Its a return to form for one of the most slept-on hip-hop crews going today as Ugly Duckling emerge from 2003s fast food concept record to deliver more of what they do best: attack you with fast-paced party jams. Bang For the Buck sees Ugly Duckling in their finest form from start to finish as MCs Andy Cooper and Dizzy Dustin command the mic with such enthusiasm and comical flare while the phenomenal Young Einstein is at an all-time best with the cuts and production. The energy held in cuts like "Lower the Boom and "Yudee! is explosive in the sense that it sounds like they have a 12-piece funk band backing them up. The two undisputed champions of this effort come from "Einsteins on Stage, which continues the "Gold Chain series as Andy and Dizzy remind us they do have one of the games finest on the console, and "Shoot Your Shot as UD deliver their first venture into posse cuts with People Under the Stairs a track that contains the best verses and production amongst an already flawless record. Andy has been working with Einstein when it comes to a songwriting approach to production to get the most out of each effort and it clearly shows as each song is an air-tight, multi-angled venture that recalls the glory days of hip-hop, circa 1989.
Youve always poked fun at yourself for being hip-hop outcasts, but what would happen if Ugly Duckling actually did blow up? Cooper: Weve always wondered over the years, "What would an Ugly Duckling hit song sound like? I imagine if we did get big it would be because an audience came around to what we do. It would be like one of those Nirvana situations where they got big but it was pretty much within the context of what they had been doing all the years preceding that. It would be a bummer for people who liked it before every stupid teenage girl in the world liked it as well, but musically and artistically it would still be credible, I hope. Just because youre popular doesnt mean you cant be lovable losers.
As always, you continue to tackle "gangster pop ringtone rap With the G-Unit guys its almost as if they built the perfect commercial gangster. They look like a gangster and they talk about gangster stuff, but they also have hooks for the girls and do love songs. Its basically pop music disguised with tattoos, bandanas and guns. Its the same mindless crap thats been coming out since the beginning of recorded music.
Didnt you go to the same high school as Snoop Dogg? Yeah. I actually rode my bike past my old high school and I was thinking about how weird it was because I graduated in 1993 and thats when The Chronic came out. I can vividly remember being at school when that album really started to hit and the album, to a great degree, talks about the neighbourhood in which the school was and that sort of culture, so it was strange for it to be so popular and so immediate to where we were in life at that point. His girlfriend at the time was in my graduating class, so he came to our senior prom.
(Fat Beats)Youve always poked fun at yourself for being hip-hop outcasts, but what would happen if Ugly Duckling actually did blow up? Cooper: Weve always wondered over the years, "What would an Ugly Duckling hit song sound like? I imagine if we did get big it would be because an audience came around to what we do. It would be like one of those Nirvana situations where they got big but it was pretty much within the context of what they had been doing all the years preceding that. It would be a bummer for people who liked it before every stupid teenage girl in the world liked it as well, but musically and artistically it would still be credible, I hope. Just because youre popular doesnt mean you cant be lovable losers.
As always, you continue to tackle "gangster pop ringtone rap With the G-Unit guys its almost as if they built the perfect commercial gangster. They look like a gangster and they talk about gangster stuff, but they also have hooks for the girls and do love songs. Its basically pop music disguised with tattoos, bandanas and guns. Its the same mindless crap thats been coming out since the beginning of recorded music.
Didnt you go to the same high school as Snoop Dogg? Yeah. I actually rode my bike past my old high school and I was thinking about how weird it was because I graduated in 1993 and thats when The Chronic came out. I can vividly remember being at school when that album really started to hit and the album, to a great degree, talks about the neighbourhood in which the school was and that sort of culture, so it was strange for it to be so popular and so immediate to where we were in life at that point. His girlfriend at the time was in my graduating class, so he came to our senior prom.
