Last week we spoke about one of the newest installations to Duck Down, Skyzoo. This week we introduce you to the other heavy hitters, Torae and Marco Polo. Double Barrel just came out of left field for everyone. Everyone had heard of Torae back from the The Diplomats (/cry) and Marco Polo has had his share of production across a couple of well-known albums, although you never realized it. Duck Down stepped their game up co-signing Sky, Tor and MP. You guys should definitely check out more of Duck Down Records BECAUSE, Lou thinks they are probably the only crew left that really knows how to do it and have been doing it since the early 90′s. Just saying.

Torae gained recognition by collaborating with DJ Premier and Marco Polo. In 2007, Hip Hop DX featured him in their DXNext underground Hip Hop series. In the same year, he was named Chairman’s Choice in XXL. In addition to Polo and Premier, Torae has worked with producers Eric G., Black Milk, and Khrysis. Torae has collaborated frequently with fellow Brooklyn MCs Skyzoo and Sha Stimuli. He has also worked with Tash of The Alkaholiks, Teflon, Chaundon, Sean Price, Masta Ace, and Talib Kweli.

With the exception of one track, Marco Polo produced Pumpkinhead’s Orange Moon Over Brooklyn in 2005, and shortly after contributed tracks to Masta Ace’s A Long Hot Summer, Sadat X’s Black October, and various Boot Camp Clik projects. His debut album, Port Authority, was released through Rawkus Records and featured guest raps from Masta Ace, Kool G Rap, Buckshot, Wordsworth, O.C., Kardinal Offishall, Large Professor and Sadat X. Marco Polo’s production revolves around his use of samples, and his style is somewhat comparable to that of Pete Rock and DJ Premier, the latter of which he names as his greatest influence. To give a more authentic effect to his production, he will individually sample drum sounds (such as a hihat) and arrange them to create his own “breaks”. He often uses bass to enhance melodies he has sampled. He has been known to use outro beats to segue into the next song.

Here’s the quick write up on Double barrel courtesy of DuckDown.com

Rapper Torae & Super-Producer Marco Polo have joined forces to release the New York rap album that fans of raw, hardcore Hip-Hop have been waiting for.
When it comes to beats and rhymes, Canadian producer Marco Polo and Brooklyn MC Torae don’t play, just check the résumé. On his 2007 critically acclaimed album Port Authority, Polo recruited a who’s who of MC’s like Kool G Rap and Kardinal Offishall to ride over his hard-hitting instrumentals. Torae, on the other hand, has certified his rep as one of the game’s illest lyricists in a similar fashion, with remarkable wordplay on his highly touted 2008 street album Daily Conversation. So, in the spirit of great hip-hop duos, the producer and the MC signed with Duck Down Records to release their collaborative album “Double Barrel,” on June 2nd.
“He’s bringing the hardest production that he can bring, I’m bringing the hardest rhymes I can bring; together its like a double barrel blast,” says Torae of the album’s persistent theme. The two first hooked up when Marco tapped the MC to guest on his Mick Boogie-helmed mixtape, The New Port Authority, in 2007. In turn, Marco went on to produce “Casualty” on Tor’s Daily Conversation. “I think we just had a connection in the studio,” says Polo, “We wanted to make an album that we wanted to hear with banging beats and aggressive rhymes.”
Sonically Double Barrel pays homage to New York’s mid-‘90’s rap scene, when artists like Gang Starr and Wu-Tang Clan reigned supreme. The album’s lead track “Party Crashers” is a definite standout, harkening back to that era with its chest thumping percussion and rock solid rhymes. So rather then try to fit in with Hip-Hop’s pop set, Torae & Marco chose the unconventional route. “I think the sound of the album is not the most popular or trendy, but we’re going to crash the party,” says Tor, “We’re coming in with this sound and we’re coming in doing what we want to do.”
Songs like the dramatic “But Wait” and the free associative “Word Play” display Tor’s forward-thinking conceptual abilities, while the rock-infused “Danger” stands as one of Marco’s finest productions to date. Overall the album is chock-full of the street-influenced rap that fans have come to expect from the two Hip-Hop upstarts.
Torae sums up the collaboration perfectly when he spits, “He makes violent beats, I’m from the violent streets/That Double Barrel sound, that’s where violence meets.”