Masta Ace is one of those old school hip-hop artists which is long-forgotten. It had been years since he released an LP, and 2001 was looming over us like dark clouds. Though 2001 had tons of terrible commercial and mainstream albums, a few stood out amongst them to come out excellent, as well as the return of many emcees which fans had forgotten about. New York's own Jay-Z and Nas had decided to drop the ice chains and 20 inch rims and return to their roots of true, street poetic hip-hop with their respectable albums The Blueprint and Stillmatic. Onyx member and hardcore rapper Sticky Fingaz released the great Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones to recieve stellar reviews. However, nobody expected Masta Ace to bounce out of obscurity as fast and as hard as he managed to do when he released the now-legendary 2001 return album Disposable Arts. This is an album loaded with tons of memorable moments, great music, well-written lyrics, intelligent subject matter, and excellent collaborations. Its time to check it out...



Track List & Rating

1. The Release f/ Tony Hana (NOT RATED)
2. Too Long f/ Apocalypse (5 Stars)
3. Block Episode f/ Punch & Words (5 Stars)
4. IDA Commercial (NOT RATED)
5. Don’t Understand f/ Greg Nice (4 Stars)
6. Goodbye Lisa f/ Jane Doe (NOT RATED)
7. Hold U f/ Jean Grae (4 Stars)
8. Every Other Day (4 Stars)
9. Roommates Meet f/ MC Paul Barman (NOT RATED)
10. Take a Walk f/ Apocalypse (5 Stars)
11. Something’s Wrong f/ Strick & Young Zee (5 Stars)
12. The Classes f/ MC Paul Barman (NOT RATED)
13. Acknowledge (5 Stars)
14. Enuff f/ Mr. Lee Gee (5 Stars)
15. Watching the Game (NOT RATED)
16. Unfriendly Game f/ Strick (4 Stars)
17. Alphabet Soup f/ Jane Doe (5 Stars)
18. Dear Yvette f/ Jane Doe & Jessica Harell (5 Stars)
19. I Like Dat f/ Punch & Words (3 Stars)
20. P.T.A. f/ King Tee & J-Ro (4 Stars)
21. Type I Hate f/ Rah Digga & Leschea (5 Stars)
22. Dear Diary (5 Stars)
23. Last Rights (NOT RATED)
24. No Regrets (5 Stars)



Not only is Disposable Arts an excellent hip-hop album, but it also tries to tell a story through its music, as well as its interludes. We get a story of an accomplished old school rapper played by Masta Ace who was just released from jail and now needs to return to school to hone his skill so he can create a return album. We find him heading to IDA, which is the "Institute of Disposable Arts", to master his craft. We are introduced to is roomate, played by the hilarious MC Paul Barman, as he tells the tale of the journey through the classes of Masta Ace. Definetely a creative edge to the album which makes the skits listenable, and not just filler material.

With over 15 years of experience running through the veins of Masta Ace, its easy to see why this album was crafted so near-perfect as it was. From the opening skit, we know that he means business. On "The Release", we get a chronology of the variety of famous guest verses performed by Masta Ace. The skit leads into "Too Long", which continues the story of Masta Ace's release from jail. Immediately the production kicks in with thumping drums and synthesized violins. Masta Ace gives the fans what they need. Masta Ace immediately kicks into a freestyle and is joined by Apocalypse as they give us their introspective views on hip-hop music and how its been empty without Masta Ace. Its easy to see that Ace has honed his flowing skills quite a bit, as he spits some extremely clever metaphors and similes, and of course, his flow is on-point. This is an excellent way to begin the magic that we'll see on Disposable Arts.

