Ugly Duckling Bang For The Buck LP
The Long Beach trio of Young Einstein, Dizzy Dustin and Andy C are back with a bang! ‘Bang For The Buck’ is their latest LP and follow up to 2004’s excellent concept album ‘Taste The Secret’. And this is one aptly titled album because in between the gunshot that opens proceedings on the title track and the final fade-out of track 12, there lies 40 odd minutes of straight-up banging, relentless, funky, up-tempo, raw hip-hop with no filler.
Since their debut EP Fresh Mode dropped in 1999 UD have been serving a sizeable and loyal worldwide fan base with their own brand of funky-fresh beats and rhymes and also occasionally tickling the charts due to their enviable knack of constructing catchy singles which have crossover appeal without making any sacrifices or compromises to their sound and ethos.
For newcomers to this sound, the title track and album opener lays down the UD manifesto; infectious, funky, boom bap music, to make you get up off yo’ ass and move something. A bouncing bass line and crisp percussion make way for emcee’s Andy Cooper and Dizzy Dustin rhyming over a trademark dirty break, which rattles away in your headphones like that opening bullet is still ricocheting around your skull.
Next up is ‘Yudee’, the first single off the album and it’s a super catchy song in the same vein as ‘Little Samba’ and ‘Turn It Up’; the lead singles from previous LP’s. Squealing organs, blasting horns, keys and a hard drum loop all come together lovely to blast away your earwax. The chant along chorus is enough to make even the most ice-grilled heads get their backs up off the wall and stomp about shouting along like nutters as the emcees inform those who don’t know about the undeniable hype-ness of their tight live show. Ugly Duckling have performed all over the globe, covered all 5 continents and have even gigged in China, only the 2nd foreign rap crew ever to do so. It is obvious touring is a massively important to Ugly Duckling, not only on this song but on the entire set it appears they have manufactured these songs with the live show in mind. Every track implores you to move and there are more shout along hooks, that live audiences will lap up, than other rappers manage in a whole career and these kind of audience participation choruses are traditionally integral to the hip-hop live show.
After ‘Breakdown’ a track about how UD will smash their way through any pre-conceptions or boundaries which threaten to pigeonhole or hold them back, comes song ‘Left Behind’ which cranks up the already frantic BPM even further as Diz and Andy spit braggodicionics over a funky piano loop and the crews criminally underrated deejay, Young Einstein comes in with some razor sharp scratching straight after the hook and it’s lovely, sultry sax sample have smoothed things out.
‘Smack’ again showcases horn blasts, piano and thumping beats but Einstein’s crates are of such legendary depth that he has no problem finding the samples to ensure each song is totally different and stands alone without losing the signature style and sound. Dizzy Dustin and Andy C have ‘jiggy’ rappers in their sights on this banger as they threaten to smack them upside the head and knock some sense into them. Verbally, of course, it’s refreshing to note that there’s not a gun, or a cuss in sight throughout the whole LP.
Throughout the album the emcees come correct with aggressive raps, concepts, humour and neatly structured verses always spat by both Dizzy Dustin & Andy with well defined flows which ooze personality. It’s nice to hear rappers having fun for a change and not trying to change the world, music is entertainment after all, something Diz and Andy clearly know. The two go head to head, battling each other on ‘Andy Vs. Dizzy’ each rocking bars over a different beat (followed by Einstein neatly dodging the task of picking a winner.)
Track 10 is ‘Slow It Down’, the title promises a little respite from the relentless battering your ears will have taken over the previous 9 cuts but thankfully UD aren’t ready to let you rest just yet and it’s another funky little number with a nice upbeat tempo, the emcees encouraging the listeners to chill out and to live their lives at an easier pace.
This is followed by ‘Shoot Your Shot’, for me the album highlight, featuring UD’s long-time friends People Under The Stairs for a super posse cut over the most infectious loop I’ve heard in a while. It’s impossible to get it out of your head so skip this one if you don’t want to be humming it for the next 6 months! Throughout the album Einstein shows his fine skills behind both the decks and the boards. This chap is one of hip-hop’s very best beat-smiths and has a fine ear for a sample. The quality of the loops, breaks and samples and the subtle way they are arranged and layered to make these tight funky stews is impressive. You really have to listen hard to appreciate the work and sheer amount of craft that has gone into making different samples work together like they were made to be together. He gets his deserved shine on ‘Einstein’s On Stage’ which showcases some cracking vinyl laceration whilst Diz and Andy Cooper big up their main man ‘like they used to do’ in the days when the deejay was the most important member of a rap crew.
Despite looking intensely for weak points I cannot find any. Occasionally Ugly Duckling are maligned in reviews for being formulaic. They along with their friends from PUTS, Giant Panda and J5 are accused of and criticised for remaining stuck in the ‘golden era’ sound of hip hop, for not being innovative and for playing it safe, sticking to their same tried and tested formula. Well I don’t see anything wrong with this at all when the hip-hop being produced is as tight, funky and hard as this. To produce a lean line up of just 12 superb tracks (which could each be the standout single on most hip-hop albums out at the moment) is a testament to the quality control the trio have in place and their obvious pride and enjoyment in what they do.
The bottom line is that this is how real hip-hop should be made and how it should sound. Far from the formulaic retro-rap tag Ugly Duckling are often branded with, ‘Bang For The Buck’ is a triumph, a revitalising blast of fresh air in today’s stale hip-hop atmosphere.
"infectious, funky, boom bap music, to make you get up off yo’ ass and move something"
- AGP
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