Kidz in the Hall, Land of Make Believe
Duck Down Records

After two charming, playful albums and a minor indie hit (“Drivin’ Down the Block”), new rap gen stars Kidz in the Hall sound world-weary. Their cynicism weighs heavily on Land of Make Believe: On “Simple Life,” Naledge wonders what success really means, while he swaggers on “Bougie Girls” and “Jukebox” with a casual misogyny uncharacteristic of the group’s earlier material. But repeated listens to Land of Make Believe find that the Chicago upstarts haven’t lost their ear for great melodies – check Double-O’s standout production on “Will II Win” and “Running” – just a sense of confidence.

Skyzoo & Illmind, Live From The Tape Deck
Duck Down

Live from the Tape Deck, a collaboration between rapper Skyzoo and producer Illmind, is not only a throwback to classical values, but also a metaphor for “doing the right thing,” as several interludes derived from Spike Lee’s 1989 film reminds us. So in spite of being “critically acclaimed and underrated at the same time,” Skyzoo eschews industry gimmicks in favor of dense lyricism, from setting the proverbial “Kitchen Table” to tossing “Frisbees.” Illmind’s beats are reminiscent of Black Milk’s excellent Tronic, adding hardcore electronic bangers that enhance this purist hip-hop experience.

Marco Polo, The Stupendous Adventures Of Marco Polo
Duck Down Records

It seems counterintuitive for rising producer Marco Polo to turn The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo into a platform for dozens of MCs. But Marco Polo isn’t an instrumental beat maker; he excels at scoring tracks for a wide breadth of underground voices, from backpackers (Red Clay’s “Official”) to street rappers (Torae’s “Combat Drills”). Utilizing a range of sampled sounds, from “The Bridge’s” brassy funk horns to “Think of You Now’s” cool piano tones, Marco Polo compiles plenty of heaters. However, a few cuts (Granddaddy I.U.’s grumpy-sounding “The Veteran”) fall flat.

Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx, The eXXecution
Duck Down Records

Canadian producer Marco Polo knows how to cajole strong performances out of recalcitrant thug rappers. For Ruste Juxx, the star of The eXXecution, he lays down a template of grimy loops, setting the background for Juxx’s growls and barks. Juxx knows how to flow, and doesn’t get in Marco Polo’s way. However, he doesn’t add much lyrical flavor, either. It only takes a few seconds of a hilarious Sean Price cameo – “F*ck all that dis rap sh*t, n*gga/When I see you, wings on your back” – to highlight what’s missing from The eXXecution.

This essay on Duck Down Records’ 15th anniversary was posted April 9 on the Rhapsody Music Stuff Place blog and its new Rhapsody Hip-Hop Blog. I have a weekly column called Rap is Not Pop.

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Rap is Not Pop: Why Duck Down Matters

Duck Down Records, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, may be the last of the great New York throwbacks. Its flagship group, Boot Camp Clik, came of age during the “Stakes Is High” era of hip-hop, those years before the Notorious B.I.G.’s Life After Death and Diddy’s No Way Out introduced a set of conspicuously materialistic values that changed the culture forever. (Some grumpy old heads would argue that they “killed” hip-hop.) Shortly after came the underground scene’s rise and fall; a shift in the universe from the Rotten Apple to the Dirty South; and a current split between D-boy/street values and alternative/pop dreams.

Every independent rap label has struggled in recent years, and few from that halcyon ’90s period have survived. (Stones Throw is a notable exception; more on them later.) For Boot Camp Clik, the course has been particularly torturous. Being known for street rap classics such as Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage and Smif-N-Wessun’s Dah Shinin’ can serve as a unique kind of weight; it’s what fans love and expect from them, even if that era of bleedy-eyed rhymes and casual lyrical violence has passed. But Duck Down has managed to satiate its hardcore following and look forward to the future.

That feat took some maneuvering. Cofounders Dru Ha and Buckshot landed a distribution deal with Priority Records only after escaping a litigious relationship with Nervous Records, the label behind Enta Da Stage and Dah Shinin’. Originally designed as a next-to-blow label, it found early Billboard chart success with gems like Heltah Skeltah’s Nocturnal, Originoo Gunn Clappaz’ Da Storm and the Boot Camp Clik group album For the People. But as the “jiggy” sound took over in the late ’90s, destroying any chance of underground-to-mainstream growth, Duck Down seemed unable to adjust creatively.

