Masta Ace facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Masta Ace
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Masta Ace performing in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Duval Clear |
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| Born | December 4, 1966 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Education | University of Rhode Island (BS) |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
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Duval Clear, born on December 4, 1966, is a famous American rapper and music producer from New York City. Most people know him by his stage name, Masta Ace. He was a key member of a hip hop group called Juice Crew. He became well-known for his part in their 1988 song "The Symphony" with other rappers like Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane. Masta Ace is famous for his unique voice and amazing rapping skills.
Contents
Masta Ace's Early Career
Starting Out in Music (1988–1994)
Masta Ace finished college at the University of Rhode Island in 1988. He met famous producer Marley Marl in 1987 during a summer break. His first time recording was on the song "The Symphony". He performed with other Juice Crew members like Craig G, Kool G Rap, and Big Daddy Kane. This song was on Marley Marl's album In Control. Masta Ace also had two other songs on that album: "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and "Simon Says".
In 1989, he released his first solo songs, "Together" and "Letter to the Better". A year later, his first album, Take a Look Around, came out. It was released through Marley Marl's Cold Chillin' label. The album had two small hit songs: "Music Man" and "Me & The Biz".
After his first album, Masta Ace started to feel unhappy with how hip hop music was changing. He didn't like how popular Gangsta rap was becoming. In 1993, he released SlaughtaHouse. On this album, Masta Ace showed his feelings by making fun of the Gangsta rap style. The album featured his new group, Masta Ace Incorporated. This group included Eyceurokk, Lord Digga, Paula Perry, and singer Leschea.
Songs like "SlaughtaHouse", "Saturday Nite Live", "Style Wars", and "Jeep Niguh" came from this album. A remixed version of "Jeep Niguh", called "Born to Roll", became a big hit in 1994. It reached No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the same year, Masta Ace joined a temporary group called Crooklyn Dodgers. They formed for the movie Crooklyn by Spike Lee. He recorded the main song for the movie's soundtrack. This song became Masta Ace's second hit on the Hot 100, reaching No. 60 in 1994.
Growing Success (1995–2000)
Masta Ace became even more popular in 1995 with his album Sittin' on Chrome. This album was also released with his group, Masta Ace Incorporated, also known as The I.N.C. It was Masta Ace's most successful album financially. It reached the Top 20 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Sittin' On Chrome included "Born to Roll" and two other Hot 100 hit songs: "The I.N.C. Ride" and "Sittin' on Chrome".
By this time, Masta Ace was also very involved in producing his own music. He often used the name Ase One for his production work. After the album's success, Masta Ace had disagreements with I.N.C. members Lord Digga and Paula Perry. This led to the group breaking up. After the split, Masta Ace was mostly quiet in the hip hop world for five years. He only released a few individual songs on vinyl records during this time.
Later Career and Concept Albums (2001–Present)
Masta Ace's song "Ghetto Like" led to a misunderstanding with another rapper named Boogieman. Boogieman thought Ace was copying his song "Ghetto Love". Boogieman then released a song called "Just You Wait" against Ace. Masta Ace replied to Boogieman with his own song, "Acknowledge". This song also addressed a misunderstanding with The High & Mighty. The two rappers eventually had a rap battle at a Lyricist Lounge event. "Acknowledge" was also on Masta Ace's 2001 album, Disposable Arts.
Disposable Arts was a "concept album". This means it told a story, which was about Masta Ace's time at a funny rap school called the "Institute of Disposable Arts". This album became one of the most praised underground hip hop albums of 2001. The record company, JCOR Records, closed soon after, making the album hard to find. It was re-released in 2005 on Ace's own M3 label. The last song on the album, "No Regrets", made many fans think it would be his last album. This was because of the line, "I don't know if it's the end, but yo, it might be".
Masta Ace ended these rumors by releasing his fifth album, A Long Hot Summer, in 2004. This album also told a story. It was a prequel to Disposable Arts, explaining the events that led to his character being in jail at the start of the Disposable Arts album. After this, Ace announced his new rap group called eMC. The group included himself, Punchline, Wordsworth, and his student Strick. In 2006, Ace said he would only record with eMC, not as a solo artist. eMC's first album, The Show, came out in 2008.
In 2009, Masta Ace teamed up with Boston rapper Ed O.G. to release Arts & Entertainment. The title was shortened to A&E. The cable TV channel A&E asked them to remove the symbol from their album cover.
