Masta Ace (born Duval Clear on December 4, 1966)http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=MASTA|ACE&sql=11:0ifexqljld6e~T1 is a rapper from Brooklyn, New York. Appearing on classic 1988 posse cut, "The Symphony", he garnered notoriety as an unsung asset to the Juice Crew posse, where he released a number of well-respected albums that were nonetheless little-heard outside purist circles. The single that has earned him the most attention has been "Born to Roll" (a remix to the track "Jeep Ass Niguh", which uses a tweaked Moog synthesizer bassline sampled from Kraftwerk.) His most recent album, A Long Hot Summer, gained considerable acclaim in 2004.In the early stages of his career, Masta Ace was very energetic (cf. "Jeep Ass Niguh", where, tongue-in-cheek, he taunts police officers for their knee-jerk predisposition to harass black youth on city streets.) He also recorded material with a six-member supporting entourage, Masta Ace Incorporated. In light of his newly claimed status as a veteran, he has gravitated toward an earnest, matter-of-fact plainspokenness in the new millennium. Many of the songs that have lent newfound heft to his reputation are simple, no-nonsense rumination on feelings and facts of urban American life, including "Soda and Soap" and "Beautiful".
Recording history
1988-1994
Ace made his recording debut as Master Ace on the hip hop posse-cut "The Symphony", along with fellow Juice Crew members Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane, released on Marley Marl's In Control album. The album also featured two additional Ace tracks, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and "Simon Says". In 1989, he released his first solo single, "Together" b/w "Letter to the Better". His debut album, Take a Look Around, was released through Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1990, featuring production from Marl and DJ Mister Cee. The album featured two minor hit singles in "Music Man" and "Me & The Biz", the latter being a track with Ace's impersonation of Biz Markie, rather than a duet as previously thought the song would be. In 2004, "Me & The Biz" appeared on videogame San Andreas, playing on old school hip hop radio station, Playback FM.During the years between his debut and his second album, Ace began having bitter feelings toward the commercial state of hip hop music, as well as the prominence of Gangsta rap, feelings which ruled the content on his second release, 1993's SlaughtaHouse, with the loose concept of the album seeing Ace taking the fake "gangsta emcees" to his "SlaughtaHouse". The album featured Ace's new crew, Masta Ace Incorporated, which included Eyceurokk, Lord Digga, Paula Perry and R&B vocalist Leschea. The album sold moderately well, fueled by the singles "SlaughtaHouse", "Saturday Nite Live", "Style Wars" and "Jeep Ass Niguh". The latter featured an unlisted remix titled "Born to Roll", which became a crossover single in 1994, peaking at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the same year, Ace became a member of a temporary crew Crooklyn Dodgers, formed for the release of Spike Lee's movie, Crooklyn, along with rappers Special Ed and Buckshot of Black Moon, and recorded the title track of the album soundtrack. The song became Ace's second Hot 100 hit in 1994, peaking at #60 on the chart.
1995-2000
Ace furthered his mainstream appeal in 1995, with his radio-friendly Sittin' on Chrome album. This effort was also released with the Masta Ace Incorporated crew, now also known as The I.N.C. The album was Ace's most commercially successful release, breaking into the Top 20 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Sittin' On Chrome included "Born to Roll", as well as two other Hot 100 hit singles, "The I.N.C. Ride" and "Sittin' on Chrome". Following the album's success, Ace had a falling out with I.N.C. members Lord Digga and Paula Perry, leading to the break up of the crew. After the split, Ace was largely missing from the hip hop scene over the next five years, save for a number of random vinyl singles. During his vinyl days, he bounced from a number of labels, releasing his "Cars" single on Tape Kingz Records, his "Yeah Yeah Yeah" and "NFL" singles on the Union Label, his "NY Confidential" single on Replay Records, his "Express Delivery" single on Three Sixty Records, his "Spread It Out/Hellbound" single on Yosumi Records, his "Conflict" single on Mona Records, his "Ghetto Like" single on Fat Beats, his "So Now U A MC" single on Bad Magic Records, and his "Brooklyn Blocks" single on Buckshot's Duck Down Records.
