Lmao
It’s 2010 people. Slug’s pushing 40 and most of Doomtree’s away on tour so much they’re starting to stretch the meaning of “local rap crew.” Heiruspecs are seemingly on that “we play shows when we feel like it” type of hiatus and the Twin Cities recently lost one of its strongest rappers to a tragic and untimely death. Is it any wonder there seems to be a wellspring of fresh faces in our hip-hop scene lately?
Duenday’s one of the young groups like Illuminous 3 that seems hungry to fill that void, showcasing a laid back, sorta old-school flow over lush backpack rap beats that they make in house. Rappers In2wishin and Initial MC crafted this self-titled debut while still in college (Intial’s a U of M boy) but the duo aren’t serving up any open-mic night rhymes here. Duenday have a charming, slightly goofy steez that’s firmly grounded in their Southside hippie-hoodrat lifestyle and write tracks that range from lightweight house-party bangers like “Matt’s Cool Raps” to environmental politics on “What’s Happening” featuring the venerable Unicus from Kanser. The two mc’s have a precocial talent for weaving their verses around one another’s and both seem to approach the mic with a smile and a mutual chemistry that belies their offstage friendship. In2 even proves he’s got a pipes by singing a few of the album’s hooks like on “Both Sides of the Spectrum”, the record’s for-your-sorrows cut.
“Bounce”, the track that introduced most of us to Duenday is a great entry point to the group: it’s a confident and skillful identity statement with a chill soul beat and great teamwork on the hook. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of hot single that these talented young up-and-comers need to make their mark on the local hip-hop scene.
