By Chris Rockwell

Unless you were born with a fat trust fund sitting in the bank, 2009 was cause for humility. This economic recession hit a lot of us extremely hard. We all know someone who has lost a house, job or both. One thing is for sure, 2009 was not ordinary or forgettable. And it’s made me reflect on the beginning…
I started King Duce in my darkest hour, betting every penny we had and set course for the great unknown, pouring our blood, sweat and tears into this dream. Almost everyone we knew just assumed I had finally gone off the edge for good. Without Beck I would not be alive today and King Duce would’ve never seen the light of day (she’s my June Carter Cash). I’m also grateful for the support of my family and the people who, early on, were willing to invest their time and bet their hard earned money on this crazy dream (special acknowledgement to Beiron, Matt, Julie, Marcus and the early investors for sticking by my side). I am equally grateful for the people from around the world I’ve never met who have joined the King Duce family and made the crown a part of their lives. You can’t know how much you inspire me.

2009 Highlights:

King Duce Records:
There was one addition to the King Duce family this year that marked our growth in the music world, New York hip hop legend, Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor from the groundbreaking platinum selling group “A Tribe Called Quest”. Of course I have to give a shout to E-40 for his friendship and support since day one. (I’m looking forward to our collaborations this year, dude.) And our rap artists G Will and Lace Leno who produced new albums and kicked off successful tours opening for Keak Da Sneak and topped it off with our first major music video release featuring Lace Leno and his club anthem, “Doin What I Feel Like.” I’m proud of these guys in every way and I’m stoked to see what they’ll achieve this year. We also began projects with two metal bands, “How Dare the Dawn” and “Eyes of Ruin”. After a promising start this year, “Eyes of Ruin” disintegrated under a Molotov cocktail of drugs and fist fights. Not the first or last rock band to suffer this unfortunate fate. But a new band has risen from the ashes and might make an appearance with us down the road if they can keep their shit together. In contrast, our hard working country boys from “How Dare the Dawn” kept grinding hard, making progress playing at dive bars and clubs up and down the coast. We’ve made our way down to the L.A. metal scene and will be announcing new bands this year. Meanwhile, our reggae family is patiently standing by ready to bring it this year. Jr. Toots and many greats from around the world will be debuting with King Duce Records this year. Hope to see all of you at Reggae Rising 2010! It’s gonna be BLAZIN!

Action Sports and MMA:
BMX stars David and Kevin Peraza lit up 2009 like a Roman candle as they won or placed in nearly every freestyle event they entered, including Mexico’s Copa International and the Gatorade Free Flow Tour. Our original snowboard OG, Travis “The Kid” Kennedy was coming off some good riding and a series of injuries that had him spending as much time in the studio recording with G Will as he was riding the back country of Squaw Valley. Our skate team, led by Skylar Bowers and Dylan Hilton, ripped up competitions all over California and ended up nearly sweeping the Vans Warped Tour Skate Competition. These small town kids proved they can hang with the best up and coming riders in Cali. Then there were our MMA fighters Bad Brad McDonald and Buddy Roberts, both of whom knocked out their latest opponents on their march to title belts. Our motocross family kicked into gear this year with pro riders Damon Smith and Jared Van Bebber from Nor Cal. My old friend and former world champ, Brett Hamilton joined forces with us to provide guidance, experience and friends that are ripping it up on tour. Hey Brett, can’t wait to see that video of you and Travis Pastrana when you were sporting that fucked up mullet!

Underground Art:
This year King Duce was joined by some of the greatest artists in the world led by my friend and skate industry icon Andy Howell. Jim Mahfood brought a sick twist of underground comic art that is breaking all stereotypes and producing amazing shit, including original pieces he did for King Duce. And then there was spray paint artist, Chor Boogie, a man that has a style in art and life that inspires everyone around him. Not to mention, Chor survived a stabbing recently and emerged stronger than ever. Hell, even the mayor of San Francisco had to attach his image to Chor! Sorry Gavin, my vote goes to Chor for mayor of S.F.!

2010 is going to be a bigger and more exciting for King Duce. At this point, the possibilities are endless, we’ll continue building off the electric momentum of 2009 and releasing new music from King Duce Records; a new line of limited edition hats and t-shirts; and producing and crashing events and parties that you won’t want to miss. I’ll keep things under wraps until we’re ready to unveil them, but I can promise that we will always come with a creative and innovative approach to the game.
King Duce will continue to spark controversy and criticism every step of the way. We’re not interested in pleasing the mainstream critics, making pop hits or getting our clothes into Macy’s, that would be creative suicide and a waste of time. We’re only interested in enlisting talented underground game changers who know real from bullshit. This fundamental rule will ensure that King Duce and the people behind the name are sincere about their art and way of life. The rest will take care of itself.
Duce Up!!