Duckwrth recently tied the knot on his tour with Anderson .Paak, a definite shock from the past as the sounds of the two artists incorporate cadavers of the 80s and 90s funk/R&B scene in their art. Recently, Duckwrth sat down in San Francisco and got on the phone with RESPECT. to dissect his innermost thoughts about fears, genie wishes, and hyper masculinity.

Recently, he released another visual to add on to his extensive resume of sounds on Youtube. “Rare Panther” has a significantly more rapid instrumental behind its lyrics about love than “Beach House.” Both songs, however, appear over the same imagery of Duckwrth and his love interest wandering about an isolated beach home in the middle of sublime nature. Additionally, both songs have the very blissful funk sound that he’s, thus far, been known for.

The film was directed by Lino Asano, and received cinematographic genius in the form of Jeremy Obertone. The premiere of the video was hinted by Duckwrth earlier in the week.

guess what video I’m dropping this week ? ⚡️?⚡️ https://t.co/TraVGWIaZ6

— DUCKWRTH® (@DUCKWRTH) September 12, 2016

You can expect more from the funk-riddled California native very soon, and keep updated with him via his Twitter and SoundCloud accounts.

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The post Duckwrth Funks About in the Visual for “Rare Panther + Beach House” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Groovy. Androgynous. Stimulating. Funk.

Duckwrth, as a musician and as a character, is a hard topic to delineate precisely- a summary of him, his music, or his persona, is inevitably going to miss a few key items. Did you know he’s a mango person?

The good news is that oftentimes, a label is the very last thing to jot down when you’re mentally indulging in new things- music, people, a job, etc. It takes a while to get around the curves of something new. Duckwrth took a seat “somewhere” in San Francisco and got on the phone with RESPECT. to discuss his recent tour, genie wishes, ugliness, and Steve Jobs.

RESPECT.: What are you afraid of?

Duckwrth: Not being able to create something I like. Sometimes you’ll have writer’s block or some s**t like that, and the words and the music won’t come out right.

RESPECT.: How’d you get your image? it clearly pushes the envelope; really expressive, androgynous, etc. And I don’t necessarily mean what musical artists influenced you- tell me about how this mindset developed over your entire life.

A series of fortunate and unfortunate events. Who you are today is based on the things that happened to you; traumatic things. My dad dipped out at 8 years old so I had a lot of women in my life; my sisters and my mother.  So I picked up with that. I struggled a bit with sexuality before, but, like, we all have sides of masculinity and femininity around and within us. My family’s filled with artists so they just wanted to expose me to different things and as many different colors as possible. I kinda just developed into it. It became a comfort. Helped me understand.

RESPECT.: So, follow up: hip-hop, as gorgeous as the genre is, has an issue with misogyny and hyper-masculinity; as it always has. Taking your very racy, non-standard black artistry, what are your words about the climate of your genre?

The doors opening up for sure. I hate to say it in this way, but I find it kinda ironic with people like David Bowie and Prince passing. With them dying, people are digging back into both of them and checking out their whole aesthetic, and it was filled with questionable items of both genders. Everything’s a cycle and a balance, and I don’t even think it’s hip-hop. In general, it’s society. With women, they were just like f**k this misogyny, we’re gonna elevate ourselves. I feel like misogyny isn’t even like, everyone wants to do it. People see other people being harsh to women and they imitate it in order to fit the standard. It’s a cycle of society and humans and s**t.

RESPECT.: So, say music didn’t work out. What would you be doing?

Graphic Design. Just design. I would be designing like advertisements and album covers. Doing art pieces or installments and stuff. And it’s not even if music does or doesn’t work out; Imma make music as long as I’m allowed to, and I’m gonna make the best of it. Then it’s on to the next thing.

RESPECT.: Are you entirely yourself?

I’m still learning. I’m learning to be myself. I’m definitely more comfortable with myself. It’s like, the more things I learn, the more I realize I know nothing at all (laughs). And that’s everyone. 95% of the ocean we still gotta check out (laughs). I definitely feel like I have a good grasp of who I am though, and who I wanna be. I got a lot better with it.