2001-present
Ace's "Ghetto Like" single led to a misunderstanding with an underground emcee named Boogieman, who released a somewhat similar single titled "Ghetto Love" not long before. He thought that Ace was "biting" his track and released a dis song toward Ace titled "Just You Wait". Ace responded to Boogieman on the diss track "Acknowledge", which also dissed High & Mighty over a misunderstanding. The trading of records led to a rap battle between the two at a Lyricist Lounge event. Ace originally claimed that he delivered his rhymes off the top of his head while Boog was rapping previously written lyrics, but later retracted that statement in the song "Dear Diary" from his fourth full length album, Disposable Arts, released in late 2001 through JCOR Records.; in the song, Ace negatively addresses himself and his attempts at a comeback. In the second verse he mentions the battle, admitting he had rushed right before it and pre-wrote his lyrics while Boogie battled him with material that was obviously written a while prior to the battle (which Ace says is what he should've done): "Whoever let you back in the door should get a smack in the jaw / cause you sure shouldn't be rapping no more / you already proved that at the Lyricist Lounge affair / trying to battle with rhymes you wrote on the way there / maybe next time, you'll know not to play fair / say your best written shit and school 'em like daycare". "Acknowledge" was also included on "Disposable Arts."Disposable Arts became one of the most acclaimed underground hip hop releases of 2001, beloved for its pure hip hop style and clever album concept, which served as a fictional story, chronicling Ace's time spent at a satirical rap school named the "Institute of Disposable Arts". JCOR Records folded soon after the release, leaving it out-of-print, until being re-released in 2005 on Ace's self-established M3 label. The album closer, "No Regrets", led many fans to believe that it would be Ace's final album, because of the line "I don't know if it's the end, but yo, it might be". Ace killed the rumors by returning in 2004 with his fifth album A Long Hot Summer, another highly acclaimed effort. The story concept, similar to that on his last release, served as a prelude to the story told on Disposable Arts, chronicling the "Long Hot Summer" that led to his character's incarceration at the beginning of the Disposable Arts album. Rumors once again spread about a retirement, which were again squashed, when Ace announced the formation of his new rap crew named eMC, including himself, Punchline, Wordsworth and his protege Strick. The crew plans to release a group album in early 2007. Ace remarked in a December 2006 interview that he would no longer record as a solo artist, only with eMC
[1]. eMC's first group album, The Show, is scheduled for release for summer 2007. On June 5th 2007, Chinga Chang Records is scheduled to release "Official Joints" with new music from Masta Ace and other NYC rappers.His 1990 single Me and the Biz was featured on the 2004 videogame San Andreas, on the radio station Playback FM.
Discography
Albums
Compilations
Singles
- 1989 - "Together" b/w "Letter to the Better"
- 1990 - "Me & the Biz" b/w "I Got Ta"
- 1990 - "Music Man" b/w "Ace Iz Wild"
- 1991 - "Movin' On" b/w "Go Where I Send Thee"
- 1992 - "Jeep Ass Niguh" b/w "Saturday Nite Live"
- 1993 - "SlaughtaHouse" b/w "Style Wars [2]"
- 1993 - "Saturday Nite Live Mix" b/w "Saturday Nite Live Jay Remix"
- 1994 - "Born to Roll"
- 1995 - "The I.N.C. Ride" b/w "The Phat Kat Ride"
- 1995 - "Sittin' on Chrome"
- 1996 - "Turn It Up" b/w "Top Ten List"
- 1998 - "Cars" b/w "Keep Livin"
- 1998 - "Yeah Yeah Yeah"
- 1999 - "NY Confidential"
- 1999 - "NFL For Long"
- 1999 - "Express Delivery"
- 2000 - "Spread It Out" b/w "Hellbound Remix"
- 2000 - "Brooklyn Blocks" b/w "Last Bref"
- 2000 - "Conflict"
- 2000 - "So Now U a MC?"
- 2000 - "Ghetto Like" b/w "The Outcome"
- 2001 - "Don't Understand" b/w "Acknowledge"
- 2004 - "Good Ol' Love" b/w "The Ways"
- 2004 - "Beautiful" (released with Koolade)
- 2004 - "Da Grind" b/w "Do It Man"
- 2006 - "The Hitman" b/w "Just Get Down" (released with Strick)
Album chart positions
Singles chart positions
External links
References
African American musiciansAmerican rappersPeople from BrooklynDelicious Vinyl artistsNew York City musicians1966 birthsLiving peopleMasta AceMasta AceMasta AceMasta Ace