In 2012, Masta Ace released MA Doom: Son Of Yvonne. The famous producer MF Doom produced the entire album. Masta Ace explained that he made Son of Yvonne to say things he couldn't say to his mother before she passed away.
In 2014, Masta Ace reunited with Stricklin, Wordsworth, and Punchline as eMC. They signed a record deal and planned to release more music. Punchline later left the group in October 2014. Also in 2014, Masta Ace signed with M3 Records/Penalty Entertainment for his next solo album, The Falling Season. This album was released in 2016. In 2018, producer Marco Polo announced he was producing a new Masta Ace album called A Breukelen Story. This album was released on November 9, 2018.
Masta Ace's International Collaborations
Masta Ace has worked with many artists from different countries.
- He was the main singer on the song "Talkin' What I Feel" by the British group Young Disciples in the early 1990s. This song was on their album Road To Freedom.
- He and Croatian producer Koolade made a song called "Beautiful" for his album A Long Hot Summer.
- He was featured on a song called Živili ("Live On") by Bosnian rapper Frenkie.
- He appeared on the track "Beat and I a já und ich" with German rapper Dendemann on Czech hip hop group Prago Union's album "HDP".
- He also appeared on Polish rap group Familia H.P.'s album "42" on the track "Born In New York".
- In 2003, he was on the track "Get u awn" with Punchline by Swedish rapper Chords'.
- He is featured on the song "Sminke" by the Norwegian Hip Hop duo Karpe Diem. "Sminke" means makeup, and the song is about artists changing their image for record companies.
- In 2007, he appeared on "Admit It" by Swiss hip hop group Nefew.
- In 2010, he appeared on "Set You Free" with Wordsworth, a track by UK hip hop DJ/Producer "Skitz".
- In 2010, he appeared on "You don't know about it" with M-Dot, a track by French hip hop DJ/Producer DJ Jean Maron.
- In 2012, he was featured on "Progression" by German DJ/Producer DJ Q-Fingaz. The same year, he was on "The Bridge" by Polish hip hop group Slums Attack.
- In 2014, he worked with Australian rapper Nix on the song "SHE".
- On December 19, 2014, Ace was featured on "My Style" with German Producer The Mighty Moe.
- In 2014, he was featured with Tajai (from Souls Of Mischief) on "2 the Essence" by German Rapper Kool Savas.
- In 2015, he appeared on "Thinking of You" by Swedish hip hop duo Professor P & DJ Akilles.
- In 2015, he was featured with Kidaf & Nekfeu on "Nothing Changed" by German hip-hop/pop producer Shuko.
- In 2022, he was featured on the track "Unzerstörbar" by German Rapper Umse.
Masta Ace's Impact on Music
Masta Ace is seen as a very skilled and important rapper. Music journalist Peter Shapiro called him "one of the great pure New York MCs". Allmusic says he is "truly an underappreciated rap veteran and underground luminary". This means he is a talented artist who doesn't always get enough recognition.
Even though he is very skilled, sometimes Masta Ace is not mentioned as much as other famous rappers. Rolling Stone magazine said that even big fans of raw hip-hop might forget to mention him alongside legends like Rakim and Eminem. Eminem himself mentioned Masta Ace as one of his influences in his book The Way I Am. He said, "Masta Ace had amazing storytelling skills – his thoughts were so vivid." Eminem also mentioned him in his song "Lucky You".
Masta Ace's Personal Life
In 2000, Masta Ace was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. He kept it private until 2013. During a police stop in the Czech Republic, his medicine was found, and his condition became known to the public.
Masta Ace's Albums
Solo Albums
- Take a Look Around (1990)
- Disposable Arts (2001)
- A Long Hot Summer (2004)
- MA Doom: Son of Yvonne (2012)
- The Falling Season (2016)
Group Albums
- SlaughtaHouse (with Masta Ace Incorporated) (1993)
- Sittin' on Chrome (with Masta Ace Incorporated) (1995)
- The Show (with eMC) (2008)
- Arts & Entertainment (with Ed O.G.) (2009)
- The Turning Point EP (with eMC) (2014)
- The Tonite Show (with eMC) (2015)
- A Breukelen Story (with Marco Polo) (2018)
- Richmond Hill (with Marco Polo) (2024)
