Straight Up, Duck Down
It’s been a long ass time since I’ve paid attention to iggychop.com, but I think it’s just because I got stuck in the rut known as the classic nine-to-five. When staring at computers over 8 hours a day is your job, the last thing you want to do is hop on a computer and do it again in your free time. But the crazy thing is, that beyond work, my life has been really dope. I’ve been meeting a lot of really talented and interesting peeps in the hip hop game, and things are really beginning to get fun for me.
It’s a tricky situation. When you have a job that keeps the bills paid, but your extra curricular passion is what really makes life worth living, you have to lead a double life. There’s really no way around it unless you want to work, sleep and die. Obviously, you gotta be responsible and keep the money coming in, but that doesn’t mean that your life should end there. My girlfriend Cara really opened my eyes to this way of life. She has a full-time advertising career at MTV, but her passion is writing and journalism. Since being at MTV, she’s been able to use her contacts to enable her to write for MTV News, AOL Music, Hollywood Crush … and she’s constantly striving for more outlets to express her creativeness. It’s crazy because she just wrote up the new “Mic Check” for the legendary hip hop mag, The Source, and she’s the last person you’d expect to be interviewing rappers. Oh, and let’s not forget … she’s also wrote a book. YES, a book. And she’s currently in the process of getting it published. Chick’s amazing.
So, after being inspired by my boo, I decided to start reaching out to hip hop institutions that I wanted to get in with. First on my list was New York City’s Duck Down Records. Duck Down may not be the biggest label when it comes to popping out hit singles and signing the latest hipster hip hop homos, but that’s what makes them so dope. For 15 years, Duck Down (owned by Buckshot and Dru Ha of Black Moon) has been dropping REAL hip hop, and just within the past few years, they’ve been adding some insane talent to their roster. Does the name Pharoahe Monch ring a bell? How about Pete Rock? And let’s not forget their current roster of dudes like Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah, Marco Polo, Blackmoon, Da Beatminerz, Smif N Wessun, Ruste Juxx, Torae and more. Yeah, Duck Down is knocking fools out for 2010 and beyond.
Now, to make a long story short, I got the “gig” and I’ll be helping the Duck Down team out with whatever they may need my skills for. I even got my own Duck Down email addy! So, my first assignment? Interview beat maker extraordinaire Marco Polo and write an official press release for his new album The Stupendous Adventures of Marco Polo. Mission accomplished. To say that this has been a dream come true would be a bit of an understatement. Obviously I’m not in it for the loot, but the excitement, motivation, and inspiration that has been re-injected into my life is totally worth more than any amount of money. Thanks for reading and let’s see how long I can ride this wave of inspiration. Bring it on suckas!