Eastside Story

Around 2009-2010 (I can't remember which, those years were a blur, ha!) I began recording at Out Da Cutt Studios in Anchorage with Raw Beatzz. I wanted/needed to do music with who I considered to be the best in Alaska, so I began recording with, as well as having my music mixed by, Raw. Raw was affiliated with Bay Dilla and Out Da Cutt Entertainment, so naturally I began working closely with Out Da Cutt (ODC) and the members of Up North D-Boys (UNDB), as we all recorded with Raw under the same roof. I value the time I spent at Out Da Cutt Studios, it literally became like a second home to me—I ended up, a couple years down the road, becoming a partner with them in a bigger studio and had my own office next to Raw's mixing room. To this day, I maintain a great relationship with everyone from ODC.

One person I noticed immediately with UNDB, and instantly became a fan of, was Duckman. Duck was the smallest guy in a crew of rather intimidating looking dudes, but when he started rapping, whether it be in the booth or just in a cypher with the boys, his presence was always the one I felt was the most entertaining. I remember nights at the old studio—I'd be blogging or on Photoshop—and Duck and the crew would be just spitting over whatever beat Raw was working on, and I'd always stop what I was doing to listen to Duck's bars. He always delivered.

It’s several years later now and the smoke has settled from the ODC drama (you either know the story or you need to do your Googles). It’s 2017 and the young homie from UNDB is now arguably the hottest rapper in Alaska. His confidence, delivery and skillset is at its pinnacle. And with his long anticipated full-length album Back To Da East finally here, I'm proud to breakdown what I consider to be a local hip-hop classic—I'm calling it now.

This is Back To Da East...
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