"For a long time, I was considered to be an East Coast rapper who made records for a specific region of the country. With the success of "Born to Roll," a whole new audience discovered me for the first time. ON SITTIN" ON CHROME, my new album, we continue to develop the sound I call Brooklyn bass music." ----Masta Ace
Masta Ace is a clear-eyed observer of ghetto life, a bass fanatic and a man whose love of cruising in his ride is almost as deep has his urge to grip the microphone. Ace acheived major breakthough with his debut Delicious Vinyl album, 1993's SLAUGHTAHOUSE. Of the four singles that kept the album charting for 16 months, it was "Born To Roll," a tale of dope rides and systems, that propelled SLAUGHTAHOUSE to national success. After breaking out of Houston and catching fire in San Francisco, "Born To Roll" blew up nationwide; the song enjoyed a three-month, top-ten say on The Box.
Now Ace and his posse, who go under the collective handle of Masta Ace Incorporated, are ready to drop their second Delicious Vinyl joint, entitled SITTIN' ON CHROME. Boasting 14 fierecly phat tracks, SITTIN' ON CHROME brims with party bass jams and penetrating lyrics that come from the heart of one of hip hop's true visionaries.
Raised in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn by a hard-working single mother, Masta Ace grabbed his initial break by winning a rap contest whose first prize was six hours in hip hop legend Marley Marl's studio. Ace's initial, double A-sided single, "Simon Says" and "Keep Your Eyes On The Prize" was included on MARLEY MARL'S IN CONTROL, VOL. 1 along with the classic multi-artist track, "The Symphony, Part 1."
Ace's throwdown on "The Symphony..." put him on the nation's map and led to a contract with the Cold Chillin' label in New York. Although his debut album, TAKE A LOOK AROUND, contained such underground hits as "Me And The Biz" and "Music Man," Cold Chillin' couldn't get their priorities straight enough to give the record a real shot. Disappointed, Ace left the label to spend over a year searching before landing a deal with Delicious Vinyl.
"Born to Roll" was re-written and re-mixed from Ace's "Jeep Ass Niguh." Between putting the finishing touches on the "Slaughtahouse " single, Ace was digging through a 99 cent bin when he came across a disk from the old school. "It was Original Concept's 'Knowledge Me," Ace recalls. "I brought the record home and started experimenting with it." Without warning his label, Ace put the newly created "Born To Roll" on the end of a tape of mixes and sent it off to Delicious Vinyl. Impressed, they put it on the "B" side of the "Slaughtahouse" single, and the rest, as they say was hip hop history.
1994 saw Ace slam dunk again with his participation in the title track from Spike Lee's CROOKYLN soundtrack. Working alongside Special Ed and Buckshot from Black Moon, Ace wove a cautionary tale using characters from 70's television shows. "I was trying to show the contrast of how things have changed from the 70's to the 90's," he explains. "Things aren't as simple as they used to be- they're a lot more negative now."
"We started working on the CHROME... album at the same time that 'Born To Roll' started hitting," Ace continues. "We were getting busy and doing shows, and the vibe we got in different cities dictated where the album was heading."
Ace produced several of the album's tracks and he is in full effect with SITTIN' ON CHROME. Recorded at Firehouse Studios in New York City, the album features Ace's Incorporated Crew: Lord Digga, the microphone mutilator and member of the in demand production team The Bluez Bruthas; vocalist Paula Perry, who can flow like the Nile; and Leschea, and underground songstress from Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Kicked into overide by Ace's magnetic lyrics about the 'hood, hip hop and gleaming rides, SITTIN' ON CHROME includes such powerful jams as "What's Going On!" and "U Can't Find Me" with their undeniable hooks and "The INC Ride," a smooth tribute to cruising in your car. "The INC Ride" floats on an Isley's sample from their timeless "For The Love Of You." "Cruising is big everywhere in the country except for New York," notes Ace. "I'm hoping that we can bring cruising to the Big Apple this summer in a big way; it's just a thing for kids to do that's fun and non-violent.
SITTIN' ON CHROME also boasts the rolling title track and has a definite autobiographical slant. "I had a son in '94 and it's important for me to be strong influence on him," Ace stated. "My son is not going to become just another knucklehead in the 'hood who''s a troublemaker and gun-toting villain."
Another standout jam is "People In My Hood," an instant hip hop classic about Brownsville and every inner city. "If you live in the 'hood, then you know somebody who fits each one of those descriptions in that song," states Ace. "4 Da Mind" is a deep underground number featuring Ace, Lord Digga, and the Cella Dwellas.
"Much of the current 'staying real' talk in hip hop has to do with rapping about such negative things as blunts, 40s and guns," says Ace, "It's just these three things the're talking about over and over again. That's not for me. If the masses of hip hop are saying one thing, I'm pretty much the type of person who goes in the other direction."
