Ace Hood facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ace Hood
Ace Hood performing in 2013
Background information
Birth name	Antoine Franklin McColister
Born	(1988-05-11) May 11, 1988 (age 37) Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S.
Origin	Deerfield Beach, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper songwriter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Hood Nation We the Best Def Jam Cash Money Republic Empire
Spouse(s)	Shelah Marie ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	2

Antoine Franklin McColister (born on May 11, 1988), known as Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie and grew up in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Famous DJ Khaled discovered him, and Ace Hood became the first artist to sign with Khaled's record label, We the Best Music Group, in 2008.

Ace Hood released his first album, Gutta, in 2008. This album included his first song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, called "Ride", which featured Trey Songz. His next album, Ruthless, came out in 2009. Later, his albums Blood, Sweat & Tears (2011) and Trials & Tribulations (2013) both reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart. Popular songs from these albums include "Hustle Hard" and "Bugatti". Ace Hood decided to leave We the Best Music in 2016 to work as an independent artist.

Early life and beginnings

Ace Hood was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida. His mother is from Haiti. He grew up in Deerfield Beach, Florida, with his younger cousin. He went to Deerfield Beach High School. After a football injury in high school, he realized he might not become a professional player. That's when he started thinking seriously about a career in rapping.

In 2006, Ace Hood joined a local music group called Dollaz & Dealz. They released a song called "M.O.E." He also started performing at open mic events and talent shows to get noticed.

Music career

Starting out and Gutta (2006–2008)

Ace Hood in 2008

In 2007, Ace Hood met DJ Khaled outside a radio station. Ace Hood gave Khaled his life story and a demo tape of his music. Khaled then asked him to rap freely over the beat of his song "I'm So Hood." Soon after, Khaled signed Ace Hood to his We the Best Music Group label. XXL magazine even named Ace Hood as one of the "Freshmen of '09," highlighting new artists to watch.

His first album, Gutta, was released in 2008. It featured popular songs like "Cash Flow" with T-Pain and Rick Ross, and "Ride" with Trey Songz. Ace Hood also put out mixtapes called Ace Won't Fold and All Bets On Ace. He was also featured on DJ Khaled's song "Out Here Grindin'" with other rappers like Akon and Rick Ross. This song reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album Gutta sold 25,000 copies in its first week.

Ruthless and Blood, Sweat, & Tears (2009–2012)

On June 30, 2009, Ace Hood released his second album, Ruthless. The first song from this album was "Overtime" featuring Akon and T-Pain. The album also included collaborations with artists like Rick Ross and Ludacris. Ruthless sold 20,000 copies in its first week.

Ace Hood's third album, Blood, Sweat & Tears, came out on August 9, 2011. The first song, "Hustle Hard", became his highest-charting solo song, reaching number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other popular songs from the album included "Go 'N' Get It" and "Body 2 Body" featuring Chris Brown. This album featured artists like T-Pain and Lil Wayne. Blood, Sweat & Tears debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, selling 26,000 copies. This made it his most successful album at the time. He also went on his first concert tour, called the Hustle Hard Tour, to promote the album.

In 2012, Ace Hood started working with Cash Money Records and We The Best Music Group. He appeared on songs with artists like Bow Wow and The Game.

Trials & Tribulations and beyond (2013–present)

Ace Hood released his mixtape Starvation 2 on January 10, 2013. It featured artists like Meek Mill and French Montana. On January 16, 2013, he announced his fourth album, Trials & Tribulations. The first song from this album was "Bugatti" featuring Future and Rick Ross. The music video for "Bugatti" was released on February 6, 2013. This song became Ace Hood's most successful single as a lead artist, reaching number 33 on the Hot 100 chart.

Trials & Tribulations was released on July 16, 2013. The album included collaborations with artists like Anthony Hamilton, Chris Brown, and Betty Wright. Ace Hood also released a remix of "Bugatti" featuring many famous rappers like DJ Khaled, Future, and Lil Wayne.

He continued to release mixtapes, including Starvation 3 in January 2014 and Body Bag 3 in August 2014. In 2021, Ace Hood joined the TV show Love & Hip Hop: Miami. He has continued to release new music, including albums like Mr. Hood (2020), M.I.N.D. (Memories Inside Never Die) (2022), and B.O.D.Y. (Build or Destroy You) (2023).

Personal life

Ace Hood is a Christian and believes strongly in God.

He has a son from a past relationship. With his previous girlfriend, Shanice Tyria Sarratt, he had twin girls, Lyric and Sailor Blu McColister, born on May 25, 2011. Sadly, Lyric passed away shortly after birth due to health problems.

Ace Hood proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Shelah Marie, in April 2019. They got married on February 7, 2020. In December 2020, a video of Ace Hood and his wife went viral. His wife gave him a special custom-made platinum plaque for Christmas. She explained that when artists are with a record label, they often receive plaques to celebrate their music's success. Since Ace Hood became an independent artist, he didn't have a label to send him these awards. So, his wife ordered plaques to celebrate his success as an independent artist.

Discography

Studio albums

• Gutta (2008)
• Ruthless (2009)
• Blood, Sweat & Tears (2011)
• Trials & Tribulations (2013)
• Mr. Hood (2020)
• M.I.N.D. (Memories Inside Never Die) (2022)
• B.O.D.Y. (Build or Destroy You) (2023)
• S.O.U.L. (Some of Us Lose) (2025)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ace Hood para niños