Ugly Duckling: Journey To Anywhere

Ugly Duckling hails from Long Beach, the same Los Angeles suburb that spawned Snoop Dogg, but that's where the similarities end. Like fellow West Coast iconoclasts Blackalicious, People Under The Stairs, and Jurassic 5, Ugly Duckling makes distinctive, uncompromising, unfashionably wholesome hip-hop rooted in a love of the genre's recent and distant past. Admirably oblivious to contemporary trends, Ugly Duckling mixes the obsessive crate-digging and jazzy vibes of its Native Tongues forebears with the good-time ethic of old-school hip-hop on its enormously entertaining debut LP, Journey To Anywhere. Whether gently spoofing hip-hop's materialistic obsessions on "A Little Samba" or dreaming about Sesame Street, Judy Blume novels, and Andy Capp on the title track, Journey To Anywhere is infused with a playful innocence that's as refreshing as it is rare. Rappers Andycat and Dizzy Dustin's unassuming, laid-back flows recall The Mountain Brothers and Blackalicious' Gift Of Gab, while the group's in-house production possesses a richness and sophistication that belies the album's independent, low-budget origins. With shout-outs to mom and dad and enough pop-culture references for a dozen Gen-X comedies, Journey To Anywhere skirts insufferable cutesiness but seldom crosses into it, thanks to a uniquely endearing mixture of geekiness and genuine craft. More Schoolhouse Rock than Schoolly D, Ugly Duckling clearly loves what it's doing, and its enthusiasm is contagious.