An old Rhodes sample loops around on Flylo’s crate- digger beat, Murphy and Earl trading bars cheerlessly, telling tales of Elysium and eating ramen in a parking lot. Lofty, rumbling beats and down-pitched vocals never felt so right until they came from Earl Sweatshirt and Flying Lotus’ alter ego, Captain Murphy.

What better way to cut up long, avante-garde stretches of animation than with a flashy graphic, politically incoherent text, and a Flying Lotus beat blaring in the background? Let’s talk about why we watch Adult Swim.įlying Lotus’ creative direction forms a harmonious pairing with Adult Swim. Arguably, DeMarco’s collaborations with tons of musicians, varying from lo-fi hip-hop to experimental noise music, could be the driving force behind the entire program. From the visually lush commercial breaks to the short-lived reruns of Xavier: Renegade Angel, creative director, Jason DeMarco does painstaking work to keep the spirit of his channel alive.

Late night bumpers and oddball comedies from Cartoon Network’s mature viewership program, Adult Swim, have a way of tapping into a sleep-deprived audience and turn goofy after-hours television into a stylistically rich hub of entertainment.