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 Ugly Duckling Interview
interview 0352 added 27.11.05 words: Flat4
technical: Flat4
Ugly Duckling, are three cool Californians,
Andy Powell, Dizzy Dustin' and Young Einstein, the DJ with the deepest crates in the world... probably.
They've been around since the G-Funk era, an integral part of the alternative West Coast scene, delivering good time raps, laugh-out-loud lyrics and funky funky beats.
The three of them have a new album out, and were out touring this summer in Europe - I hope you caught them cuz they put on a hell of a show!
So you're from Long Beach, not LA, right?
Andy Powell: For some people that's important
Dizzy Dustin': For me it is - I like to know that we're from Long Beach and not LA - the hiphop is totally different, the culture
AP: It's a different city too - it's like 20 miles outside LA, it's the port of LA. LA it's Hollywood and that industry, and Long Beach is where all the beaches and the shipping are, so it's really different
So from 1993 when you got together to 1999 your first release, how did it all happen?
AP: Well it took us maybe 2 years to get songs together and do some demos, then round 95 we went to a studio and made a full length album, on tape, and it was OK. Then in 97 we put out an independent 12" called "Fresh Mode", and then for a year and a half we really used to service that, send it all over the world and work it. From there we got the recording deal and made the album, so it took a while to put music together, but it still does. Our production style, the sampling and looping and just the way we work, we just can't churn out songs really fast, it takes us two or three weeks to do one song even now. We've always worked really slowly.
DD: Plus Young Einstein did some jail time
Young Einstein: Yeah I was out of the picture for a couple of years
AP: Beat a man to death
DD: With his chain
How would you define your style of hiphop if you really had to?
AP: Well we're heavily influenced by the late 80s and early 90s style of hiphop, maybe like early Cold Chillin, Biz Markie and into A Tribe Called Quest, Beatnuts and Gang Starr, the sampling of funk and loops, especially when it started going beyond just James Brown, people started sampling jazz music, latin and soul, and doing really interesting arrangements with sampling and stuff. Those sort of artists are our influences. Lyrically, all the classic groups again, plus we like to throw in our own culture as well.
What do you do apart from music and before getting together?
AP: We were all in hiphop groups from the late 80s, trying to be rappers and DJs, in various groups. Then we were all working in a fast food restaurant, that's like where we met each other, and we'd like ... what did you do today?
YE: Well I went to the beach today, got sunburned
DD: I'm a movie buff, I like watching movies, DVDs, any type of movies
“...I think a lot of people confuse quantity with quality - they're like "ah I did like a hundred songs" yeah but it'd be better to do five good songs than 100 alright ones...”
AP: Bootlegs?
DD: Nah man, terrible quality, you got to get the real thing in good quality. Plus taking long walks on the beaches, playing the violing, stuff like that
YE: What do you do besides hiphop man?
AP: Oh I watch all sports, I like sports so much that as an american I'll watch football, I know all about Thierry Henry, I watch all the matches. If I'm not working on music I'll watch, y'know, ping pong! Y'know if he's in a room working on a song I'll be in the other room watching ESPN getting the highlights, track n field, anything.
So you are into taking it easy in front of the game with a beer?
AP: Ah absolutely, there's even on our new album that'll be out this winter, a whole track where we talk about the virtues of taking things easy. As I was saying earlier, our production methods too... I think a lot of people confuse quantity with quality - they're like "ah I did like a hundred songs" yeah but it'd be better to do five good songs than 100 alright ones. So we move slowly, we enjoy the sun, we enjoy taking our time, and I think that in the end you have a better quality of life it you move slower.
So will your fourth album be coming out on an independent label like the first three, or a major?
AP: Ah definitely not a major... Well, majors - and you can ask the Jurassic 5 guys about this, majors are great if they really love what you do and they can promote you, but at the same time
DD: They have to promote like 20 other groups at the same time
AP: And even more than that, they have to sell large quantities. They're geared up to sell like millions of copies of records, and more, in America. So if you don't sell that many you have a difficult time and they start saying you have to use this producer and that producer. So if a major comes along and says we love your music and we're behind you, that'd be great, but it's never happened to us, and if we went to them they'd be like "Well we like you guys, but you need to go hire Kanye West and Doctor Dre needs to do two songs", and that isn't going to happen
DD: No that's not going to happen.
You've got a new album out soon - what are your thoughts on piracy and it's possible effect on sales?
AP: Well, honestly, for groups like us, as small time as we are, we're happy for bootlegging, copying, any way of spreading the music so that people hear about us. I'm sure if you're a bigger artist and you're losing like a million sales because of piracy then that's a lot of money. For us, the fact that anyone takes interest we're really pleased, so we don't speak out on it. I can understand and sympathize with people on it, but for me if you're one of the people suffering from piracy it means you're successful and making money cuz that's why people are bootlegging you. It's like fake Nikes - it's hard to feel sorry for Nike - like how many billions of dollars do you make?
Are you continuing in South American music - how about some Cuban?
YE: Good idea!
AP: Yeah we always do lots of Latin music - one of the main reasons is because we love horns and brass sections so much. To me it's one of those things that's faded out of music a bit, people don't use horns as much, but they're so powerful, melodic, emotional. Latin music really showcases brass, horn sections, and you just can't beat Latin music. We grew up in southern California, heavy Latino population, so in Long Beach you've got Mexicans, Peruvians, Guatemalans, whatever, and you just hear all that stuff. Once you hear it it's hard not to like it. A lot of people in hiphop think oh that's weak, that's too happy, too silly, but one of the best albums ever, Low End Theory, it's horns, Pete Rock - horns, so I don't even argue that stuff
DD: Plus that music attracts all the beautiful women. The clubs playing that kind of music, you're gonna go there and see the beautiful women.. no worries.
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Flat4
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