BY KENZ MEADOWS

He's relentlessly energetic, his execution is polished, and he's fearlessly established his own style of aesthetics and sound. He's Duckwrth, and he has everything a dynamic hip-hop up-and-comer needs right now.

His live performances find him clad in his signature kilt and knee-high socks, backed by his preferred live band, The Kickdrums. While they're playing, the boys sway in sync with choreographed moves for nearly every song. The energy and crowd engagement he brings to every show is indicative of the new life he's breathing into hip -hop.

Duckwrth's debut album I’M UUGLY (Them Hellas/The Blind Youth/EMPIRE) emphatically touts the rappers self-proclaimed philosophy to be 'dead to the negativity' and, more than anything, 'dance muthafunkah dance.' That idea is best represented in "I’M DEAD," a severely danceable track featuring lyrics like 'you don't like how I mosh, you can shine my shoes'—a sentiment I wholeheartedly support.

The majority of the album resonates on the lighter side, as in "LOWRIDR," which is delightfully reminiscent of hip-hop’s classic era. Follow that with the sensuality exhibited in "BLOW MY MIND' and "GET UUGLY" and…

Get gone, it’s too damn good.

His lyrics on those tracks are boldly open-minded and inclusive, a recent development in the hip-hop scene. He’s also brought in a good dose of social commentary, discussing his experience as a black man in urban America on “100 DAYS.”

This album is jazzy and sexy, and yet it manages to have moments of poignant seriousness. The man's doing it all, and he’s doing it without sacrificing any cohesion in the album’s overall sound. He’s a dreamer and a romantic and I love how it shows.

The Los Angeles native is presently doing a nationwide tour with I’M UUGLY and I’m so excited for the first-timers about to see him. When you get the chance, buy tickets and wait with baited breath for the closing track of both his album and shows, "RUN," which really needs a live listen to do it justice.