Memphis rapper Duke Deuce expands his sound and approach on new album 'Crunkstar'
For Memphis rapper Duke Deuce, the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have come at a worse time.
In late 2019, Deuce was riding high off the success of early singles like “Yeh” and “Crunk Ain’t Dead,” newly signed to the Quality Control label and ready to break out when the pandemic basically brought the world — including the music industry — to a standstill.
Although Deuce eventually did release some new music in 2020 and 2021, his initial momentum seemed somewhat lost.
“I’m gonna be 100 with you,” Deuce says. “I got very, very frustrated around that time. I was upset, I was angry. My energy was throwed off, it was a lot of things.”
Two years later, though, Deuce is back with new music and primed for the second act in his career. “Now I’m in a good head space, and I’m ready to get back in there.”
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This week Deuce returns with much anticipated album, “Crunkstar,” and he will headline TONE Memphis' Juneteenth Family Reunion event on Sunday.
"Crunkstar" is a record that expands his sound with a mix of rock guitars and experimental beats. “I wanted to show versatility instead of just giving my fans the same thing they already know,” Deuce says. “This album was to make a point; to show the world I’m more than just crunk music or trap. I’m an artist. At the same time, I am a rock star — a crunkstar.”
Since emerging from Whitehaven four years ago, the 30-year-old Deuce (born Patavious Isom) has worked with genre titans like Lil Jon, Juicy J and Project Pat, and has been consciously linking himself with the Bluff City's hip-hop history to claim his position as the latter-day King of Crunk.
A second-generation hip-hopper, Deuce grew up in the studio with his father, producer Duke Nitty, whose credits include projects by Gangsta Blac, Nasty Nardo, Dem Thugs and Mobb Lyfe.
Coming up in the hothouse atmosphere of late 1990s/early 2000s Memphis rap — a scene dominated by the likes of Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball and MJG among others — Duke spent several years crafting his style. Drawing equally on a foundation of classic crunk and dark, sinister Memphis sounds, he would add his own post-millennial energy to the mix. Released in 2018, Deuce's "Whole Lotta" single would come to define his throwback M-Town approach, and launch his career.
A year later Deuce would join hot Atlanta-based indie label Quality Control Music, continuing his success. Following a pair of widely hailed "Memphis Massacre" mixtape projects, Deuce released his debut studio album, "Duke Nukem," in early 2021.
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But his new LP, “Crunkstar” represents Deuce’s most focused and serious effort in the studio. “I’ve been working on this album for like two years,” he says. “I been playing with different sounds, with different producers. It was just about trying to find the right combination of [tracks] that worked.”
Although the album features contributions from producer HitKidd and guest appearances by Rico Nasty, among others, much of the material finds Deuce exploring different sounds and styles himself. “I have my producers or whatever,” he says, “but I’m in the studio a lot just coming up with ideas and laying it down.
“Something like ‘Running Out of Love’ — that was a HitKidd beat. But I decided I want to put guitars on it and I ended calling my guy [guitarist] Dante Smith and he played his guitar and sent it back to me, and we kept going back and forth on it till we got it right.”
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Much of the record was actually done at Deuce’s home studio. “I feel like when I’m at the house recording it’s different than when I’m out and about at someone’s studio or at [Quality Control],” he says. “Because when I’m at the house, I can get as weird as I want and experiment with my music — you feel me?”
"Crunkstar" represents another step forward for Deuce, who along with his fellow Bluff City contemporaries — including Moneybagg Yo, NLE Choppa and Pooh Shiesty — is part of a wave of fresh hip-hop talent that has ushered in a new golden age for Memphis rap.
“I think it’s just timing, and the internet, social media and all that has helped us,” says Deuce of the city’s recent successes. “Seems like back in the OG days, Memphis artists didn’t really have certain opportunities that other cities like Atlanta had. So it was harder to get the music out there. But social media has changed all that. There’s so much talent in the city, it’s hard to look past it once it’s in your face. That’s what’s happening now.”
For his part, Deuce is excited to be back with a new project and is eager to see where the album can reach commercially (last year’s “Duke Nukem” hit No. 3 on the Billboard heatseekers chart). “The team is working hard, they understand how important it is and they’ve been real supportive of me,” he says of his label, Quality Control.
“My main goal is consistency,” Deuce adds. “Now that I feel like I got a chance to keep putting music out, that’s what I want to do. I still feel like I’m coming back from the pandemic that slowed so much stuff down. So I want to mash the gas on ‘em, and I plan on pretty much staying in they face.”
Duke Deuce in Memphis
Appearing at TONE’s Juneteenth Family Reunion Weekend
Sunday at the Orange Mound Tower, 2205 Lamar Ave.
Gates open at 3 p.m. The event is free.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Duke Deuce's 'Crunkstar': Memphis rapper expands sound on new album