Rawkus Records' own Punchline and Wordsworth join Masta Ace for "Block Episode", which is street poetry through the eyes of the Ace. The beat kicks in with hard drums and bass, along with some violins and plucking guitars, giving it a mafiosio, sort of melancholy street atmosphere to the track for the emcees to drop their verses. Masta Ace explains everything that he sees staring out of his project windows, including the deaths due to the street violence. Masta Ace retrospects on living that life, vividly telling us the story and the instructions on living the dangerous life in the streets. Street Poetry is told in amazing storytelling and narrative form, as well as Punch and Words come off sweet as usual. Three amazing emcees spilling their guts on wax is one of the best things about hip-hop, and its perfected on this track. The introspection continues on "Don't Understand" starts out by mocking Eminem's Who Knew, by saying that Masta Ace makes music for the streets, not for black and whites with the opening line "I don't do White music, I don't do Black music, I make rap music, for hip hop kids, Y'all know what it is when I get biz with this, Flows thats hard enough it could hit your kids with this". This track is just as introspective as the last, but Greg Nice does a nice job of mocking commercial rap as well. However, the main event here is the lyricism, as Masta Ace drops a multi-syllable flow with some hard-hitting punchlines and memorable verses. Masta Ace is a great street poet and i feel bad for not noticing his true skill until i listened to Disposable Arts, then again, im sure i wasn't the only one.

Skipping ahead we get to "Take a Walk", where Apocalypse also decides to join in on the festivities. Masta Ace decides to take us deep, deep into the heart of the projects, as he basically narrates exactly what happens in the hood. Masta Ace gives us examples of the lies, violence, and deception that lies deep within living this bad life. He spits lines like "And ya might see ya neighbor, down at the corner Bodega, Buyin the malt liqour in exchange for a used Sega, You can even buy ya clothes on the block, imagine that, From Versace to a cool-g sweater, and a matchin hat, See this cats got a big bag of stuff that he just stole, It's the same old routine, but it never gets old". The production is rather unique, as it is relatively light-hearted, sort of relying on hypocrisy to make the track unique. Though the subject matter is dark and honest, the beat is a slow, sort of fun track composed of synthesizers and background vocals. Not to mention the chorus basically twists the entire point of the song, but its done very well.

Young Zee and Strick join Masta Ace on "Something's Wrong", as he spits venomous battle raps aimed at commercial rappers. He mocks the gangsta mentality and materialistic, yet terrible rapping style, of commercial sell-out rappers. There are some incredibly memorable punchlines in here, and some are humorous like the famous "I'll burn you with the same light you just lit up your blunt wit', And I don't came wit' the style you probably 'bout to come wit', You the opposite of smart feces, get it? Dumb sh*t, Couldn't give a f*ck who you run wit'". Masta Ace raps a LOT like Eminem on this track, relying on humorous and hilarious battle punchlines like "Deep down, hate Bobby Brown, but love Whitney, At times I wish it was O.J and the glove fit me, Then I wouldn't have to hear none of you wack n*ggas, Talk about how your crew's rich and you stack figures". The production is tight, with some guitar flicks, drums, thumping bass, and some background synthesizers. Definetely a banger.

"Acknowledge" is probably my favorite track on Disposable Arts. Before i get to the supreme lyricism displayed on this track, im going to break down the production. We get some saddening, sort of deeply sombre instrumentals, driven by a sad violin, drums, and some thumping bass. The track is incredibly simplistic, but sounds beautiful in my opinion. Not to mention that the chorus is composed of tight scratches and samples from Nas and Guru. This track is basically a pure diss track towards Boogieman and The High and The Mighty, three Eastern Conference Artists. Masta Ace's amazing lyricism is displayed on here, as he rips them into pieces. This track has punchlines of the sort that you wanna show your friends because they are so good. Masta Ace reminds me a lot of a wiser Ras Kass, spitting flaming lines like "And I heard ya album, this must be something you're new at, 'Cause I rather hear a Lil' Wayne/Lil' Zane duet, My cellphone stay ringin', like a slap in the ear, So I hope y'all don't plan on making rap a career" and the famous "And don't answer back, this is hard sh*t to follow, And you can't spit n*gga, so you obviously must swallow". Masta Ace proves that even old school artists can still rip apart the new-school like nothing, and its all for respect. Do not get this album and even THINK of skipping this track.

