Captain Murphy Between Villains (Ft. Viktor Vaughn, Earl Sweatshirt & Thundercat)

There are certain combinations that music nerds wish and pray for, obsess and hypothesize over, in an attempt to coalesce the energy emanating from their collective mothers' basements to get their favorite artists in the studio together, or at least trading .wavs over email. Fanboys can sleep a bit easier after they check one of those collaborations off the list -- Flying Lotus and MF DOOM.

Well, technically it's Captain Murphy and Viktor Vaughn, but beggars can't be choosers. I mean, they even brought along everyone's favorite disgruntled teen rapper, Earl Sweatshirt, and the man who is bringing Jazz back, Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner. "Between Villains" plays off Lotus and Earl's previous collaboration "Between Friends" for a witty, moody banger with Thundercat's bass ominously calm backing every verse.

Viktor Vaughn sets it off with a stanza that fits the standard set on Vaudeville Villain and incites Earl to follow suit, getting angsty while keeping the bars sharp. Still, it is Captain Murphy that shows the most hunger in his verse, going heavy on the psychedelic imagery and wordplay at once. DOOM (and Vaughn and Geedorah, etc.) is the progenitor of many styles, and it certainly pleases this rap nerd to see him on a track with a pair of artists directly influenced by his work.