Customer Reviews

Taste the Secret

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Believe it or not, there was a time when hip-hop wasn't about how thugged out were. Or, how much Ice you rocked. As a long time Hip-Hop head, I remember those days well. It was fun, back then Biz was "Pickin' Buggers" The Fat Boys were "Crushin" Nobody was packing guns, 50-Cent would have been considered a "Wanksta" Between then, and now, a lot has changed. What's the last Hip-Hop album you remember buying that was free of foul langauge, and no, the "edited" version doesn't count sorry.
Ugly Duckling, take it back to those days, you won't like this album if you have to "keep it real" and want to hear about sex and voilence, there is simply none of that here. But if you want one of the truest, most original albums ever released, run out and pick this up. The album tells a story of a fast food chain "MeatShake" and their competition with the "Veggie Hut" which is across the street. It might sound, well dumb, but believe me it's not. This album is overflowing with personality and humor, and there are absolutly no curses.
The album starts on a high note, with Dizzy & Andy rappin about being an "Opening Act" and the crowd hating them, this is a funny track. And one point they call out "somebody say ho!" and get zero responce, repeated nothing, repeated, "you suck!" you can't help but smile at this track. Track #3 "MeatShake" you start to see how nutts this album is. Andy raps about the shake made from meat that their chain serves, the lyrics are original and witty, this is a hilarious track. They go on to "Dumb it Down" talking about how you gotta be extra simple to make it in todays market. This could be a diss to 50-Cent's (even tho it's not) UD's are anything but dumb. "The Drive-Thru" is possibly my favorite track, it has somebody in the "MeatShake" drive-thru, and Dizzy rapping the menu to the customer. And the dude is thrown off by everything "having meat in it" At one point
"(May a take your order?)/yeah my wife would like a shake/(ok, what flavor would you like, we got Chicken, Pork or Steak) huh?" You have to hear it to appericate it, because reading it just makes it sound stupid. I've listened to the album about 10 times since 4 days ago [when it came out] I still find myself smiling at the originality and humor packed thru it. The track ends with him insulting the customer because they don't want a meatshake and telling the "hippies" to go across the street to the "Veggie Hut" Which later leads into one of the funniest songs I've heard in a long time. "The Conferentation" Where Brianna from the "Veggie Hut" troops over to confront Dizzy about serving meat. "(What has an animal ever done to you?)/It filled me up... Hay save the attack/(I guess I just respect life)/I have it for a snack" Again, you must hear it to be able to appericate it. It's not stale, dumbed concepts here, it seems the humor works everywhere. Other standout tracks "Mr. Tough Guy" which calls out the people who act mean for no good reason (50-Cent's perhaps?) & "Potty Mouth" where they talk about people who cuss for no good reason.
The concept behind this album isn't good on it's own. It seems, well dumb. But, the lyrics are so original, and threw-out the album there are "skits" witn commericals and jingles for "MeatShake" But best of all, there's Young Einstien's production, which is beyond wonderful. It's so funky. A couple of the samples he uses sound like they were lifted straight from a 70's game show [a good thing] He ranks up there with Cut Chemist and Kut Masta Kurt when it comes to diggin in the crates and creating that classic sound.
I don't think I dislike any song on here, lyrics or production wise. And the throw back to classic hip-hop, without the cursing and voilence has me feeling like I was a kid again. Listening to a group who could be real, without fronting. It's nice to see a group that is comfortable enough to be themselves. They don't take themselves totally seriously, but they love Hip-Hop, and all 3 have immense talent. Shame that 50 will go on to be the biggest artist of the year. If there's some [any] justice in this world, the trio of Andy, Dizzy & Young Einstien will get some props for this incredible release. I'd love to see a Platinum Plack & a Grammy nod.

bottom line, BY IT! it's a fun album that is overflowing with humor, and with no objectional songs or lyrics. Parents will have no problem letting the little one listen to it.

Taste the Secret pushes hip-hop to a new depth and sophistication while retaining the classic elements that has made UD such explicitly pure entertainment. I've listened to the album 20 times by now and each time find new discoveries and levels...both comic as well as commentating on hip-hop culture. UD is to hip-hop what punk was to rock - refusing to sell out to pop top 20 while retaining what classically gave rock its appeal. This album will leave you in stitches with lyrics that drip with wit as well as substance all while walking you through the right of passage most of us went through growing up - fast food Americana.