Then again, Boot Camp Clik have often appeared slightly out of place. During their mid-’90s heyday, they seemed more smoked-out and insular than street rap contemporaries such as Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, the Gang Starr Foundation and M.O.P. They spoke their own version of Ebonics (known as “Bootcampian”), used military iconography and fused reggae and dancehall with eerily slow dub vibes. The beats, mostly produced by Da Beatminerz in the early years, were more akin to Portishead trip-hop than Pete Rock soul. Today, they’re even more isolated from the post-Diddy New York of Big Willies, urban pop stars and underground “true school” emcees. Don’t get it twisted: this isn’t a crew of backpackers, even though Buckshot rapped about his “knapsack” on Black Moon’s “Who Got Da Props?”. But even mainstream superthugs like N.O.R.E. and DMX were too limited for their vocabulary.

It wasn’t until Buckshot teamed with producer 9th Wonder for a series of collaborations, beginning with 2005′s Chemistry, that Duck Down found its stride. That same year, Sean Price (formerly known as Rock from Heltah Skeltah) dropped Monkey Barz; in his Rhapsody review, Sam Chennault wrote that it was “reminiscent of a time when emcees would rather whoop your ass in the alley than steal your girl at the club.” Further Boot Camp Clik efforts like Buckshot’s The Formula (again with 9th) and Survival Skills (this time with KRS-One) and Sean Price’s Jesus Price Supastar were often heard as nostalgic evocations of ’90s ethics, a time when street rap was a thing of mystery and noir, not simply a backdrop for money-grubbing D-boys to flaunt their latest club dances.

However, these new Boot Camp recordings were also an attempt to deal with their considerable legacy and build something new. Jesus Price Supastar may be defiantly old school, but it doesn’t sound like those ’90s classics. It’s the classicist approach — sample-heavy beats and snarled, half-serious gun threats — that fools us into thinking that they’re old instead of new.

Meanwhile, Duck Down Records is signing new artists, and not just extended fam like Pharoahe Monch (whose new album, W.A.R., is slated for this summer) or like-minded soldiers such as Torae and Marco Polo (authors of 2009′s impressive Double Barrel). The appearance of Kidz in the Hall’s The In Crowd — a new rap gen opus whose middle-class house-party sound has little in common with the grimy street poetry of the Clik — probably surprised a lot of fans, as did an announcement that the label was aligning with Northwest activists Blue Scholars for a distribution/marketing deal.

Duck Down Records is no longer a movement limited to a particular crew, but a symbol of independent-minded (if not necessarily indie) hip-hop. The amazing thing is that Dru Ha and Buckshot learned to take advantage of that.

There are few others. The aforementioned Stones Throw began as an outpost of Bay Area hip-hop, evolved into a clearinghouse for Madlib’s catalog, and then grew into its best incarnation as a progressive imprint defined by a raw, visceral approach to funk, rap, electronics and other psychedelic sounds. The important thing is to sustain the brand while expanding its definition.

I’m not surprised that Stones Throw figured that out — Peanut Butter Wolf and co. always seemed like smart rap guys — but I didn’t expect Duck Down to get there, too. After all, many others didn’t, from Fondle ‘Em and Rawkus to Definitive Jux (which barely survives as a catalog label). While the music industry emerges from the wreckage of the digital revolution, we need a few heroes to show us that renewal is possible.

Last year, Marco Polo killed it on his collaboration with Torae, Double Barrel. The producer returns on March 23, this time with Boot Camp Clik associate Ruste Juxx. Set for release via Duck Down Records, The eXXecution features guest shots from DJ Revolution, Ruck (a.k.a. Sean Price) and Rock from Heltah Skeltah, Freddie Foxxx and Black Moon.

Here’s a little bio hype:

Marco Polo & Ruste Juxx have combined forces to bring fans a serious dose of hardcore Hip Hop. The eXXecution is entirely produced by Marco Polo with Ruste Juxx providing gut-wrenching vocals over heavy hitting drums.

Marco Polo explains that a “simple studio session to play beats turned into Ruste Juxx recording 9 songs. The joints came out so crazy that we said let’s turn this into a full-length album. Working with Duck Down all these years it was only a matter of time before Juxx and I got to a specific project. The best part is the work happened organically. Nothing was forced. Ruste came through, heard beats, wrote, recorded…done deal. March 23rd is The eXXecution!”

