A Little Levity
Tue, October 17, 2000
Lucy Beer
Hip-hop fans with their ear to the underground may remember Long Beach, Calif.'s Ugly Duckling from their 1999 debut EP, Fresh Mode, which was released to numerous critical nods. While this, their debut full-length, isn't a great departure stylistically, it shows growth, not to mention a winning sense of humor.
Their self-effacing name is the first clue to the fact that Ugly Duckling are not your average Cristal-swigging, crotch-grabbing hip-hop group. Their claim to credibility doesn't come from the jiggy school of braggadocio, as witnessed by Journey to Anywhere's clowning of both materialism and sexual bravado . What's more, these three Southern California white boys have no political stance to speak of. Instead, they focus on their love of hip-hop and their desire to reintroduce good, clean fun into the genre.
In contrast to their fresh-faced EP, Journey sports a noticeably refined style. On the title track and elsewhere, DJ Young Einstein provides the creative nucleus of the album by combining dusty beats with catchy melodic hooks. The result is deeper, more layered soundscapes over which MCs Andycat and Dizzy tag-team rhyme with a lighthearted, quick-witted delivery.
After Journey's 14 tracks of sunshine-style rap, one might crave something more substantial, either lyrically or musically. But you can't fault Ugly Duckling for trying to have fun in a genre soaked in material excess and sexual aggression.