{"id":4378,"date":"2020-10-08T17:42:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T23:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/?p=4378"},"modified":"2020-10-08T17:56:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T23:56:41","slug":"duckwrth-on-new-album-supergood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/2020\/10\/08\/duckwrth-on-new-album-supergood\/","title":{"rendered":"Duckwrth on New Album “SuperGood”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Duckwrth, image courtesy of Universal Music<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following the August 21 release of his album SuperGood<\/em>, rapper and multimedia artist Duckwrth joined Universal Music\u2019s \u00b01824 team to talk creative process, musical inspiration, growing up in LA, and more.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duckwrth has been a refreshing, unique voice in the rap scene since the 2015 release of his project Nowhere<\/em>. Recent tours alongside Billie Eilish, Louis The Child, and EarthGang have put Duckwrth on the map\u2014equipped with a tenacity and artistic toolbox rare of upcoming artists, it\u2019s clear that he\u2019s only going up from here. Duckwrth\u2019s musical versatility is vast, enabling a diverse but still cohesive sound with gritty, heartfelt, story-driven lyricism atop a mixture of bass-heavy hip-hop beats and 70s inspired dance grooves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SuperGood<\/em> is comprised mostly of the latter, full of dreamy, buoyant melodies and funky drum riffs. The 16-track span is an upbeat, playful, and honest exploration of experiencing new love\u2014the insecurities, the eagerness to show off a little, and the excitement of the unknown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a rhythm project. So I want people to dance, to groove, to bop, to move,\u201d Duckwrth said. The album was written in January, when Covid-19 was barely a blip on the radar. At the time he was excited for a new year, but as the world went on lockdown the album\u2019s sound and story greeted a new reality\u2014one that arguably needed it even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s already its own affirmation, like when you press play it\u2019s supposed to make you feel super good,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like it came right on time, where people need to feel the best that they can at this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duckwrth explained that the project is like \u201cthe yin and yang\u201d to THE FALLING MAN,<\/em> his 2019 EP, which delves into the character of a king who \u201cfalls to his demise because he doesn\u2019t know love.\u201d SuperGood,<\/em> on the other hand, is all about love and what it feels like to meet someone special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of it has to do with me taking this girl out on a date. Going to different venues, and like also different fantasies and ideas that I have of her before we actually go on the date… it\u2019s like a story, as if you were watching a Netflix show,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a story to take you away from your current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the love story, Duckwrth explained that SuperGood <\/em>draws inspiration from the music and aesthetics of the 70s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuch eclectic style\u2026 the music was so colorful and the album covers were so beautiful, you know, so I kind of wanted to tap into that,\u201d Duckwrth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really feel like the 70s, especially for black people, was a time of celebration. We just came out of civil rights, and black people started to gain certain freedoms\u2026 you know, it was a celebration. So within that, when black people start going back to who they are, and their original essence, a bit of magic happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Duckwrth, growing up in Los Angeles during the 90s and 2000s was beautiful, but difficult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always sunny, the beach is always crackin\u2019… it’s kind of like its own little weird utopia, but on the same flip side, it was a lot of trauma,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiamonds come from, you know, the roughest type of situation. So I think by being raised specifically in south-central Los Angeles it gave me a backbone\u2014so when I deal with corporate America, I don\u2019t take no bullshit, you know, because I learned to survive duckin\u2019 bullets\u2026 it just taught me all the methods I needed to get the things I need to get as an artist, as a man, as a businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, he always knew creativity to be part of his DNA\u2014and central to his future, too. When he was young, a stranger approached him at church and told him he had a calling; the message has stuck with him since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duckwrth\u2019s knack for blending musical styles comes from his eclectic taste. In the studio, he said, he\u2019s most inspired by the feelings and chord progressions of soul, gospel, and jazz. On stage, however, it\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I perform, it\u2019s strictly punk. Like thrasher, hardcore. That\u2019s my shit\u2026 they just perform with such a conviction, you know, and it riles people up and get\u2019s the fire started.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Duckwrth sets his sights on the future, and starts working on the next album, he said authenticity and self-love have become a priority\u2014especially during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s been a it’s been a really crazy year. So it’s like, I don’t think my artistry needed as much love as my human did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI feel like there’s a way to portray a healthy artist, and that’s through just being true to yourself, you know, and I think that’s how you make the best music,\u201d Duckwrth said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the music that lasts\u2026 that\u2019s the music that becomes people\u2019s favorite albums.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the August 21 release of his album SuperGood, rapper and multimedia artist Duckwrth joined Universal Music\u2019s \u00b01824 team to talk creative process, musical inspiration, growing up in LA, and more. Duckwrth has been a refreshing, unique voice in the rap scene since the 2015 release of his project Nowhere. Recent tours alongside Billie Eilish, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1362,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[155,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-interview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa7fJU-18C","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4378"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4387,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4378\/revisions\/4387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/socc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}