Ruste Juxx describes the album as “straight eXXecuting. I’m killing off wack MCs and Marco’s murdering the producers. I couldn’t help but to write some killer shit to the beats Marco made. If I wrote something wack to his production, then it’s a wasted beat. I can’t have that! “

Here’s the track listing:

• 1. “The eXXecution Intro” (feat. DJ Revolution)
• 2. “Death Penalty” (feat. DJ Revolution)
• 3. “Rearview”
• 4. “Take Money” (feat. Rock from Heltah Skeltah & Freddie Foxxx)
• 5. “I’m On It”
• 6. “Let’s Take A Sec” (feat. Black Moon)
• 7. “Bread On Ya Head”
• 8. “Wings On Your Back”
• 9. “Nobody”
• 10. “Fuckin Wit A Gangster” (feat. Sean Price)
• 11. “Watch Yo Step”
• 12. “You Can’t Stop Me”

As I work through a massive backlog of press material, here’s another one to watch out for. KRS-One and Buckshot’s collabo Survival Skills drops September 15 on Duck Down Records. It’s packed with guests, from Mary J. Blige and Melanie Fiona to Talib Kweli and Slug from Atmosphere. And, of couse, lots of Duck Down members show up, including Smif-N-Wessun and new signee Geologic from Blue Scholars. Production comes from Black Milk, Illmind, Marco Polo, Khrysis, Nottz and 9th Wonder.

The first single, “Robot,” was produced by Havoc and has percolated around the Internet for a minute. Here’s some press info:

On the surface the album is a testament to the resiliency of two lyrical titans, but at its root Survival Skills is a blueprint for life. For instance on the infectious head-nodder “Robot,” which was released 6 weeks prior to Jay Z’s “The Death Of Auto Tune” track, and already available World Wide at Digital Retail Shops, such as iTunes, the duo speak-out against the recent overuse of the Auto-Tune vocal effect in urban music, but under the surface the message is much deeper. “I don’t want people to get the averaged clichéd version and thinking that we’re dissing people,’” Buckshot clarifies. “What we’re calling out here is the biters, the people that feel like because this guy sold X amount of records doing this, that I’m going to turn around and do it as well,” KRS says of the array of artists who have followed in the creative footsteps of Roger Troutman, Afrikka Bambatta, Teddy Riley and T-Pain. Despite its heavy message, sonically the track, produced by Mobb Deep’s Havoc, is as inviting as anything on the radio today. The video for “ROBOT,” directed by Todd Angkaswan, has been added into rotation at MTV & BET. The track has also been included in the sound track for Activision’s upcoming Tony Hawk skate game in stores this Fall.

Coincidently, ROBOT is not the first example of where Jay Z has released similar material and concepts from KRS-ONE & BUCKSHOT. In 2003, Buckshot’s group Black Moon recorded a song called “Stay Real,” which was, again, released 6 weeks prior to Jay Z’s “Public Service Announcement” track, that ironically contained the same sample as Black Moon’s “Stay Real.”

A couple years prior to this Jay Z released “THE BLUEPRINT,” which was the same title used by KRS-ONE in his classic album, Boogie Down Productions “Ghetto Music: The BLUEPRINT of Hip Hop.” …

For all of their individual accomplishments, KRS-ONE and Buckshot remain fans of each other’s work; complementing each other’s strengthens. “That’s still KRS-One at the end of the day. I didn’t know how to rhyme back when I first started listening to Kris,” says Buck alluding to his partner’s dominant history. In turn, KRS gives all praises to the Black Moon front man. “I am the humble teacher on the track, Buckshot is clearly the man,” he says.

Still gritty tracks like “Clean Up,” featuring Rock of Heltah Skeltah and the politically minded “Running Away” featuring Immortal Technique, make Survival Skills a Hip-Hop fan’s dream, catering to those that love lyrics and the boom-bap. Equally as rich is the album’s Black Milk-produced track, “The Way I Live” featuring the Queen of hip-hop soul, Mary J. Blige. Together they create a triumphant anthem for all those on the grind trying to conquer their dreams. The song’s summery feel and soothing melodies make it an instant hit.

Throughout, both veterans sound as hungry and invigorated as any of their rap counterparts. “Projects like these are projects that motivate me,” KRS says. “The idea to work with another MC that has his own persona and style and do a real collaboration in the studio, that’s motivation. I already got 16 albums of my own,” he adds.

What KRS-One and Buckshot have created is an album that is socially responsible, lyrically sharp and sonically banging. Buckshot sums it up best, “Hip-Hop was started as an option to not killing each other. We were in the ghettos and we were real fucked up. We created Hip-Hop so we didn’t have to do that anymore.”

“The album is called Survival Skills, because that is what it takes.”

