Duckwrth and the Terrible, Horrible, Not So SuperGood Year

By Kyle Henderson and Surya Vaidy

Up-and-coming multi-hyphenate Jared Lee, better known by his stage name Duckwrth, wants you to know something: he’s here to play the long game. If anything can be learned from listening to Duckwrth speak, it's that he’s not interested in momentary hype and viral status; he’s intent on creating a varied body of work and a solid legacy that speaks for itself. 

Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Lee has been on the rise for the past few years. He’s opened for artists like Anderson .Paak and Billie Eilish, and now, with the release of his debut album SuperGood, Lee is poised to become a household name soon enough.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the overall tumultuousness of this year, Lee is relieved to have finally released the album. He referred to the record as “audio medicine,” that will transport listeners away from their current situations. “For an album called SuperGood, it’s already an affirmation,” he elaborated. “When you press play, it’s supposed to make you feel super good, and I feel like it came right on time, where people need to feel the best that they can at this moment.”

For the album, Lee took inspiration from the 70’s, which he believes was “a time of celebration,” especially for black people. “When black people start going back into who they are and in their original essence, a bit of magic happens,” he said. Lee continued on to discuss how he wanted to tap into that energy with SuperGood as we entered the new year and the new decade.

While Lee has major plans for his future as an artist, he wants to create a legacy that’s bigger than just music. He recalled growing up in south-central Los Angeles as beautiful, but traumatic, as he had to stay safe in a community struggling with gang violence. 

However, he does credit his upbringing as a key factor in making him the man he is today, as it has given him the confidence to stand up for himself within the music industry and the corporate world. “I think by being raised specifically in south-central Los Angeles, it gave me a backbone,” he said. “It just taught me all the methods that I needed to get the things that I need to get, as an artist, as a man, and as a businessman.”

Authenticity is also a key part of the image Lee wants to express as an artist. Lee was critical of some of the behaviors exhibited by popular artists today, and believes that presenting the image of a healthy and authentic artist is helpful for people and the overall culture of music.

With his music, Lee hopes that he can help break stereotypes of what a black artist can and should do. He cited hip-hop duo OutKast as one of his biggest inspirations for how they made space for “different black kids.” He went on to say that he has many dream collaborations in mind, but his top choice would be The Neptunes, a duo that he’s listened to and followed since his youth.

So, what’s next for Duckwrth? Lee says that he hopes to expand on SuperGood and turn it into something tangible. He plans on creating more music videos and garments, but what he’s most excited about is the community outreach, starting out with his hometown of south-central Los Angeles. “They can feel super good,” he said of his hometown. “From there, using that motto, for all of America, and then, shit, maybe the world.”