Love & Hate

producers: el-p, rjd2, riddlore, fat jack, pmg, killu grand, joey chavez, sayyid, priest.

guests: abstract rude, el-p, sayyid and priest, riddlore, casual, self jupitor, big arch, others.
year of release: 2003
website: aceyalone.com
Yes, man. But I'm not a yes man. Of course and yes, I am a disclosed Aceyalone fan, and as such I probably shouldn't have assigned myself to write this review. You could argue that I'm biased. I however say that as a fan, I'm a hard prick to please; thus no yes man. Therefore it's the casual listener that wants me to review this record, while maybe Acey's label and he himself doesn't want it. Because I might just be one of those lousy bastards that will always like the old better than the current. And of course I am one of those. Because with "Book Of Human Language" Acey just delivered a flawless album. That was quite a catch when he scored that homerun. With this being a conscious contradiction, that however shows that Acey was winning as the catcher and the runner, when he was recording that album. Yes, it's that good.
But what about this one here? First of all, a lot of the magic about a new Aceyalone album was taken away by "Accepted Eclectic" that was so-so at times, but mainly by "Hip Hop And The World We Live In" that just came out too closely to this one here. Therefore you had two albums to digest at the same time, and it almost felt an overbearing task. It's a little much for those that like to study what the Fellowshipper says. As whatever he says is always worth to follow, because he has always been too good, for his own, uhm, good. And he's obviously far more eloquent than this last line. There's whole stories in a few verses, and when Aceyalone promises to attack the topic of "Love & Hate", you know that this is going to be deep.

tracklisting
1. Love And Hate Theme
2. Junkman
3. Let Me Har Sumn feat. Casual, Big Arch
4. Lost Your Mind
5. In Stereo
6. Takeoff
7. Love And Hate
8. The Saga Continues feat. Abstract Rude
9. Moonlit Skies feat. Goapele
10. Ace Cowboy feat. The Soul Of John Black
11. So Much Pain feat. Riddlore, Self Jupitor
12. Find Out feat. Riddlore
13. City Of Shit feat. El-P
14. Lights Out feat. Sayyid and Priest (Airborne Audio) formerly of AntiPop Consortium
bonus cut
Ms. Amerikkka
And be it just when he's exposing the obvious contradictions on the title track "Love And Hate", this is nevertheless one excellent way to showcase the thin line between love and hate. Therefore he's the Persuader to get you into pondering this easy to step over border: "invite me over and you kick me out / hate to find out what love is about / hate hoping, but love won't fail / send love letters and you get hate mail". At the same time, not everything is centered around the theme, unless you want to say that Acey also just loves to flow. So on "Junkman" he goes: "you either got new friends or new enemies / when you show the world your true identity / you see I move with a God type energy / it's so big one of me make ten of me". This all over a feelgood beat PMG, with the whole vibe of the album not going as deep and jazzy at what Mumbles did for the Acey. More of this somewhat braggadocios rhetoric can be heard on "In Stereo", that's also produced by PMG.
RJD2 offers one of the biggest surprises when he loops up some Synthesizer Classic for "Takeoff", treating the drum in complex ways. Here Acey gets rather amped, when he speeds through Armageddon, warning us: "ladies grab your babies, run for safety / I don't think it may be a good idea to stand here / you have no idea of what the fuck's about to land here / smart bombs, jaydams bring mayhem / hold up, god damn, it's just a party / dirty red carpet and you walk by me wobbly / obviously, oblivious, fronting snobby". RJD2 also took care of the beat on "Lost Your Mind", where it's a more traditional him, as well as "Moonlit Skies", where he's a melancholy him. Another several times contributor comes in Riddlore, whose on "So Much Pain" and "Find Out", both behind the boards and mic, with the first also featuring Self Jupiter. What also tells you that the vibe gets grittier (on "So Much Pain"), especially compared to a smooth "Ace Cowboy", but also plain get the party started, like on "Find Out". Now there's more collaborations that should not be left out, like the excellent "City Of Shit" featuring El-P, the returned favor "Lights Out" with Sayyid and Priest of the now defunct AntiPop Consortium. There's the obvious collabo with Abstract Rude on "The Saga Continues", with Fat Jack behind the board, and finally Casual and Big Arch drop by on "Let Me Har Sumn".
Now count 'em: this is Aceyalone's fifth album, and in the hip hop reality of none hit wonders, that's quite an accomplishment. And Acey still has it in him, even when on "Moonlit Skies" he himself states that "skills won't last" (maybe because he understands that "it's a full time job to know what to say", as he says on "So Much Pain"). So he still has to loose 'em, as he still knows how to write, still has flow, a great delivery and thus shines in many ways like he always did. This is however not his best album. There's not as much content in here and not as much beautiful poetry as there used to be. This is not another thorough concept album, like the other one that was so good. This is as constantly excellent as "Ms. Amerikkka", that would have made this album incredible. But it's good, and therefore I say: yes man.
review: tadah
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