Thank God for Ugly Duckling. While many independent hip-hop artists could bore for the solar system with their low-cholesterol beats, soppy-as-an-old-sock lyrics and beard-stroking 'concepts' the Long Beach trio roll up with old skool rhyme interplay, some tight production and more gags than an S&M skin flick.
The promise first glimpsed on the 'Fresh Mode' EP of 1998 is finally fulfilled here. Notably on 'I Did It Like This' - a breezy, head nodding account of their hip-hop origins - quite inspirational, frankly. Also special is the super-chilled 'Oasis' - a trippy, nebulous number that fair creeps under the skin. Elsewhere, goofy tag team humour prevails; Andy Cat and Dizzy Dustin bouncing jokes off each other like two eighth-graders, hysterically asking the Queen on 'Eye On The Gold Chain' if she is jealous of Young Einstein's gold rope ("a little bit..."). Bling-Bling. UD seem to adopt J-Zone's mission to create hip-hop and disrespect it at the same time - rap's conventions upheld and subverted in the same verse. Complacency gets a bitch slap and everybody's happy. It's a whole heap of fun.
So, if shit gets you down and your horizons seem limited, get up on the Duck. The view is quite something.