“Inevitably Hip Hop records are treated as if they are disposable, they’re not maximized as product even, not to mention art.” - a segment from The Roots' “Act Won” (Things Fall Apart)

I don’t know the exact author of this quote, but I agree with it 100%. Even though Hip Hop has a presence at respected award ceremonies and has a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, most people outside the genre still barely regard it as art. The deceptively uncomplicated couplets and controversial sampling techniques are most likely the primary components that fuel this feeling. After all, how can something be art when the lyrics are simple and the music is stolen?

But to be completely honest, Hip Hop music is partially to blame for this viewpoint as well. Blinded by the power of the dollar, many rap acts have severely compromised their art to make their music more palatable for the masses. Instead of rapping about life, politics, or at the very least, just dedicating themselves to making good music, they fall into making syrupy “jiggy” or “thug” music to sell to the mainstream. Too many rap albums contain basically 2 or 3 well-polished tracks for the radio, and 10-20 tracks of inane skits and horrible filler.

This is why I miss the old school so much. Back in the day, people who stepped behind the turntables or picked up the mic did so knowing that they did it for the love of the music. Sure there were some larger than life cats who made major dollars in rap back then like LL Cool J, Slick Rick, and Run DMC, but they were the rap superstars. Everyone else was just participating in the culture and music.

Luckily, there are still a few old-schoolers still in the industry showing these younger artists what Hip Hop is all about. Rakim came back a few years ago and proved that he was still the master. Kool G. Rap returned and has been torching mics for a few years now. KRS and Chuck D never left. And now in 2001, Masta Ace returns to Hip Hop after a five year hiatus with his new album Disposable Arts.

Most people who remember Ace usually only remember him because of his appearances on legendary Hip Hop collaborations. Masta Ace dropped verses on “The Symphony” with Craig G, Kool G. Rap, and Big Daddy Kane, and the title track to the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s Crooklyn that featured Special Ed and Buckshot. However, Masta Ace is definitely an artist in is own right, and proves it with Disposeable Arts. Filled with impressive music, smart and introspective lyrics, and extraordinary collaborations, this new album may do more for Masta Ace’s career than “The Symphony”. While that single gave birth to Ace’s career, this album may resurrect it from the dead.

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

The Disposable Arts album starts out with “The Release” where we’re introduced to Ace’s character being released from jail after a five-year stay. He makes a solemn pledge to the Prison guard that he’ll never return to that place even though the odds are against him. On the surface, it appears that Masta Ace is just telling the story of a guy just released from jail, until you hear the lyrics to the next track, “Too Long”. Here, the listener can see that Ace is using a his skit character’s prison stay to represent Ace’s “extended leave” from Hip Hop music’s limelight since his last LP. The lyrics actually show a masterful use of double entendre. While the rapper appears to be in his fictional character seeing how his presence has not been missed during his absence from the block, Ace is also rapping about how after he left the game, fans forgot about him completely, and some new, fake cats started taking over the industry.

“Block Episode” features two of the best underground emcees in the industry, Punchline and Wordsworth, better known as Punch & Words. For the lyrics, the three rappers describe a drive-by shooting from three different perspectives. Masta Ace is his alter ego here, trying to figure out who got shot and why after hearing multiple gunshots not far from his apartment. Punchline plays the shooter who’s just looking to scare a debtor into paying him by launching bullets at him. Wordsworth raps the part of the innocent bystander, a promising high school scholar-athlete who dies after being hit by a stray bullet. It’s another great track with a creative concept executed perfectly by the three rap professionals.

For the longest time I just assumed that the beat to “Don’t Understand" was done by DJ Premier. Every element was there, from the tight uptempo beat to the innovative use of string samples. It wasn’t until I opened the liner notes that I saw Paul Nice’s name credited to this high-quality track. I don’t know if Paul is the brother of Greg Nice (from the old-school duo Nice & Smooth) who actually drops some vocals in the chorus, but regardless of his family ties, he does very well behind the boards. Ace rips the track with some vocals about his desire to excel in rap.