I highly recommend this album.

In the annals of hip hop, plenty of different movements have come and gone. The message folks were replaced by the gangstas. The gangstas were replaced by the rappers who just want to have fun. The funsters were replaced by the deep thinkers, and the deep thinkers were replaced by the gangstas. Through it all, most of the movements have stayed around, they've merely moved out of the mainstream. Well, the fun rappers are alive in the underground, and, along with a handful of others (Pigeon John, LA Symphony, Dirtburg, etc.) Ugly Duckling is headlining the movement, even if they're not headlining the tours.

With Fresh Mode and Journey to Anywhere, Dizzy Dustin, Andy Cooper and Young Einstein showed us that they were students of old school hip hop. Throwing rhymes back and forth, finishing each other's sentences, upbeat rhymes about goin' out on Friday Night, scratchin' the dickens out of old vinyl, etc. were (and still are) a breath of fresh air. Taste the Secret takes the same style, and mixes it up with a quirky theme that provides one of the most disgusting (but funny) hip hop songs I've ever heard (MeatShake). There are some extremely high quality tracks on this album, my favorite of which is Turn It Up, a call to...well...turn it up. Opening Act is a fun track that explains UD's position in the hierarchy of touring hip-hop. Potty Mouth is an entertaining track that exposes the use of curse words as a crutch/marketing gimmick. The cd as a whole is pretty good, but these three tracks stand out in my mind. The picture is this, Taste the Secret is a step back for the group, but considering that they were already about 4 steps ahead of most hip-hop, so it's not a huge deal.

Forget the Source, forget five mics, forget the bling, forget the jig, forget software synths , forget modern Hip Pop and just buy this Homage to all of Hip Hops Finest Moments.
This album represents the true essence and genuine ideology of everything that Hip Hop used to stand for and still could if it wasnt for wack money hungry artists ruining the culture we all love.
Firstly lets address the music -armed with just an MPC and a couple of crates of dusty vinyl , Einstein creates a sound that producers with a $100,000,000 set up can only dream of - if only they had firstly had creative talents to be able to do this.
Secondly the rhymes that Andy and Dizzy unleash on this album are of the highest quality and flow with a tight quality rarely heard these days on any release.
Thankyou Ugly Duckling for bringing Hip Hop back down to earth and for resurrecting that golden age sound.
Those idiots that say Hip Hop is dead need to go and get this album and take that Pop Idol CD to the dumpster.
Not since Three feet high and rising has a hip hop lp made me laugh so much.
Like Paris said lets 'Break the Grip of Shame' of modern music.
U.D. Deserve a Grammy, an Oscar and a walk of fame Star for this !!!

So who here is tired of the gangster garbage rap has succumb to these days? yeah thats pretty much everyone. So has ugly duckling, so they released an album to completely overthrow that. They managed to make an amazing album entirely without cursing or any guest appearances. This album is just a funny, chilled out album. For those not feeling the G-rated style this album contains then i think your crazy becuase i find it hillarious. "Dumb It Down" is the key song in this album as it pokes fun at the whole "its cool to dumb" thing the majority of the youth hip hop world has become nowadays. They do it with funny, clever rhymes from Andy and Dizzy and really the best beats Young Einstein has put together to date. "Meat Shake" is another great song that parodies major fast food companies going overboard with the amount of beef put on menus these days. "Rio De Janiero" is one of the best laced hip hop - jazz beats ive ever heard all about that feeling everyone has to just get away. But enough about the songs, the point is that theres nothing new about Ugly Duckling except that this album is their best to date and i reccomend it really to anyone.

What is hip-hop? Is hip-hop about sharp rhymes and catchy hooks? "Off the chain" beats and brilliant production? Maybe one's definition of hip-hop is some super sick one-hundred bar verse. However, for myself, hip-hop is more than that. Hip-hop is a culture that has been exploited by mainstream America. That's why Ugly Ducklings' Taste the Secret is not on your typical "hip-hop's most wanted" list.

Taste the Secret is off the meat rack (no pun intended). Sure, this is no Long Live the Kane or Critical Beatdown, but for this album to be released in 2003, you can't help by feel Taste the Secret has taken you on a trip back to the Golden Ages of hip-hop. This album doesn't have any one single outstanding track. It's more like one big track into an entire album. From beginning to end, you really don't notice the transition from one track to another. It's a joyride true hip-hop fans will cherish in an era where true hip-hop isn't abundant.

