Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Listening to this album is like taking a long cold shower after wading though a dirty, muggy swamp for months. For far too long I’ve been trudging in the dirty Rap murkiness of over-produced tracks, avoiding the shadowy gangsterism of the critters lurking in the bush, while swatting at the constant horsefly-bites of wack lyrics. With Accpted Eclectic, West Coast underground rapper Aceyalone refreshes by diverging from the current vomit-inducing archetype of mainstream Rap music and taking his music back to the old school; just crafting deft rhymes over a few catchy layers of sounds and samples punctuated by a head-nodding drum beat. And that’s it. No more, no less.

This is the type of music that I think of when I hear heads say “real Hip-Hop”. It hearkens back to the days before making a beat was more complex than pulling down “option 3” from a drop-down menu, before a never-ending train of mediocre R&B chicks started singing off-key in commercial Rap hooks, and before the word “thug” held more mic-credibility than the term “emcee.” Hard beats. Tight loops. Clever lines. No BS. It’s very telling that the Source only gave this album 2½ mics; it’s just one of the many times that real, gimmickless Hip-Hop showed up at their doorstep and the Source was like, “what the hell is this?”

Tracklisting
1. Rappers Rappers Rappers
2. Five Feet
3. Alive
4. Hardship
5. I Never Knew
6. I Got To Have It Too
7. Accepted Eclectic
8. Golden Mic
9. B-Boy Real McCoy - feat. Abstract Rude
10. Down Right Dirty
11. Master Your High
12. Microphones – feat. P.E.A.C.E.
13. Serve & Protect
14. Bounce
15. I Can’t Complain
16. Project Blowed

Aceyalone is obviously extremely comfortable spitting totally loose, free association rhymes and it shows on Accepted Eclectic. The album starts out with Aceyalone discussing his ample microphone prowess on “Rappers Rappers Rappers”. Over a subtle drumbeat and scanty piano and bass melody, Ace One spits his typically unrestrained technique to light up the mic with amusing lyrics. Then, Freestyle Fellowship associate Abstract Rude joins Aceyalone on “B-Boy Real McCoy”. Here the two freestyle about their love for real Hip-Hop over an uptempo track featuring a catchy beat and vibrant bassline.

Aceyalone even shows his versatility as an emcee by flaunting high-speed syncopated freestyling on “Golden Mic”. I’ve never really been a huge fan of the high-speed stuff, but I’ve never really heard it done cleverly like this. Yes, Bone, Mystikal, Busta, and even Jay-Z have touched this style, but Ace’s take on it is slightly different; a little more open than the others.

However, Ace can definitely put together a song with a purpose as well. “Bounce” is another great composition with Ace not so gently letting his significant other know that its time to get to stepping. It’s a very funny song, and the jazzy background track laced with trilling woodwinds and a bouncing bass compliment the mood perfectly. Be sure to listen for the phat drum break Ace freaks at the end of this song. It’s ill. “Master Your High” stresses the importance of trying maintain control when indulging in mind-altering substances. The producers do create a nice laid-back musical track with staccatoed strings and a popular drumbeat underneath an old-school Slick Rick sample, “hey kid, walk straight, master your high”.

With “Five Feet” Aceyalone raps about his belief that everyone really needs their own space. I love this track because it has that classic Tribe Called Quest feel, emphasized by a predominant driving snare, a thick low end, and a simple electric piano melody. He drops these lyrics on the song: “Give me five feet, all around the world / I don't want no body touching me unless it's my girls / I give a pound or hugs or love, but that’s that / don't be tapping my shoulders or patting me on the back / or pullin' my arm, checkin’ my size / I'm liable to do you harm, my temple is my prize / I'm wise and on the really / I ain't too touchy-feely / if you put your hands up on me, I might just smack you silly / there’s a billion people, touch somebody else, touch yourself / I'll be sure to get at you if I need your help/”

Unfortunately, not everything on Accepted Eclectic is all gravy. “I Never Knew” is far too repetitive for my tastes; Aceyalone’s constant repeating of the “I never knew such and such” lyrics get extremely irritating after only a few listens. The fact that he vocalizes these recurrent rhymes over a constantly looping sleepy little cool jazz sample doesn’t help his cause either. Also, though the rapper’s lyrics about how difficulty has made him a stronger man are good on “Hardship”, the grinding, surreal sounding music isn’t exactly easy to listen to. Luckily, Acey keeps this track relatively short.

So, if you’re one of the many many many Hip-Hop heads who complain incessantly how poor 2001 and the first quarter of 2002 has been for rap music, you’re absolutely right, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Nothing that is, except go digging in the shelves of your local record store for impressive and overlooked albums from 2000 like Accepted Eclectic from Aceyalone. The tracks are old-school flavored and well-produced, the lyrics are sharp and witty, there’s very little obscenity (notice the lack of a Parental Advisory sticker on the cover) and there are absolutely no inane skits to circumnavigate. Go check it out.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends