DJ Babu
Duck Season Vol. 3 (Nature Sounds)
L.A. rap stalwarts Dilated Peoples had a nice major label run on Capitol Records that peaked with the Kanye West collaboration, “This Way” in 2004. In the process, Evidence and Rakaa, the group’s two rappers, saw their stock rise as they pushed projects the independent way. In the meantime, the often overlooked and vastly underrated member Babu managed to squeeze in his own indie compilation album, Duck Season 1 (Sequence), while producing beats for Dilated and affiliated artists.
As an extension of the Dilated Peoples brand, Duck Season series went over well with the fans, even if it didn’t break any new ground artistically. The album featured rap’s fiercest lyricists over classic hardcore, boom-bap beats. The latest installment, Duck Season Vol. 3 (Nature Sounds) pretty much stays on target. From Evidence’s opening bars on the anthem-like intro to Little Brother member Big Pooh’s verses on “Fan Mail,” the album is laced with punch lines and metaphors, a little braggadocio mixed in over instrumentals spiced with guitar riffs and Babu’s scratching.
But while mostly hitting, Duck Season 3 can miss at times. While the busy, live instrumentals on “Dearly Departed” work for M.O.P., the paced, deliberate sound bed for “My Opinion” featuring Aftermath’s Bishop Lamont does not. In the same vein, the stabbing piano riff on “Black & Brown Army” is perfect for Chace Infinite and Sic Jacken to spit thoughtful political bars, while “2 Feet” comes up short for Kardinal Offishall and Rakaa.
It becomes apparent rather quickly that Duck Season Vol. 3 aims to walk a tightrope that many DJ/producer-helmed albums do, not clearly defining whether it is a hodge-podge compilation of tracks omitted from other albums rather than a cohesive piece of music. In this case, despite a decent effort, it’s more of the former.
Duck Season Vol. 3 is in stores 10/28/08
Track Listing for Duck Season Vol. 3
1. Ds3 Intro feat. Dilated Peoples
2. Dearly Departed feat. M.O.P.
3. Fan Mail feat. Little Brother, Joe Scudda, and D-Brock
4. The Unexpected feat. MF DOOM and Sean Price
5. Frozen feat. Guilty Simpson
6. East West Connection feat. A.G.
7. My Opinion feat. Bishop Lamont
8. 2 Feet feat. Kardinal Offishall and Rakaa
9. Black & Brown Army feat. Chace Infinite
10. Graveyardshiftin feat. Cali Agents
11. For Whatever It's Worth feat. Evidence
12. It's A New Day feat. M.E.D.
13. O.G. feat. Strong Arm Steady
14. Guns Gon' Blow feat. Termanology
15. That Ain't Gangsta feat. Likwit Junkies
16. Meant To Be feat. Roc C. & Oh No
17. SBX2LAX2OX feat. Percee P
18. Ahead Of My Time feat, Niko
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