Duke Deuce defines Memphis rap. While many associate the rise of Crunk, a sub-genre of hip-hop, to the city of Atlanta, the movement actually began in the streets of Memphis in the '90s. Crunk is often associated with up-tempo Southern raps, curating a sound tailor-made for club-oriented environments. The sub-genre arose from an inherent desire to subvert hip-hop's familiar sound in the 1990s, extenuating between the West Coast and boom-bapping East Coast. However, as Andre 3000 put it at the 1995 Source Awards, "The South [had] something to say."
Self-imposed Crunk Star Duke Deuce was destined to rap from the day he was born. As he puts it when speaking to us back in 2022, "S**t run through the family, man. From my granddaddy to my pops, I had to be in this. I grew up in the studio with my pops. He was a producer, engineer, and rapper. He did it all, so I had no choice." Deuce is the product of generations of creatives in his family, with the work finally paying off in the form of his mainstream success. In essence, there was no other career plan for the outspoken Deuce. It was always going to be the studio or the streets. Towards the beginning of his career, that meant spending more time in the latter.
Duke Deuce Is Reviving Crunk
It wouldn't be until 2017 that Duke Deuce began to garner real change in the music industry. His hit "Whole Lotta" caught the attention of Atlanta's Offset, who took it upon himself to pen Deuce to Quality Control. Soon after, he released the enraging mixtape Memphis Massacre. While the now-trilogy didn't do worldwide numbers, the project spurned the revival of Crunk in the local scene. In addition, he presents a distinguished sound compared to his Memphis contemporaries. Less polished and more raw compared to icons such as Yo Gotti or Key Glock, he's been an undeniable breath of fresh air.
However, Duke Deuce would get his well-deserved mainstream appeal with the 2019 single "Crunk Ain't Dead." The speaker-blasting anthem became so critically acclaimed, in part, due to Deuce's captivating music video for the track. His dancing throughout the video captured a wave on social media platforms such as TikTok, proving he was a performer and rapper. The multi-talented hyphenate can do it all, from delivering menacing verses to producing. "Crunk Ain't Dead" exemplified everything great about the sub-genre, blending pure happiness with outspoken grittiness.
He's Received A Co-Sign From Drake
Now approaching the halfway mark of 2023, Duke Deuce's sound has officially reached the top of hip-hop's mainstream studios. Take Drake's "Jimmy Cooks" off of Honestly, Nevermind. While most of the record attempts to imitate dancehall grooves, the outro track acted as a prelude to Her Loss. The track samples the echoing "Just Awaken Shaken," a classic Memphis underground cut, a direct remnant of Deuce's delivery of the sub-genre. In fact, Duke Deuce talked about directly contacting Drake regarding making music in the near future on Zack Fox's The Internet People Live podcast.
The year 2022 was big for Duke Deuce. Crunkstar was 52 minutes of pure entertaining rage, featuring artists such as Rico Nasty, GloRilla, and Lil Yachty. Of course, the project's hard-knocking hardcore hip-hop is there. However, there are also aggressive guitar riffs meandering through the record mix. In addition, there's been a noted focus on Crunkstar as well as Memphis Massacre III to incorporate Memphis artists. When speaking to Billboard, Duke said, "It was very important. It is my way of giving back so we can keep the momentum as a city. As long as we show love to each other, we will always get bigger. Memphis deserves the spotlight, because we do not have the industry in our city, but we always had the talent. Now that we have the shine, we have to keep it going."
Regarding Duke Deuce, half of the appeal is his hilarious and outlandish personality. He truly lives within the Crunk persona rather than solely creating music around it. Of course, that energy will always garner detractors and haters of your sound. Back in May, he was hospitalized after a truck nearly ran him over. Fortunately, the truck merely hit his arm without breaking any bones in the process. Now approaching the half-decade mark of his relevancy in hip-hop, Duke Deuce is just getting started.