’s wrong with that bar?”
I found time and time again, the cats who are white who raise those qualms are like, “The problem is respectability politics, and niggas shouldn’t say nigga.” Word? That? That’s the thing? They could hold that.
I used to try to think of a politically correct answer to say to that, but they could hold that. It’s fair to people who need that and are gonna resonate with it in a real way. The niggas who are actually listening understand that there’s a reason.
Niggas have way more white fans than I would have ever expected. Old white niggas that make metal in the middle of fucking America, being like, “Yo, I heard States of Precarity. Beautiful record, oh my god.” That nigga get it. He not offended. I’m talking about him. And he understands, like, “These frustrations are from a valid place. I understand. This is a beautiful album.” So I stopped caring about them niggas cause it be little white boys at the shows like, “I think it’s so ill how you be saying crack and shit like that. That shit’s hard.” Like yeah, yo, bless. So whoever don’t like that shit, yall could hold that.
Respect. Okay. If there’s one overall message that you really want your listeners to gain from your music, what would you say it is?
Just be yourself and be honest, forreal. Be yourself and be honest, cause that’s the only way the other shit will follow. That’s the only way true growth will come, and how you can grow in a way that will be able to help others. Zoom out one time and be like, “Ah okay, what can I do for myself so that I can do for my niggas?”
Yeah, that’s it for real. To not go too crazy. I hope niggas hear that.
Anything else you want to say?
Shoutout to all my niggas. Keep pushing yall.
