Ducky Dynamo’s new album, “Feathers 2.0,” feels like Baltimore Club music from past, present, and future — rooted in the city, respectful of its history, and still flexible enough to stretch into something playful, musical, and personal.
Across 12 tracks, Ducky moves between original productions, remixes, and collaborations that show just how wide her range is. Some songs hit with pure dance-floor force, while others lean into melody and nostalgia, but the thread holding everything together is clear. “Honestly, the true inspiration was to see how well I could make a unique spotlight on me. I wanted the album to feel raw and gritty while keeping the elements of my sets and my personality all in one monstrous song,” Ducky told Baltimore Beat.
That feeling comes through immediately on “Baltimore Bullet,” a standout that works like the album’s centerpiece. The track feels slick, anthemic, and proudly local without being trapped in the past. Ducky describes her sound as sitting between generations of Baltimore Club, and “Baltimore Bullet” captures that balance especially well. Another highlight is “Completely Valid Crash Out,” one of the album’s hardest-hitting tracks and one of its clearest nods to the more aggressive, dance-centered side of Baltimore Club. It stands out for its intensity, but also for the fun behind it. The track also features input from producer Benjamin Banger, whose melodic contribution helps sharpen the song’s edge without taking away from the chaos.
On “Ducky’s Revenge,” she links with Eze Jackson (the Beat’s distribution chief and founding editor of this column) for one of the project’s most exciting turns. The song marks an important step in Ducky’s evolution as a producer, showing how naturally her beats can hold a vocal feature while keeping their club energy intact.
“It’s one of the first main songs I’ve produced to put out in a collaboration with a rapper on purpose,” she says. That shift gives “Feathers 2.0” an added sense of momentum, and Jackson’s vocals help widen the album’s reach without diluting its sound.
Then there is “Aquatic Ambience DKC2,” one of the softer but most memorable moments on the album. Built from video game nostalgia and shaped through collaboration, the track shows the heart of “Feathers 2.0” with warmth and bounce in a vibey way. That balance between party energy and musical detail is one of the album’s strongest qualities.
“Feathers 2.0” lands naturally within Baltimore’s Club scene, balancing tradition with fresh textures and collaborations. It carries the rhythm of home while staying open enough to connect beyond the city, grounded but never limiting.
At the center of it all is a simple goal: “I want you to listen to it and be like, yeah, I had a Baltimore club ass time.” That is the best way to describe “Feathers 2.0.” It is fun, thoughtful, and Baltimore-stamped.
“Feathers 2.0” is streaming on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. (Derick Little Jr.)
girlypop Princess “FEMME FATALE CLUB KIT VOL.1”
During strenuous times people tend to look for a form of escapism, something to help them let loose without the weight of reality pulling them down. What better way to escape grim reality than to “dance my pain away,” as legendary club producer Rod Lee put it? Baltimore-based DJ girlypop princess continues this tradition with her first club album “FEMME FATALE CLUB KIT VOL.1.”
The 10-track album is a curated blend of original mixes and songs by other artists that girlypop princess has flipped. The album kicks off with “Rihanna ft. Future -Loveeeeeee Song (Girlypop Princess Flip),” whose high-energy, take-no-prisoners percussion sets the tone for the rest of the tracks.
The album’s flipped songs top each other track after track as girlypop princess adds a club element that gives each of the songs a different life. In “PinkPantheress – Tonight (Girlypop Princess Flip),” she combines pop with club music, using the original melody and vocals as a foundation to build from while inserting additional percussion, such as the snare drum, the kick drum, and a hand clap that bring the club music feel. Looping the “You want sex with me? Come talk to me,” lyrics towards the end of the song under the bassline draws the listener in for one last moment before a transition to the last part of the track, leaving space for the mix to play out.
She does this similarly in the song “Wolfefacejoeyy – finsta (Girlypop Princess Flip),” except instead of a pop song this time she builds on and subverts a popular sexy drill song. Keeping the drill beat as a base, she adds more instrumental components such as the keys, cymbals, and drums to push drill back to its origins in club. The repeated vocals “What!” and “Hands up, hands down” repeat throughout the song over the bass drum, creating a sound so powerful you can feel it thump throughout your body.
On “Cash Cobain – NDA (Girlypop Princess Flip),” the artist plays with the source song differently, applying more Jersey Shore Club mix elements than the other tracks. The slight bed creaking sound and the repeated “I like how she rock” vocals linger, making you want to break out into New Jersey footwork. girlypop princess allows the singing to be the center of the flip. Looping the melody, she also includes a small section of the sexy drill lyrics towards the end of the mix.
Beyond the flipped songs, girlypop princess does not hold back when it comes to their originals. “boyfriend” carries the same Jersey elements as some of the flips, except here it is brighter and more up-tempo, as the bounciness of the bass merges with the sound of airy high notes to give the mix a whimsical feel, echoed by the lyrics “I don’t want no boyfriend / I just want to fuck.”
“Church on Sunday” brings it all home with a remix of a gospel song. Adding kick and bass drums under the words of a church lady singing along with the choir and the piano of the original song, she transforms it entirely. The voice sounds almost like it is confessing, and with the lyrics it creates a conversation where each voice is heard, an overlapping lyricism where everything is understood.
“FEMME FATALE CLUB KIT VOL.1” encapsulates what people want to hear in the club: music that makes you want to move. With people complaining about the death of club culture, girlypop princess helps to keep the music alive with this album.
“FEMME FATALE CLUB KIT VOL.1.” is available on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. (Chinarose Riley)
Ron James, “I Love Baltimore Club, Vol 1.”
Baltimore-based producer Ron James delivers his newest love letter to the city with the 10-track “I Love Baltimore Club, Vol 1,” which he describes as a tribute to the energy and the legacy of Baltimore Club music.
The inspiration of Baltimore Club can be found throughout the project in the style of vocal chops, club breaks, and the use of samples of popular songs, such as remixes of Kehlani’s “Folded,” and Justin Bieber’s “Yukon.” But despite these elements, and the title, the project’s DNA is rooted more in the world of traditional electronic dance music, deriving inspiration from Baltimore Club without being truly influenced by it. Baltimore Club is known for its gritty, natural, raw feel expressed through repetitive kick drum patterns and consistent energy, whereas EDM subgenres like dubstep are built around beat swells, builds, and drops and the recognizable wobble bass sound.
The strongest sonic connection to Club music comes on the album’s second track “GUESS WHO BLEW YOUR WHISTLE?” Here you’re exposed to the classic Baltimore feel that was broadcast live on 92Q on any given weekend in the late 90s and early 2000s, with whistles reminiscent of a drum line on loop layered over classic club breaks and drum patterns that are sure to kickstart some nostalgia as you’re transported closer to the origins of the club sound.
As for the rest, I wouldn’t count on hearing it in your traditional Club music DJ set or playlist feature, but it might find fans among those who enjoy a broader vision of dance music with a casual nod to Baltimore Club culture. Certain moments feel like you’re on a journey with the producer, locating the direction of the song instead of being immersed in a world that is already fully realized.
The influence of Baltimore extends far and wide through dance music and beyond, notably in New York’s hip-hop subgenre of drill (most popularly performed by Ice Spice), which borrows the drum patterns directly from Baltimore Club, Philly Party music, and Jersey Club music. Though this is not exactly a Baltimore Club album, it provides a healthy mix of subgenres influenced by Baltimore Club music. (Kylynn Couture)
“I Love Baltimore Club, Vol 1.” is streaming on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and TIDAL.