Ugly Duckling

This Long Beach, CA trio picks up where their excellent Fresh Mode EP left off on Journey To Anywhere, with their fun-loving approach intact. Andy Capp and Dizzy Dustin kick lucid rhymes about cartoon characters and mundane everyday activities with equal zeal. So when they take a humorous run at materialistic excess on "A Little Samba" and string together some of the most clichéd lines uttered by prowling males on "Pick-Up Lines," their critical tone comes off as good-natured comedy. Not to be mistaken as soft, the group is anchored by the beats and fluid scratches of the ever-improving DJ Young Einstein, who along with the rest of the group practically flaunts his love for Jurassic beats and rhymes. "Eye On the Gold Chain," for example, is an impeccable flashback complete with rhymes praising their DJ and throwback shout-out styles. With the lounge-y shuffle of "Rock On Top" and the skilfully arranged mellow head-nodder "Oasis," Young Einstein's sonic guidance is the factor that elevates and accentuates the microphone frolics.