If you are someone that is in tune with or up to date with the underground Hip Hop world at all, I would assume you have heard of $uicideboy$. They have been one of the most prolific and prominent underground Hip Hop acts of the last 10 years. The $uicideboy$ have gotten hundreds of millions of streams on their music and sell out stadiums across the country all of the time. For being an act that goes super against the mainstream, they are insanely popular and have a devout fan base. $uicideboy$ is made up of two cousins from New Orleans named $crim and Ruby Da Cherry. Both members have released their own solo music, but up until this point, all of that music was put out before they started making music together. This has now changed, as Ruby Da Cherry just decided to release a solo project under the name DUCKBOY. tragic love songs to study to [vol. 5] is a Pop Punk and Alt-Metal project that goes against the grain of what most people know them for. Contrary to some of the discourse about it online, this kind of music coming from Ruby Da Cherry should not come as a surprise. In the past, $uicideboy$ have made music with artists like Blink 182’s Travis Barker and Korn’s James Shaffer, so it is easy to see that they have always had an appreciation for this kind of music. With that being said, here is my opinion on DUCKBOY’S tragic love songs to study to [vol. 5]. Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite songs are from this project, and also comment on how you felt about it as a whole.
DUCKBOY certainly gets this project started on a strange note. The first track, ‘¯\_(ツ)_/¯,’ is literally just a voicemail recording. The phone number used in the recording contains a couple of references to New Orleans and the group. The area code, 504, is one of the most popular ones in the city of New Orleans. The rest of the phone number, 595959, is a reference to the music label owned by $uicideboy$, g59 Records. This track immediately transitions into ‘ROUGAROU(i’ve become the monster.’ This track immediately makes me think of some of the Hardcore punk and Glam Metal bands that were big in the early to mid-2000s. There is a guitar riff in this song that reminds me of AFI, and there is another riff that comes in and out that reminds me of Black Veil Brides. I like how this song fuses Punk and Glam Metal in the way that it does. The Punk elements of the song are so chunky and harsh, and the Glam Metal sections feel pristine; this contrast creates a cool juxtaposition. The song is very fast-paced until the end when there is a brief and slow breakdown. The breakdown towards the end of the song is awesome, as it calms down the anxious notion that the rest of the song has. DUCKBOY conveys so much emotion in his vocals, which matches the frantic energy of the song. The vocal performance does not stand above the instrumental, but it does drive the song along nicely. On ‘ROUGAROU(i’ve become the monster,’ DUCKBOY seems to be singing from the perspective of a werewolf that is in love. He is swearing to do whatever he has to do to protect his love, and he is trying to convince this person that he is right for them. ‘where ya at, duckboy?’ is made up of multiple voicemails left after the recording from the first track. These voicemails are set to a smooth and Jazzy Trap beat that is a crazy switch-up from the instrumental for the song that precedes it. The voicemails in this track are of someone(or multiple people) trying to get DUCKBOY telling him that they love him and are telling him to come hang out with them. ‘XXL hadron collider’ takes inspiration from early to mid-2000s Punk music; it has a different kind of Punk sound than ‘ROUGAROU(i’ve become the monster,’ though. Instead of going with a Hardcore Punk theme, this track has more of a Pop-Punk and Metalcore feeling to it. The melody for this song is very bright and vibrant, and the beat has an upbeat Skate-Punk theme that reminds me a lot of Travis Barker. The instrumental for this track is highly distorted, which is what makes it feel more metalcore. The vocals on this song have a Metalcore element to them as well. The way this instrumental is mixed when paired with the vocals almost makes this song seem like it is an A Day To Remember cover of an obscure early 2000s Blink 182 song. It is cool how two very different styles of Punk music are fused in this song. On ‘XXL hadron collider,’ DUCKBOY is talking about suicide. He is stating that his life has been too rough for him to handle and that he had to end it. At the end of the song, there is another voicemail recording. This time, it comes from $crim, who is calling him a pussy and telling him to answer the phone.
‘my love life needs a lobotomy’ is only 41 seconds, but it still packs a punch. This is a track that immediately made me think of the early days of A Day To Remember. The song has a catchy and colorful melody provided by hard electric guitar riffs that are highly distorted and rough; they are put over a very quick drum beat that will inject energy immediately into anyone that hears it. Like the last track, the vocal performance on this track is also reminiscent of A Day To Remember. The way he goes back and forth between screaming and singing keeps the listener on their toes and makes this short track super engaging. On ‘my love life needs a lobotomy,’ DUCKBOY is telling his former partner that he loves them but is also disgusted with them. ‘where ya at duckboy??’ is very similar to the first version of this track earlier on the record. The instrumental for this one is slightly different, but the overarching theme is the same. This track is made up of a bunch of voicemails from various people ins DUCKBOY’s life trying to get ahold of him and check on him. The song is set to another Jazzy and soft Trap beat that sounds so peculiar in between these Punk songs. The theme of the voicemails on this track is a lot darker. On ‘where ya at duckboy??’ it seems as if the people who are calling him know that something is wrong; they are trying to get ahold of him before something awful happens. The EP closes out with the track ‘after furthering reasoning, i’m going to bed.’ This is probably the softest song on the album. The instrumental is not nearly as hard and distorted as some of the previous tracks. ‘after furthering reasoning, i’m going to bed’ sounds directly inspired by the early music of Pop-Punk bands like Sum 41. The melody for this track is vibrant and light, which gives it a welcoming feeling. Like the rest of the Punk tracks on the project, it has a very lively and quick beat that makes me want to go skateboarding when I hear it. The vocal performance on this track is a lot more reserved than any of the other songs on the record as well. Even though I enjoy his gruffer vocal performances, I actually appreciate this, because it shows off DUCKBOY’s singing skills. On ‘after furthering reasoning, i’m going to bed,’ is singing to his ex from the grave. The song contains a lot of references to lyrics from past $uicideboy$ that I am sure big fans of their music love. To be honest, ‘after furthering reasoning, i’m going to bed’ is not my favorite song on the record, but it is a fun song that shows an affinity for the Pop-Punk bands of the early 2000s that so many people still love.
As I stated in the introduction, it seemed like there were many people online that were surprised that DUCKBOY decided to drop this project without much promotion or anticipation. It heavily goes against the grain of what his music with the $uicideboy$ is like, and he has not tried to portray himself as a rock musician since the early 2010s. On tragic love songs to study to [vol. 5], DUCKBOY’ shows how diverse of an artist he can be. This project has a concise lyrical theme, and it tackles a bunch of different kinds of Punk music inspired by various bands from the 2000s. It is cool how each instrumental sounds influenced by a different Punk band, and how each vocal performance sounds inspired by those different bands as well. The thing I like the most about this record is the vocal performances. DUCKBOY shows how diverse of a vocalist he can be on this record; he definitely proves that he is not a one-trick pony and that he can sing in any way he wants to. tragic love songs to study to [vol. 5] is a very good Rock project from one of the most prominent underground Rap artists of the 2010s, and I hope he follows up on it with more music like this in the future.
EAST SIDE VIBES 