RESPECT.: In your video for “GET UUGLY,” you chose to have a certain clip be of a girl pulling down her pants to reveal an unshaved private area. Was that intentional?

Yup. It’s ugly. People always want a clean sheet and s**t. That’s the whole thing about ugly. Rappers always present themselves as ballers and getting mad women but s**t’s not really that clean in real life. People always aspire to be these fake individuals, model themselves after false things. I f**k with women’s body hair.

RESPECT.: Who are some non-musical influences?

Non music….. anybody who kinda just removes their ego from themselves and is kinda just able to exist and do amazing things. Whether it be like… Ghandi… or Jesus… or, I dunno. I f**k with them. Those individuals inspire me. Steve Jobs too. But he sucks (laughs). He was all about ingenuity and pushing the boundaries; not accepting the norm. What’s better than the norm? How can people relate to it? Can your grandma f**k with it? Can the garbage man f**k with it?

He didn’t claim his kids for a while though and with the people around him he was douchey, ya know? I think that’s crazy to me too. Like, business is always about getting the upper hand, but in order for you to get the most dollars signs, someone’s gotta take the bullet. You prolly can’t pay your employees what they deserve to get paid,  cut corners, etc. I even watch people in the industry, like, flirting with each other and stuff, but in order to make business work you gotta make it like that; sometimes you have to have that sexual undertone. Maybe that’s another fear of mine: Karma. Like, f**king with someone. I hate when I mistreat someone, not on purpose, and they hold it against me. Like, say I was a public figure and then they decided to take that up away from me. Sometimes I just wasn’t paying attention to certain partners, and that’s all on me.

RESPECT.: A genie came out said you have one wish, what is it?

I’m trying to think of something that’s not material (laughs). A lotta people say immortality, but hell nah (laughs).

Uh…. If you had your own island you have to have maintenance, so nah…. OH ok. Maybe like a self-governing, peaceful society or some s**t man.

RESPECT.: What’s one thing you would ask/have ask your musical idol?

Man. I’ve always wanted to have conversation with Jimi. Because he did it being like a black artist appealing to a white and black demographic. But how did he maintain, you know? Also ‘cause he’s from a different era. Fresh outta civil rights and stuff, and appealing to white crowds.

RESPECT.: Yeah I always heard that before shows, he’d take his bandana and dip it in acid, so that when he sweats on stage it just seeps into his pores.

You know, people are always saying that and I’m always wondering, like, he wouldn’t have dipped his WHOLE bandana in there, ya know? (laughs). Like, he’d be f**ked up. Santana used to do the same thing, and at Woodstock people said he kept looking at his guitar real weird- like he was scared of it. And, apparently, during the acid trip he thought his guitar was a snake and he was scared (laughs). So yeah. Jimi couldn’t have dipped his whole bandana in there.

RESPECT.: Probably just the tip of it I’d imagine.

Yeah probably just the tip. That makes more sense.

RESPECT.: I think that’s about all I have for you today actually.

Yeah man. I really liked these questions. As soon as you opened it up with the “What are you afraid of” question I was like “oh nah, this isn’t gonna be like the others.” Those questions get boring sometimes, feel me? As an artist, I get annoyed, sure, but imagine being a reader? It’s like, you’re going from interview to interview, trying to get more info on this artist you like, and you’re reading the same s**t over and over again. So yeah, this was real cool man.

Oh! I’d also want to fly (laughs). I’d wish for the ability to fly.

RESPECT.: So now, you have to choose between world peace and flight.

Yoooo, alright. World peace (laughs). N**gas will be bombing each other and I’m gonna be in the sky. I’d plummet right the f**k to the back to the ground.

You can follow Duckwrth on Twitter and SoundCloud, and check out the video for “GET UUGLY” above.

