Drawing us in with a smooth guitar riff and orchestral strings arrangement, Yungwall opens Cleopatra with a cinematic grandeur as he invites us into his dimensional hip-hop universe. Cleopatra evokes a soundscape that feels both earthly and astral, transcending genre lines.
The production is genius in its restraint: every string swell and percussive layer feels intentional. It orbits Yungwall’s poetic prowess like a constellation in motion. The result is a sound that’s feels just as meditative as it is magnetic.
Thematically, Yungwall dives into love and introspection, cycles of connection, loss and renewal with reference to his muse. His metaphorical lyricism and conscious storytelling channel the spiritual depth of Kendrick Lamar while echoing the soulful warmth of a more consciously astute Kanye West.
Luscious vocal harmonies thread through the track, and there is an astral undertone throughout the record – looking up, whilst looking inward. This celestial duality is what gives Cleopatra her depth: it’s a love story, but also a meditation on identity, ego and emotional evolution.
As the track unfolds, it takes a breathtaking sonic switch-up for the finale. The beat slows, textures dissolve into reverb, and what remains is pure emotion. It’s a masterstroke of production, leaving us suspended in introspection as the final notes fade.
Recorded entirely at home in Uppsala, Sweden, Cleopatra stands as an artistic milestone and a personal revelation. Yungwall produced, wrote and recorded every element himself. The authenticity is tangible.
As Yungwall manifests a future 2027 performance at the Venue of Gladiators in Rome, there is no doubt that Cleopatra cements him as one of the most intriguing new voices in conscious hip-hop and soul. He philosophically confesses, “I really like the phrase ‘sphere of thoughts’ as an alternative to just ‘my mind’.” For our part, we’ve added Cleopatra to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the entirety of Yungwall‘s album, The Diary of Julius Caesar.