Here’s the track listing:

• 1. “Survival Skills” (feat. DJ Revolution)
• 2. “Robot”
• 3. “The Way I Live” (feat. Mary J. Blige)
• 4. “Clean Up Crew” (feat. Rock of Heltah Skeltah)
• 5. “Oh Really” (feat. Talib Kweli & Geologic of Blue Scholars)
• 6. “We Made It” (feat. Slug of Atmosphere)
• 7. “Runnin Away” (feat. Immortal Technique)
• 8. “Think Of All The Things” (feat. K’naan)
• 9. “Connection” (feat. Smif-N-Wessun)
• 10. “Hear No Evil”
• 11. “One Shot” (feat. Pharoahe Monch)
• 12. “Murder 1″ (feat. Bounty Killer)
• 13. “Amazin’” (feat. Sean Price & Loudmouf Choir)
• 14. “Past, Present, Future” (feat. Melanie Fiona & Naledge of Kidz In The Hall)

Seattle duo Blue Scholars has signed a deal with Duck Down. In recent years they’ve issued material on Rawkus and Hyena Records; hopefully Duck Down will provide a lasting home for them. (No word on where their Massline brethren, Gabriel Teodros and Common Market, will head next.) An EP, Oof!, is scheduled for August 25, followed by a new album in 2010.

To fund their upcoming projects, Blue Scholars have partnered with Caffe Vita, a small coffee roasting company that operates several stores in the Northwest area.  “Coffee is both International and local, it effects the lives of millions, and it has tremendous ability to generate culture. We believe strongly in the work of the Blue Scholars and their power to look beyond the basic commodity that music has become. We are honored that Sabzi and Geo see that Vita is striving for the same goals,” says Caffe Vita founder Mike McConnell in a press release.

By working with two indie companies in Duck Down and Caffe Vita, Blue Scholars are continuing their commitment to socially responsible and politically aware art. Their music has yet to accomplish those ambitions, but they came incredibly close with the remarkable (if somewhat uneven) Bayani. Duck Down will reissue Bayani on September 1.

“I believe Blue Scholars is positioned to be one of the next important groups, not just in hip hop, but in music worldwide, and I want Duck Down to be a part of that,” says Duck Down CEO Dru Ha in the aforementioned release. “They bring their progressive ideas not just to their music and lyrics, but also in the way they think about and do their business.” At the very least, they could develop into a Brother Ali-type artist who communicates a true-school hip hop ethos to a wide audience.

The same could be said for Duck Down. Though the label has grown into one of the most important in independent hip hop, it has yet to release a universally acknowledged classic that truly motivates fans. But with a catalog of exciting albums (including Torae & Marco Polo’s recent Double Barrel), strong business moves and a diverse, talented roster that ranges from figurehead Buckshot to new-schoolers Kidz in the Hall, Duck Down is on the verge of becoming the next great indie rap influencer, and the first label to occupy that category since Stones Throw’s breakout year in 2006 (J Dilla’s Donuts, Georgia Anne Muldrow’s Olesi).

Here’s more excerpts from the press release:

On August 25, 2009 Blue Scholars will release “OOF!” their newest collaborative multi-media project and the first release to be distributed through their new venture. On September 1st, they will re-issue their 2007 album “Bayani”, which has already sold over 20,000 units. “Bayani Redux” will include one brand new track and two songs that were previously available only via digital retail outlets. There will also be a brand new full-length Blue Scholars album and other projects coming soon.

The sales and distribution model developed by the group for their upcoming releases will allow them to maintain complete ownership of their music and total control over how it is marketed, sold, and even given away.

Instead of signing a standard artist/record label deal, Blue Scholars hired the label Duck Down to run point on marketing for all of their upcoming releases. As a major player in the current and ever-changing record label industry, Duck Down Records saw this deal as an opportunity to get creative and experiment with strategies for record labels to continue evolving as viable businesses. …

Duck Down’s current distribution partner, E1 Entertainment, the largest independent distributor in the United States, will handle distribution of Blue Scholars’ physical product. Digital sales and distribution will go through Tunecore. Direct-to-fan marketing and sales will be developed by the members of Blue Scholars themselves, using Topspin web marketing tools.

Says Geo, of Blue Scholars, “After weighing all the options, remaining independent is without question, the best look. Duck Down shares that vision and their track record speaks for itself. With them, we get that national and international push while still owning and controlling our music.”

To finance all the upcoming projects, Blue Scholars have formed a strategic brand relationship with Seattle independent coffee company, Caffe Vita. The coffee company will also play a role in the sales and distribution plan by selling upcoming albums in all of their retail outlets and marketing the releases via their online presence.

