Masta Ace A Long Hot Summer LP Masta Ace is a total unsung hero. The Brooklyn based artist has for me never put a foot wrong since his Ace & Action 12" Letter To The Better and his link ups with the Juice Crew through his seven or so LPs. Along the way he has produced classic after classic rising to a pinnacle that was the flawless 2001 released Disposable Arts LP which sat on my turntable constantly for a good couple of months. Now the Rap hero returns with unusually for him, a LP on which he has chosen to obtain productions from some of the biggest and best names out there at the moment. The level of quality production goes someway to underline the respect with which Masta Ace is held within the scene. The LP gets moving slowly with slightly under par offerings from Dug Infinite's Big City in which Ace gives us his version of life, politics and the Big Apple and 9th Wonder's Good Ol' Love in which Ace laments the current lack of love for the Hip Hop genre, but even though these tracks are not the best on the LP they are still better than much of the standard fodder we are exposed to. Da Grind, produced by Justice League member Khrysis and featuring Apocalypse continues the soulful vibe, which allows the MCs to narrate the tough times endured trying to break it as an MC. I get the feeling throughout that Masta Ace is a bit dissapointed that he never acheived that superstar status, I am too, but Ace has always been ahead of the game and never afraid to tell the truth. Masta Ace raps in a clear and inteligent style and is always someone to listen to in detail. By track eight Beautiful we are treated to an absolutely sublime work which should be held aloft as an example of the finest in its field. Production from Koolade is the backing over which Ace is able to twist reality to show a different and better side to Brooklyn than we are used to. Punchline and Wordsworth join Ace on the D.A.M.S produced Travelocity which is a sexed-up ode to groupies around the globe. The LP's guest appearances by The Beatnuts and Rahzel on Oh My God, Jean Grae on Soda & Soap a conceptual peice in which Masta Ace drops many brand names, Big Noyd on Do It Man, and Edo G. on Wutuwankno, give a vaired set of offernigs and a slight international flavour is added to the production by Croatia's Koolade, France's D.A.M.S.. As with Disposable Arts, A Long Hot Summer is throughout narrated with skits. Whilst Disposable Arts told a story, A Long Hot Summer isn't quite as structured, but Ace's tales of dealings with hustler Fats Belvedere are more welcome than many wasted skits we hear these days. On hearing Masta Ace's flow one of my freinds commented how he sounded like Eminem and I had to put him right statig that in fact it was Eminem who sounded like Masta Ace. Overall this is a tremendous LP with Masta Ace one of the foremost educators and story tellers out there right now. I don't want to beleive it, but the rumour mill has suggested that this could be the final LP from Ace. In his wake he leaves us all with an unsurpassed tomb of work which will only grow in importqnce as more people realise what they have been missing. Best LP of 2004 - quite possibly. - QED | profile © ukhh.com 1999 - 2004