Bang For The Buck

by Marisa BrownSouthern California hip-hop group Ugly Duckling has never been concerned with tackling serious issues. They're just three guys who like music and like to have fun, which is exactly what is shown in Bang for the Buck. Their songs don't attempt to address social problems or political situations (the closest they come to this is in "The End of Time," which vaguely deals with ideas of eternity); instead, they're just about celebrating themselves, their rhymes, and history as a group. Ugly Duckling as a band is as much of a theme on the record as the meatshake was on Taste the Secret. They rhyme about their inception on "Yudee," the skills of the DJ (who also gets to do a bit of his own showing off) on "Einstein's on Stage," and the skills of the two MCs on pretty much every other track, including the "battle" between them on "Andy vs. Dizzy" (whose winner is never quite determined). It all comes across as lighthearted, however, as if even though they're constantly saying that they're the best out there, they really know that they're not; all that they are certain of is that they're the ones having the best time. A lot of this has to do with the beats that Young Einstein lays out, a West Coast blend (and very much in the vein of J5) of funky horns and organs, loose drum tracks with just enough bass, scratches, and sampled voices, all of which are so catchy and fun that it's impossible to not enjoy listening to Ugly Duckling strut around, even when they occasionally stumble (the much too predictable and simple "Smack," for example). So for an hour or so forget about financial difficulties, intensified geopolitical conditions, and whatever else may be going badly, and sit back and have some fun with Bang for the Buck.