About

duke deuce

“THE KING OF CRUNK”

Crunk music was never dead, but Memphis rapper Duke Deuce has taken it upon himself to inspire a new generation to tear the club up. With inexhaustible energy and a booming voice, the 28-year-old has been reclaiming the ecstatic subgenre for his hometown, making music as grim as it is gleeful, and turning up all the while. Rapping about harrowing realities and detailing the benefits of his hard-won success, Duke has reached millions of rap fans who dig his music’s intensity as much as they do the playful dancing (a.k.a. gangsta walking) he does in his videos. With each release, Duke makes the case that crunk is more than music. It’s a way of life.

“Crunk music is an expression, an energy. I want people to have fun and crank up when they listen to my music,” Duke says. “It’s not about being serious all the damn time. I feel like that’s what was missing in rap.” 

Duke started filling that void with his first projects on Quality Control Music (QC): Memphis Massacre (2018) and Memphis Massacre 2 (2020). Those records split the difference between the dark crunk of Three 6 Mafia and the gleaming hits of Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz, offering vivid glimpses into Duke’s life before and after rap, full of both salvos aimed at local enemies and bottle-popping celebrations. He often bellows his signature ad-lib (“WHAT THE FUCK?!”) with the force of a wrecking ball—or rather, the force of Duke’s own breakout single, “Crunk Ain’t Dead,” a high-octane anthem that earned a remix featuring a few legends of the genre: Lil Jon, Juicy J, and Project Pat. Therein, Duke boasts with chest-beating force: “Bitch, I'm a monster, dumpin' niggas like a Tonka / GD crazy like my uncle.” 

Born Patavious Isom, Duke was practically fated to become a singular rap star. His father, Duke Nitty, was an independent rapper and producer. Duke often slept in his dad’s studio, listening to the dark lyrics and beats informed by life in Whitehaven. Better known to locals as Blackhaven, the predominantly Black neighborhood has suffered from decades of governmental neglect and high unemployment, both of which contribute to Memphis’ heavy gang problem. Duke briefly got pulled into gang life, but spent most of his youth focused on creative outlets. He played upright tenor drum in his school’s marching band, further developing his rhythm and ear for production. And as a member of the dance crew Blackhaven Gangsta Walkers (BHG), he spent hours practicing his moves and competing in gangsta-walking competitions. “It got to the point where people wanted us to lose because we won so much,” Duke says. “BHG became the most hated.”

Though he didn’t rap while back then, Duke was a crunk scholar. He studied Memphis legends Three 6 Mafia and Project Pat alongside Atlanta acolytes Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz, Trillville, and Crime Mob. When he recorded his first songs, Duke knew he wanted to create a hybrid that bridged both cities. He perfected his approach while building a Facebook following, releasing snippets of music and destroying freestyle challenges before releasing “Standbye” in 2015. A quaking introduction to Duke’s music and world, the single dropped several years before crunk would make its way back to the mainstream with songs like A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane.”  

“I was doing crunk music back then when nobody was thinking about it,” Duke says.

Soon, the world caught up. When Duke released the “Whole Lotta” music video in 2018, his Facebook notifications nearly crashed his phone. People connected with Duke’s irrepressible energy and the menacing production as much as they did his 

dancing. After the song dropped, several dancers filmed themselves moving to “Whole Lotta.” Offset soon discovered Duke and later introduced him to P leading to Duke signing with QC.

Since singing with QC, Duke hasn’t let his foot off the gas. His Massacre sets garnered praise and plays while he resurrected crunk and gave all of himself in his videos, dancing included. “A lot of people aren’t ready to be themselves,” Duke says plainly. “I don’t care what nobody thinks.”

While the pandemic has put some plans on hold, Duke has focused on expanding his business beyond music to support his family and community. He founded Duke Deuce Enterprises LLC, and partnered with “Freeway” Rick Ross to develop his own cannabis strain: “Duke Skywalker.” There will soon be various businesses under the DDE umbrella, but Duke’s also spent countless hours preparing his next proper project DUKE NUKEM. His first 2021 single, “Soldiers Steppin,” is militaristic and menacing with a barrage of devastating drums scoring Duke’s aggressive delivery. This is crushing crunk music to ring in the next phase of Duke’s worldwide massacre.