Masta Ace
| Masta Ace | |
|---|---|
Masta Ace performing in 2005
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Duval Clear |
| Born | December 4, 1966 |
| Origin | Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Cold Chillin', Delicious Vinyl, JCOR, M3 |
| Associated acts | Marley Marl, Juice Crew, eMC, MF DOOM, Edo G, R.A. The Rugged Man |
| Website |
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Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice and rapping proficiency, and has influenced several MCs, including Eminem.
In 2000, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but he revealed it to the public in 2013.
Clear graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1988, after meeting Marley Marl in 1987 during his summer break. Ace made his recording debut as on the Hip Hop posse-cut "The Symphony", along with fellow Juice Crew members Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane, released on Marley Marl's In Control album. The album also featured two additional Ace tracks, "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and "Simon Says". In 1989, he released his first solo single, "Together" b/w "Letter to the Better". His debut album, Take a Look Around, was released through Marl's Cold Chillin' label in 1990, featuring production from Marl and DJ Mister Cee. The album featured two minor hit singles in "Music Man" and "Me & The Biz", the latter being a track with Ace's impersonation of Biz Markie, rather than a duet as previously thought the song would be.
In the early stages of his career, Masta Ace was very energetic (cf. "Jeep Ass Niguh", where, tongue-in-cheek, he taunts police officers for their knee-jerk predisposition to harass black youth on city streets.) He also recorded material with a six-member supporting entourage, Masta Ace Incorporated. In light of his newly claimed status as a veteran, he has gravitated toward an earnest, matter-of-fact plainspokenness in the new millennium. Many of the songs that have lent newfound heft to his reputation are simple, no-nonsense rumination on feelings and facts of urban American life, including "Soda and Soap" and "Beautiful".
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