Blue Scholars DJ/ Producer Sabzi says in regard to their partnership with Caffe Vita – “their innovative marketing, their justice and equity in business practices, and their premiere quality of product and presentation, make Caffe Vita an ideal brand to partner with. I intend to do with our music what Vita does with their coffee.” …

Blue Scholars have sold over 60,000 albums and played over 400 live shows. They have developed a dedicated following in the Northwest (selling over 4,000 tickets for each of their last few Seattle performances) and have shared the stage with an impressive list of nationally acclaimed artists such as Kanye West, Q-Tip, De La Soul, Immortal Technique, Hieroglyphics, GZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Matisyahu, Zion-I, Flobots and the Coup.

Here’s a link to a download from Blue Scholars’ upcoming Oof! EP:

And here’s a cheeky video celebrating the Blue Scholars-Duck Down alliance:

Photo by Tone Fire.

On September 30, Brooklyn duo Heltah Skeltah will reunite for D.I.R.T. (Da Incredible Rap Team). Set for release on Duck Down Records, it’s Rock and Ruck’s first album together since 1998′s Magnum Force.

Although the two haven’t issued a Heltah Skeltah project in a minute, the two have been busy. While fighting an attempted murder charge, Rock recently issued a mixtape, Shell Shock. Meanwhile, Sean Price (a.k.a. Ruck) continues to work on his third solo album, Mic Tyson.

“We didn’t try and get cute with this album and pick some ‘out da box’ beats and get on some philosophy sh*t. We did what we knew best and that was rhyme about the street, while of course infusing the humor that you know you’re going to get when you listen to our rhymes,” says the ever-forthright Sean Price in a press release. Guest appearances on D.I.R.T. come courtesy of Duck Down fam such as Buckshot and Smif N Wessun; beats arrive via Marco Polo, Evidence from Dilated Peoples, Khrysis from the Justus League and others.

• 1. “Intro”
• 2. “Insane”
• 3. “Chipmunk 3000″
• 4. “Everything is Heltah Skeltah”
• 5. “D.I.R.T. (Another Boot Camp Clik Yeah Song)”
• 6. “So Damn Tough” (feat. Buckshot & Ruste Juxx)
• 7. “WMD” (feat. Smif N Wessun)
• 8. “That’s Incredible”
• 9. “Ape Muzik” (feat. the Representativz)
• 10. “The Art of Disrespekanization”
• 11. “Hellz Kitchen”
• 12. “Shmack Muzik”
• 13. “Twinz”
• 14. “Ruck N Roll”

www.myspace.com/heltahskeltah

“The In Crowd is going to solidify us as the best new group in Hip-Hop,” says rapper Naledge. “Our new album is the re-definition of the Kidz In the Hall sound and our experimentation with artist collaboration. The first album was a lot rawer and showed our potential for greatness, but The In Crowd is our greatness coming to fruition. We went out of our way to create an album that has something for everyone and is air-tight from beginning to end. This is a definite classic for the Hip-Hop lover.”

Them’s big words. While it remains to be seen if The In Crowd will be a masterpiece, or even a good album, it undoubtedly has an amazing guest list. True to the album title, Naledge and producer/DJ Double-O have gathered a clique of popular kids to help out. Masta Ace, Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes, Camp Lo, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Sean Price and Buckshot lend support. In addition, there’s a bonus track, a remix of their well-received single “Drivin’ Down the Block,” that features Clipse and the fellow Chicagoans the Cool Kids.

The full track listing is below.

• 1. “Intro”
• 2. “Blackout” (feat. DJ GI Joe)
• 3. “Paper Trail” (feat. Phonte Coleman)
• 4. “Drivin’ Down the Block (Low End Theory)” (feat. Masta Ace)
• 5. “Lucifer’s Joyride” (feat. Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes)
• 6. “Snob-Hop” (feat. Camp Lo)
• 7. “The In Crowd” (feat. Tim William)
• 8. “Let Your Hair Down” (feat. Skyzoo & Lil Eddie)
• 9. “Midwest Thang Pt’s 1 & 2″ (feat. Black Milk, Guilty Simpson & Fooch)
• 10. “Mr. Alladatshit”
• 11. “Sean Na & Buck” (feat. Sean Price & Buckshot)
• 12. “Life I Know
• 13. “Drivin’ Down the Block” (remix) (feat. Clipse & the Cool Kids)

www.myspace.com/kidzinthehall