Sunday, April 25, 2010
Duce Wayne ft Al Great "Give N Go"
Stephen McGill aka DUCE Wayne is probably the exact opposite of what a “rapper” these days is thought to be. To use his own words, he’s just “regular”. As a single dad, college grad, and member of the working middle class, to outsiders, DUCE would appear regular. After one listen to his music, you will realize DUCE Wayne is anything but “regular”.
Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, the odds were already stacked against him. As the son of a school teacher and an automobile assembly plant worker, his parent’s main objective was for him to be a success and not fall victim to the streets around him. DUCE was like any other child, playing basketball, video games, and reading Batman comic books in his spare time. His mother’s teaching experience kept him interested in reading and writing at an early age, but it wasn’t until he saw his first episode of Rap City with his older sister, that he embraced hip hop. When his sister let him listen to Enter the Wu Tang: The 36 Chambers, he officially fell in love with hip hop.
As a fan of real hip hop, DUCE had many influences including Nas, AZ, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Biggie, Jay Z, and The Clipse just to name a few. However, even though he loved hip hop and music in general, DUCE Wayne never thought he would be a rapper. He made up rhymes in his head and even wrote a couple down occasionally, but never thought enough of them to actually pursue a career as an artist. He was fine with just being a hip hop connoisseur. In the back of his mind, he always had dreams of being a guest on Rap City, the show that opened his eyes to hip hop. He even had answers prepared to the potential questions the host would ask.
Fast forward to 2003-04, when DUCE Wayne was a Junior at Morgan State University. He still kept his collection of hip hop on hand, but with new mixtapes flooding the streets at the time, he had more and more inspiration to push him. He started off freestyling for family members and friends at holiday events, but after a while he began putting the pen to the pad with a purpose. Long time friend and producer Shak (Shak Trauma) told him he already had the “look” of a rapper and wanted to hear what DUCE was working with. DUCE wrote a verse, spit it to Shak, and he’s been going ever since.
Currently, working with another longtime collaborator Al Great, as well as producers like Shak Trauma, Heist, and Khafre Williams, DUCE Wayne has geared his focus on making the kind of music he came up listening to. A lyricist with a combination of witty punchlines, deep metaphors, and meaningful verses, his formula is simple: “Make the same quality music I came up listening to, and it will speak for itself.”
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