After hearing a commercial for the Hip Hop two-year college, the Institute of Disposable Arts (it’s track 4 and sounds just like a DeVry or ITT Tech commercial), Ace decides to get his life back on track and enrolls at this school. On the skit “Goodbye Lisa” He calls up his girlfriend (played by femcee Jean Grae) and lets her know that he’ll be leaving soon to start. She tries to convince him to stay and go back to the earning money the illegal way, but Ace sticks to his guns. This interlude segues into the love ballad “Hold U”. Grae and Masta Ace trade verses for the lyrics, recounting the tale of how their characters fell in love and maintained the emotion despite several interfering factors. It’s a laid-back, relaxed track with Ayatollah looping a female vocal segment behind a subtle bass line.

On “Roommates Meet,” Ace’s character makes it to the Institute of Disposable Arts and gets to meet his new roommate, the lily-white Paul from Saskatchewan (played by the popular MC Paul Barman). When Paul excitedly learns Ace is from Brooklyn, he asks his new roomie what it’s like there. That’s when Masta Ace drops the next track, “Take A Walk” . This is beyond being my favorite track on this CD; it’s closer to becoming my own personal theme song. Producer Gerard C. Baker puts together one of the tightest beats I have ever heard in my life, looping a few elements from “Lazy Day” by Spanky and Our Gang. The booming bass drum and a walking bass line he uses mirrors the progressions and changes from the vocal sample. It’s amazing to see how talented producers can derive something so tight from something so cheesy. For the lyrics, Ace and guest star Apocalypse contrast the cheery sample with gritty lyrics describing life in their neighborhoods.

Masta Ace exercises some of his internal demons on track 22, “Dear Diary”. For the lyrics, Ace raps as though he’s his diary, giving Ace reasons to retire from rap since he’s old and “washed up.” To complement the somber mood, producer Domingo blends guitar accompaniment and sparse percussion over elements from a song of the same name by the Moody Blues. Overall, it’s a “brutally honest” diss to himself that was probably cathartic for him to write. It’s cool because you know Ace probably had to have had this exact conversation with himself. He could have stayed out and done some A&R or management work, but something inside him needed to make one more album. I’m glad he did; if that talking diary really exists, then he needs to burn it. He drops these lyrics in the first verse:

“Ay, yo Ace! Don’t tell me you thinking about a return
I’m kind of concerned. When will you old cats ever learn? /
It’s time to hang it up when you’re standing on your last leg /
When you don’t write on the reg and your future is past dead /
I’m a tell you ‘cause none of these cats will /
You can’t still try to rely on your rap skill /
You ain’t got nothing behind you /
and believe me, not a label gonna find you and want to sign you /
Write your rhymes in the shower, you’re washed up /
If there was a law against wack sh*t, you’d be locked up /”
Half of your old group don’t like you and want to fight you /
They even made songs about you to try and spite you /
Big Beat dropped you and said that you can’t sell /
And they ain’t had a hit since before ‘Pac was in jail /"

All in all, Disposable Arts is easily one of the most complete and impressive rap albums I’ve heard in a long time. I feel like there’s so much more to this album that I need to describe, because so many of the tracks are great, creative pieces. Masta Ace is fantastic with his lyrics. Though he doesn’t rely much on lyrical acrobatics, his delivery is sharp and full of purpose, something that’s been missing form a lot of rap music lately.

Thanks to his experience, Ace knows the value of the company he keeps, so he makes sure to bring along some of the best in the biz to back him up. You can’t find much better underground emcees than Punchline, Wordsworth, and Jane Doe, and the three turn in stellar performances on Disposable Arts. The more successful artists, Outsidaz Rah Digga and Young Zee, J-Ro from Tha Liks, and the infamous King T, all support Masta Ace with their considerable skills and experience as well.

But as many artists continue to prove, all the lyrics in the world are nothing without production (*cough* Canibus *cough*) and Ace kept his bases covered in that regard. The LP features some of the best beats by popular rap producers Domingo and Ayatollah, as well as some lesser-known names (at least to me) like Gerard C. Baker, Koolade, and the Courts Production.

So, if you’re looking for a good, solid Hip Hop album that you won’t be throwing away in a few months, ironically you should be reaching for Disposeable Arts. Every line and every beat of every single song shows Masta Ace’s dedication to old-school rap’s higher standard of excellence, with each aspect updated to Hip Hop’s current sound and style. Buy the album.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving