If this is your introduction to the group that is simply known as Watch The Duck, you might be intrigued, curious and maybe even doubtful after you’ve repeated the name a few times — with a confused facial expression. But there are some that are familiar with the Alabama natives, and last night’s performance at The Loft in Atlanta was a brilliant display of what these four men can do.
Correction: Three men and a duck. It’s not everyday that a collective can fuse dub step with soul, mix deejaying and singing and bring together humans and fowl.
The Duck is not an actual bird, it is more a member of the group in a mascot suit. And even that explanation belittles the duck’s significance. These eclectic gentlemen expressed to hiphopondemand.com that their sound is labeled “duck music,” and the duck is the most important part of what they do.
Watch The Duck has no interest in explaining to the world all of the details about their roles in the group. They don’t even care if you remember their individual names. But what they do represent is great music, the dance culture and their hometown of Montgomery, Alabama.
As a plethora of hipsters, break-dancers, and fanatics waited around to see the stars of the evening take the stage, they never actually got on a stage. Instead they manned the DJ booth with three laptops, two AKAI APC 40 machines, a Roland keyboard, Serato and a microphone as lead singer Jesse crooned their single “Poppin’ Off” along with other original joints and some cover songs.
The other two Duck affiliates worked the wheels, played some keys, and kept the crowd moving. All the while, the music was in sync with the screen
projecting video images across from them on the wall. Where else can you see a techno version of the electric slide, glow-in-the-dark Hula Hoops, and an average of one pop-lock per second during what some may label a hip-hop show? The overall festive mood felt more like a rave than anything else. DJ Drama, Don Cannon and DJ Trauma were in attendance to see what some people are calling the next big thing.
Whether you believe that or not, one thing is for sure, at some point or another, each and every person there had their eyes on the group, bopped
their heads to the music, but it was inevitable that they eventually watched the duck.
-Sha Stimuli
Photos: NeCorey Johnson
