TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 1999

Rappers churn out old school-style lyrics

By Tina Dhamija

On-Line Forty-Niner

Attending a concert by hip-hop band Ugly Duckling is not an ugly experience.

The Long Beach-based group played a noontime concert Thursday in the University Student Union South Plaza, drawing in a crowed of more than 100 listeners.

People of all colors and creeds stopped to listen to the two emcees and one disc jockey turn out old school-style hip-hop tunes.

During their 40-minute set, emcees Andy Cat Cooper and Dizzy busted out lyrics to beats provided by d.j. Einstein, which had the crowd body rockin' to the music.

Ugly Duckling uses lots of hip-hop beats and rhythms from what it calls the golden years of hip-hop - the late 1980s and early 1990s. Snippets of sound by such hip-hop artists as Biz-Markie and others could be heard in its music.

Members of the audience supported the group by helping shout out the chorus to "Einstein's Takin' Off," a tribute song from the emcee ducklings to its duckling d.j.

The group's last song, "Everything's Alright," was a favorite. Einstein's beats had toes tapping and bodies bumpin' in their seats, while the lyrical style of the emcees flowed together in an old-school, hip-hop melody.

A lyrical ditty done to the background music of "Endo Smoke," an early 1990s track by Long Beach rappers Warren G and Mista' Grimm, served as a tribute to the group's home town.

Ugly Duckling has been together as a hip-hop act since 1994. All members live in and are from Long Beach.