Anchorage, Alaska emcee Duckman releasing his debut mixtape through Black Soprano Family Records after making a name for himself in the Alaskan hip hop scene by putting out the full-length debut A Bag Boy Story: Welcome to the East in the summer of 2016 followed by the sophomore effort A Bag Boy Story II: Back to da East only 11 months later & his 3rd album The Slim Show the Christmas after that. He would subsequently put out 3 more LPs in The Adventures of Quack Poppa, Off the Grid & Off the Grid 2 until signing to B$F at the beginning of 2024 & is coming off of B.A.R.S. Murre’s comeback effort Jewelry Store Shootouts by introducing himself as the Black Soprano Eskimo.
The intro gets us started with a symphonic trap instrumental tellin’ those who’ve never been to Alaska not experiencing 20 hours of darkness & that he isn’t your average $1M person whereas “Ghetto Gospel” featuring Elcamino works in a ghostly sample mixed with hi-hats to talk about being on the brinks of being heirs to the throne. “Karma” takes the soulful trap route instrumentally talking about trying to get some paper out it leading into “Cost to Be the Boss” vibrantly getting boastful.
“I Did” has a bit of a Detroit trap flare to it admitting that he isn’t proud of a lot of the shit he’s done although he was standing on business just before the tape’s sole single “M.C.M. (Money Counter Music)” featuring Skilla Baby is a decent ode to counting your bread. “Cullinan” featuring Sauce Walka continues the soul sampling talks about losing it all only to get it right back while the cloudy trap fusion “Vlad TV” featuring Bonni Drip continues to run it up advising to stay out of the mix.
Fuego Base & Heem both join the Duckman for the penultimate track “High Noon” goes head-on boom bap telling a true story of violence & brutality revolving around the true Sopranos, but then “Locked” featuring Benny the Butcher & Rowdy Rebel properly concludes Black Soprano Eskimo with the trio over this exuberant Brooklyn drill beat talking about knowing people who eventually landed behind bars for making that dope money with the Butcher’s verse during the middle being my favorite amongst the 2 guests.
Quite probably the most exciting artist that I’ve ever heard out of the Alaskan hip hop scene has to be Duckman by far & his official B$F debut here takes himself to a higher level as an artist. Black Soprano Eskimo has a bit of a prominent trap sound to it with additional elements of Detroit trap, Brooklyn drill & a hint of boom bap discussing where he is now as well as his life involved in the biggest cocaine bust in Alaska history.
Score: 7/10