I'm not a huge fan of Ugly Ducklings' other works, but Taste the Secret was something I found one of the best releases of 2003 (a fairly good year for hip-hop music). This album did big things for the underground community. Not an undisputed classic, but I'd reward 4.5 stars. You're not going to discover verses that'll make you sick to your stomach (in a good way), but you'll find yourself wishing the Golden Age of hip-hop still existed. Taste the Secret was like a brief ray of sunshine in a day and age where hip-hop is for the most part is overcast.

Anyone who truly enjoyed their prior release would probably be apprehensive that this release wouldn't be up to snuff. Not to worry, the album is just as fresh as the first EP. It's hard to find an artist that doesn't totally change their style, and yet simply give more of the same content. Like De La Soul's first two albums, it's a fantastic follow-up. The album content is not what you'd expect, and yet, the quality of the album IS what you've come to expect from such an independent group.

This is nothing short of another classic album, that will survive the test of time, that you'll still have in your system 10 years from now. While some may complain about the skits, they're surely better than dated materials from other artists, who have the "newest" sound which usually lasts about 5 years at best, and make ghetto references to material goods no one will own by next year. In short, you'll be able to play this when you're 60 and not be embarrassed about it, and have to explain to your grandkids what air brushed overalls, high-top fades, diaper pants, pagers, or Escalades are.

The rhymes are still fresh, charismatic, with true "group" performances by both emcees, intermixing rhymes, and beats that truly take some true musical appreciation (and major crate digging) to create - not the one-fingered synthesizer playing from someone who can make TV jingles played over and over with no break, made by someone that can barely DJ.

All the other comments that reference De La Soul's first two albums are dead-on point. It's the exact same feeling I caught, and I hadn't even read the comments. That would make most of us listeners to over 10 years of hip hop if they listened to those albums when they were released, and honestly, it's really difficult to find an album nowadays that so sounds fresh to my crusty, stale ears. There are so many new albums coming out that had the benefit of growing up during the major stages of hip hop development, but few have succeeded to grasp the concept of it, rather than just copying someone else. This album is well-rounded and pure gold to anyone's collection.

Comical from beginning to end. It flows with tight beats and the lyrics are original. It is not much different than the other albums in terms of what you would expect from these guys. Buy this album.

Music fan knows nothing about music, and posts his big mouth crap on every rap album, no one listens to your review u hater, this moron never listend to any of the albums. On his outcast review of speakerbox he claims rap isnt music and to listen to something by nora jones, u2, cold play or radio head. Well moron look at the track on the outcast cd with nora jones on it. And if u listen to radiohead u will pick up on they use of the technique known as sampling. Your really an idiot if u sample music that u so call music and make a new song then isnt that music, grow up son and move on. Music is an ever changing art form if u want to talk music please tell me what u know about miles davis, mozart, chopin and why not throw in dj premier, the ugly duckling brings some tight music to a dead creative time in hip hop, the infamous gay-z is retireing, while ja rule is arguing with 50 cent who came out with a piece of garbage album that i wipe my butt with. Please all you all stop listening to commercial music its abolute trash with no heart soul or artistic input. And music fan try listening to music b4 your review it. You just dont like hip hop and wanna bash it. Well leave your comments to yourself because they are as useless as every song gay z ever wrote.

As most all else who have reviewed this have said, a hark back to the old days, with beats made from vinyls and not every other word needs to be bleeped. Definate influences of Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jurassic 5 and the like, and an age where hiphop had that air of freshness to it. The "meatshake" theme does get a little tired after a couple of listens, but the rest of the material more than makes up for this... The tracks inbetween the theme-based songs are not filler, but rather UD's look at modern music, basically calling it uninventive, needlessly profane and macho. Really, I know the lack of offcolor language will likely get this album branded as "pop", or somehow weak, but these guys put together one of the best hiphop albums in the past ten years or so. The songs like "Pass It On" really show the influence of the kindof spontaneous nonsense rhyming that hiphop started with ("save the weight loss, great for kate moss, more potatoes for me, pass the steak sauce"). Young Einstien has a great ability to create a catchy beat, something that will hold your attention, but not distract from the rhymes... favorite songs: "I Wanna Go Home", and "La Revolucion".