"Enuff" is HILARIOUS in my opinion! HILARIOUS! Masta Ace digs DEEP inside the mind of a commercial rapper, and acts like them, spitting lines about their problems and their repetitiveness. He raps about the fact that he wants to have more sex, that he's tired of repping a coast, that hes running out of money for his ice and rims, and everything that is synonymous with commercial rap. After the first verse, he returns to being Masta Ace and lays down disses to materialistic rappers harshly. The R&B chorus and tight piano beat is ingenius in itself.

Skipping past the incredibly creative "Alphabet Soup", we get to the introspective "Dear Yvette" is Masta Ace's message to a lost female who went from being a good girl, to basically, a slut. Jane Doe joins Masta Ace to tell the take of a female who used her body to make money. The chorus is beautifully sung by Jessica Harell, who flexes her vocal skills and expands them like never before. Masta Ace's lyricism is poetic and well-written, speaking vividly to Yvette herself, hitting her with the cold hard facts like "We was little, we was friends, we rode our big-wheels, Now I see you gettin' a Benz with big wheels, All these guys in the city, see is the size of your t*tties, And that you got hazel eyes and you're pretty, They see a girl like you and they wanna get in her, I was thinkin' we can go to a movie, maybe dinner". The tale is sad, but it has no ending as we dont discover what happens to the female. Its up to the imaginative eye i guess.

Masta Ace is joined by Punch n' Words for the mysogonystic, yet average "I Like Dat". I usually skip it and get to "P.T.A." King Tee and J-Ro from Tha Liks join Masta Ace on this track, as they speak on their ambitions in life and what they are going to do with their money. The track is funny in my opinion, cause they sort of mock commercial rap without actually trying. The chorus is hilarious as it cleanly mocks commercial sell-out rap and to me, sounds like a Dr. Dre track. "Type I Hate" is an excellent track, but not quite as good as the classic "Dear Diary".

Masta Ace releases his inner pain embedded deep in his head on this track. The Production is the first thing i will speak of, as it is a sombre, bass driven track with synthesized flutes, sounding like soft piccolos, giving it a saddening mood. The percussion is sparse and the drums and thumping bass give it a sad, yet very hip-hopish feel to it. Masta Ace's lyricism is incredible, as he spits some of the best lines of the entire album, sort of playing the hypocrisy game as he spits some clever, yet harsh punchlines towards... himself. Very unique indeed. However, his creativity, flow, and vocabulary is what matters, and it is shown excellently on this track. Masta Ace is brutally honest towards himself, spilling his guts onto his page, as the diary seemingly speaks to him and takes him down. Some of the most memorable lines include these: "Write your rhymes in the shower, you washed up, If there was a law against wack sh*t, you'd be locked up", and "Big Beat dropped you and said that you can't sell, and they ain't had a hit since before Pac was in jail, It's like the sh*t is up under your nose and you can't smell, hell, you probably older than Blu Cantrell", and possibly, the most disrespectful diss, aimed at his very skill: "Whoever let you back in the door should get a smack in the jaw, 'cause you sure shouldn't be rappin no more, You already proved that at the Lyricist Lounge affair, tryin to battle with rhymes you wrote on the way there". Unbelievable...

"No Regrets" looks back at his rap career, as he speaks as if he is leaving the game, claiming that he has absolutely no regrets whatsoever in his career. Definetely another classic which has to be heard to understand, and a perfect ending to Disposable Arts.

Masta Ace makes a successful return to the microphone with 2001's classic Disposable Arts. His experience is a great factor, as you can cleanly see his skill and intelligence, as well as knowledge of hip-hop itself. His lyricism has vastly improved throughout the years and he finally can unleash it tenfold on this album. He also chose a handful of excellent guest appearances to craft this album. As for the production, it was covered beautifully as very few beats are bad, and most are excellent and stand-out. Masta Ace is supported by the majority of underground hip-hop fans and artists, and why not? He returned from a long hiatus and gave us a classic. If you're looking for realistic and honest hip-hop music from one of the most respected artists in rap, "dispose" of those Nelly albums and buy Disposable Arts RIGHT NOW!

5 Stars









Recommended: Yes