Duke Deuce could have disappeared. His crunk revival was somehow short-lived and largely limited to himself; it could have faded away with him. But Quality Control wasn’t going to let him go so easily. So, in early 2021, the Memphis rapper returned with another album that, frankly, rivals last year’s. With 'Duke Nukem'', he is back with a series of hard-hitting tracks, peppered with his signature "what the fuuuuck!" ad-lib. And as indicated by the intro track "Coming Out Hard," named after 8Ball & MJG’s first classic, as well as the opening lines referencing his city’s rap legends Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Three 6 Mafia, Project Pat, and Playa Fly, and through his nods to local hits like EP & Dow Jones’s "Paper Chaser" on "Fell Up In The Club," Duke Deuce once again taps into Memphis’s rich musical heritage, far beyond crunk.
On Duke Nukem, just like the old video game hero the album is named after, Duke Deuce goes all out, shooting at everything that moves. He spares no one, and he scores big. He kicks things off with the thunderous "Soldiers Steppin," a crunk military march that’s irresistibly effective and has him shouting his lungs out. Later, he delivers anthems designed to devastate discotheques, such as the aforementioned "Fell Up In The Club", featuring A$AP Ferg. He gets people yelling and chanting along to simple yet addictive hooks, as on "Move." He even growls on "Grrr." And on "Kirk," with Mulatto, he celebrates the wonderful place that is the strip club.
But everyone has to catch their breath at some point, and Duke Deuce is no exception. He occasionally slows down his martial pace. He takes a few breaks from his nuclear war, like with the melancholic "Army" and the beautiful guitar-sung finale "Go 2 Hell." He also gives space to collaborators from other scenes, mostly from Atlanta, such as Offset on "Gangsta Party," Lil Keed on "Busy," and Foogiano on "Spin," delivering trap-oriented tracks with or without them.
Not everything hits the mark. "Toot Toot," for example, with Young Dolph, turns out to be rather lukewarm. But more often than not, it shakes, rocks, and delivers. It’s full of the goofy humor and bravado we love, celebrating life’s pleasures: sex, drugs, and the nightclub.
One hit wonder, huh? Pfft, fuck what you think...
... snaps Duke Deuce on "Coming Out Hard." Indeed, the Memphis rapper is far from being defined by "Crunk Ain’t Dead," the buzzworthy track from last year. This new album is proof.