Tonight: DUCKWRTH Blasts Back Into White Oak Music Hall with a New Video (& Deem Spencer, Too)

A few months back, the kid and I were able to catch one of her favorite DJs, What So Not, up at White Oak Music Hall. It was a damn good show, not just because of the headliner — who was very, very good, I have to say — but because of stellar opener DUCKWRTH.

The rapper (real name Jared Lee) bounced across the stage like a jack-in-the-box (the old-timey toy, not the fast food place), dancing and smiling wider than seemed humanly possible while his band — a live guitarist and a DJ — played on either side. He was moving so damn much I couldn’t get a freaking picture where he wasn’t blurred; I’m honestly not sure he ever stopped moving the whole time.

He looked like he was having so much goddamn fun up there, just the time of his life, and while it was clear early on that the crowd was pretty much there for What So Not and had no idea who this guy was or what he was about, they were fully on-board after only a couple of songs. (I suspect that his track “Tamagotchi,” which, yes, is kinda-sorta about those weird little Japanese toy/pet things, is what sealed the deal…)

The music DUCKWRTH makes is hip-hop, no doubt, but it also brings in a lot of rock, to the point where I found myself thinking of ’90s rock heroes Living Colour. There was a lot of more positive-vibe hip-hop from that era in the mix, too, with parts that made me think of Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Black Sheep, and The Pharcyde popping up randomly throughout the set.

It was one of the most refreshingly honest, real, energetic, and flat-out fun performances I’d seen in a while, and both myself and the kid walked away as fans.

Happily, he’s back in town tonight, playing once again at the WOMH, but this time as the headliner, with chilled-out, super-low-key bedroom rapper Deem Spencer opening (and yes, he’s pretty damn cool, too, so you should get up there early). And right on time, he’s also got a new video out this week, for “Fall Back”; the song is a little darker and more sinister than the previous stuff I’ve heard, but still excellent, with a weird, inventive video, and you should watch it:

That’s all I’ve got for now, y’all. Everybody stay safe out there, alright?