// Let's engage on this poet's debut poetry album ; It's a dope album indeed //
Greetings fam. I'm excited to provide another poetry segment on the blog. Today we'll be featuring another dope creative, and this is an exclusive feature. With that being said, I would like to present to you: Met_A_Morphosis and his debut album, "Wormhole of Consciousness". Please note that this article is long overdue, because I ran into a few problems with the site which were beyond my control, but thanks to the Wix team for eventually fixing the problem. Anyway, I hope you are ready to find out why this 13 track project is 1 of my fave top 3 poetry albums to date. Let's dive in.
A few weeks ago, Thando Motumi aka Met_A_Morphosis released his poetry album called "Wormhole of Consciousness". I gave it a listen a few days after it was released (It was actually released a month ago), and I must say that I'm really impressed. For those who might not be familiar with Met_A_Morphosis, he's a sketch artist and poet who uses abstract art to deliver spoken word poetry, and delivers intricate freestyles with a conscious flow. He's based in Pretoria, and has graced quite a number of prominent platforms, so if you're an avid follower of poetry in South Africa, then you've probably seen him performing on stage before .
You can click on the above album cover to listen/ purchase the album while you continue to read the rest of this blog post. The album is basically a compilation of abstract conscious poetry fused with elements of hip hop, jazz neo soul and classical music. If you're wondering about the reasoning behind the album title, then wonder no more. It was inspired by an idea in theoretical physics (yep, that's right, Theoretical Physics). "A Wormhole initially called an Einstein Rosen bridge postulates according to Einstein's field equations that a structure exists that connects 2 distant points in space. It is still a speculative theory and is yet to be proven". If you're familiar with his work, then I don't think this will be a surprise to you. It get's more fascinating when you find out the concept and meaning behind album: Explorations of consciousness as well as the nature and constructs of self ; This journey is inspired by visual art and fused with elements of philosophy and science; and how ideals emerge through seeking higher self or forms of consciousness. The album features a couple of talented artists, and it's the first time I've bought/ listened to a poetry album that actually features other poets (most poetry albums/ EPs I've bought normally consist of the poet alone, or feature musicians, so it was pretty cool to finally listen to a project that features other poets - and in this case the poets were "KB Kilobyte" and "Flex").
Met_A_Morphosis' content is very unique, and has a degree of complexity that would definitely make the genuine avid poetry fanatic inquisitive, in order to comprehend some of his amazing work. His selection of music to complement his poetry is very fascinating, and not only proves how his work can blend with different genres, but also how beautiful poetry can sound when paired with the right melodies. I really like his diction, because it's not popular (according to what I've been exposed to so far), and in all honesty, I even find myself quickly Googling some of the words he uses in his work to better understand his use of metaphors and personification. I've noticed how some poets tend to over complicate what they say by "trying" to sound sophisticated, and that's something I detest a lot (because why pretend to be sophisticated if you're not. lol). In the case of Met_A_Morphosis, the level of sophistication is somewhat reasonable and perhaps linked to his profession, so if you're familiar with some of the terms he makes use of, it will still make sense, but if you're not, and you do diligence in researching some of the phrases in his work, it will all still add up eventually. He's also one of those poets that you need to provide undivided attention when listening to him perform, because it's easy to lose focus on the bigger pictures and intended ideas/feelings he creates through his poetry.
In the words of the spoken word artist himself :"In the context of my album title I'm playing on the notion of going down the rabbit hole to expand consciousness. So when I say wormhole of consciousness; what I mean is that the projects serves not just to entertain, but provoke critical engagement with the concepts to life. The overlapping branches of knowledge, particularly those in Art, Sciences and Philosophy. So by going through a wormhole of consciousness you experience the connection between distant and sometimes opposing thoughts. Have you ever wondered why the heavens suffer from temporary psychosis? It is because of this man who has the simple profoundness of an ocean floor with an abyss of contemplation."
Alright, now let's get down to which tracks are my favorite. The 4th track on the album "Mapping Hope for Shipwrecked Souls" is definitely a fave, and it paved the way for a different vibe of the album that I wasn't expecting. It was kind of like an interlude, preparing me for the next elevation level of the album. This is also quite evident by the energy of the instrumentals of the 3 tracks that followed - and this is the part where I say that his beat selection was on point, so shout out to all the producers and artists on the album. When I got to track 8, it was like a shift to a lower gear with more laid back beats, but the poetry was still fire. So basically, what I'm trying to say is that track 4 to 12 are my favorite. There might be some bias due to my interest in Hip Hop, but anyway, the last track "Incepted Universe" is also a fave, and brings the album to a beautiful and rather sad conclusion. The ambient beat gently carries the poetry, and creates a futuristic, somber scene which feels like a mystical dream. The poets really use imagery very well here, and paint some very fascinating (but not necessarily colorful) visuals. This might be the reason why, when I was listening to it again while typing this article, I was kind of shocked that the album had come to an end. lol It's a beautiful ending, but it also left me wanting to hear more.
And that's about it for today, but before I conclude this piece, I would like to share the album listening session he had with Yamoria on The Queens Fortress Podcast, so that you also get an alternative perspective on the album. He also breaks down stuff such as " Space time fabric" and "wormholes". If what I said in the previous paragraphs did not convince you to buy the album, then hopefully this listening session will. You can buy the album here after watching the video above.
I've also decided to provide some info on what he has achieved so far and what platforms he's been on, just in case you got some money in you bank account and you don't just want to buy his album, but also want to book the brother for a gig: Winner of the Athol Williams Prize from Word N Sound Poetry and Live Music Series for 2018 season received on 2nd March 2019 Showcased at Ram Jam Soul Sundays at SABC as well as the Ram Jam Soul Sunday Festival (4 Dec 2016); Top 7 Gauteng National Provincial Poetry Slam (2016) ; Top 5 for World of Words Slam held at the Pop Art Theatre in Maboneng Precinct in partnership with Urban Art ; Performed showcase as headliner with Jazz Band for Dinner with Met_A_Morphosis held at Heritage Lifestyle Restuarant in Pretoria on 13th December 2019 ; Performed at the Curren State of Poetry Reunion Showcase held at the Jhb Theatre Complex on the 1st February 2020 ; Radio interviewed on Tshwane FM (93.6) discussing artistry and writing for self development held on 6th November 2019 ; Interview on Pulse Online Radio T.V with Don Dada discussing Poetry and the influence of Hip Hop held on 19 November 2019. Make sure you follow Met_A_Morphosis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
That's it from me. Do let me know what you think of the album because it would be great to hear your feedback. Let's connect on the socials on Insta & Twitter @2tukani.
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