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The post RESPECT. Interview: Understanding Duckwrth appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

We’ve had a huge week in the Urban music realm — that’s what we’re calling it right? Since we last spoke a week ago. We’ve been blessed with new projects from Vince Staples and Young Th.. er I mean Jeffery. We got a chance to see not only G-Eazy but Drake get publicly friend zoned — c’mon I know you seen The Boy get his smooch shot down by Rihanna. We also had some downs to go along with the beautiful peaks. We wanted to take this time to share our condolences with the Wade family and Chicago as a whole. Things are rough right now, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get better. We need to come together as a nation and address the injustices of what’s happening in Chicago, or else people like Donald Trump get away with insecure, irresponsible comments like this one. While we try and figure out why Trump is such a d*ck head, check out these 5 slept on sonic treats that will make your day just a bit better.

Twelve’Len – “Succulent”

What do you get when you take a bit of soul, some raspy hi hats, some melodic vocal ability, and you mix it all up. You get Florida natives Twelve’Len and thier self titled “rock & soul” style music. The Marvin Gaye inspirees checks in with their soulful cut, “Succulent” which is a beautiful, well written track about persevering through the bullsh*t. This is the perfect cut to play when the day starts putting up numbers on the scoreboard and your defense is trash. AKA this is the remedy and the answer found during a timeout. Check out, “Succulent” below and be sure to keep an eye on the Florida natives.

DavidFamous – “Before Sunday”

Keeping it in The Sunshine State, we check in with another Florida native in DavidFamous and his uplifting track, “Before Sunday“. Produced by King Carlow, “Before Sunday” is a rhythmic ode to trying to make it all happen before church on Sunday. Utilizing church band like horns and a soulful flow, Famous pours out his honest thoughts throughout the track. “Just to be clear/I don’t being second/ Cause everything I got is a blessing/ from the minutes to the hours to the seconds” raps Famous over the enlivened beat. Check out “Before Sunday” below.

Duckwrth – “Rare Panther + Beach House”

Nowadays, genre fusions seem to be the new fad. We’ve seen EDM crossover with Hip-Hop soooo many times in the past couple of years, but we haven’t seen too many Punk inspired rappers, or Punk Rappers as I call them. Los Angeles native Duckwrth falls into that rare category. Mixing wavy synths and hard hitting bass with Punk Rock aesthetics at shows, Duckwrth has quickly become a fan favorite. Some of this success could be attributed to “Rare Panther + Beach House“, a festive track the exhibits all of the qualities that I just discussed, perfectly. Check out the groovy party track below and be sure to keep an eye out for the South Central native, who’s EP, I’m Uugly, is set to be released soon.

Dez – “Greatglass”

Let me ask you a question, do you have 1:35 of your time to spare? Because if you do, I have a treat for you. Though short — but never sweet, San Fernando Valley native Dez absolutely rips apart the Noah Rime$ produced track, “Greatglass“. “Most ni**as microscopic in regards to where the wind blow/ so, press a line ni**a however you please” raps Dez over the grimy, golden age East Coast inspired beat. The raspy bars complement the track beautifully as Dez showcases his dense bars and knack for beat shredding. Check out the brief track below and be the newest member on the Dez bandwagon, there’s still a little bit of room.

Mitchy Slick + OsOcean – “Imperial”

It’s a shame, but many major cities in the U.S. have an unsung rap hero who flies under the radar nationally. We’ve seen it in L.A. with rappers like Topic, we’ve seen it in the Bay with Mistah F.A.B., and most recently in Las Vegas with Dizzy Wright before his breakout tape, The Golden Age. San Diego native Mitchy Slick falls into that category, but he shouldn’t. Linking up with frequent collaborator and fellow Daygo native OsOcean, the two created the SD anthem, “Imperial“, an ode to one of the most crime riddled but beloved streets in Southern California. Listen, if you love West Coast G-Funk like I love West Coast G-Funk then Mitchy Slick might become your new favorite gem. Oh and please don’t forget about the Yay Area like flow from hotspitter OsOcean who completely bodies this joint. Bump this track as you cruise down your streets, and watch your whole day turnaround. Check out “Imperial” below.

There you have it! Let us know how we did, did we get it right? Are we still sleeping on your favorite local artist? Let us know in the comment section below!

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