Where
are you from?
I grew up on Bad Street in Brownsville,
Brooklyn.
How long have you been rapping?
I didn't get into Hip-Hop. I grew up in Hip-Hop. It's my culture.
It bacame a way of life from its
infancy.
What are your feelings on the current
status of Hip Hop Culture?
I've been rapping most of my life
but I didn't start writing rhymes
down & formatting songs until
1991. The first real song I ever
performed was a parody of Father
MC's "I'll Do 4 U."
How
different is Hip Hop now compared to 20 years ago?
You have to really be specific with
this question. There's the
Hip-Hop culture and there's the crap
that the mainstream media portrays
as Hip-Hop. Shot 97 and Powerless 105 will lead the masses to believe
that the hottest rappers are the
50 Cent's and the Fat Joe's of the
world. When you ask them, they always give props to Mos Def's and Talib Kweli's. Mos Def and Talib Kweli will never move units like 50.
They'll never get that kind of airplay. Basically, the crap on the
radio is only a narrow margin of
what Hip-Hop is all about. I love
Hip-Hop right now.
What direction would you like to see the culture move in?
Well, from the radio's perspective,
fewer artists are getting
airplay. When rap first really hit radio, Kurtis Blow was the only
artist signed to a major label and
only a handful of rap acts
consistently gained radio exposure. Sugar Hill, Furious Five, Whodini,
Fat Boys & Run DMC. If you look at the era from the late 1980's to the
early 1990's, the radio played less
rap but more rappers. Now it's a
whole lot more rap but less artists
are getting airplay.
I always want to see Hip-Hop move onward and upward.
In order to
really do that, we need to take control
of our product. Own our labels,
produce our own records, distribute
our music, market our music. Berry
Gordy sold Motown and they haven't
had a successful act since. Russell
Simmons sold Def Jam and that label
is struggling. Jay-Z and Dame Dash
sold Roc-A-Fella and time will see
how the Roc ends up. Bad Boy keeps
going from label to label and all
the acts on Bad Boy are trying to
leave. Faith and Loon just got off the label. Mase wants to leave.
112 still has the Bad Boy imprint
on their records and their not happy
about that. New Edition isn't happy with Puffy either. I'm rambling
now.
Next question.
What role does the Aalikes play
in the Hip Hop movement?
The Aalikes serve their purpose. I can't complain
about them. I
see their names everywhere but they're
not making noise at the
mainstream level. I think they're leading an example of what all rap
acts should do. Do your shit independently. Sitting at home on your
broke ass thinking you have a label
because your cheap ass business card
says you do and waiting for a major
label to hand to 7 figures and a
phat distribution deal is unrealistic. Put out your own damn records.
Where does Ace of Spades fit into the Hip Hop Movement?
Ace fits in wherever he wants to. I'm the world champion of Hip-Hop. I
write, edit and publish an international
magazine, which just so happens
to be the largest grass-roots publication
in existence. I put on the
biggest monthly showcase with the
best talent. People come from across
the country and even Canada to rock
on my stage. I'm involved in some
way shape or form with 15-20 showcases
each and every month. I put more
independent artists on more mixtapes
than any 10 DJ's combined. I'm the
only DJ in NYC who mixes for real
on his mixtapes. I'm the only DJ of
my caliber who gets no support from
the major labels and I rock parties
without their records anyway. I have 2 of the catchiest songs that are
rocking the clubs right now and my
cliq, Team Spade can't be messed
with.
I'm running New York right now and people from all over the
country want me to come there and shake
things up. I'm getting calls from people in DC, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles on the reg. Canada is
checking for me real hard as well. I'm the man.
Do you have any Projects in the works? What should your fans expect in the next year?
Well, Music Notes Magazine is still
popping after 2 1/2 years. I'm
looking to launch to more magazines
in the near future. Be on the
lookout for the Music Notes DVD Magazine
as well. It's gonna be stuffed
with showcase footage, music videos,
interviews and behind the scenes
shit.
I'm also dropping a bunch of mixtapes featuring unsigned and
independent artists. You can also lookout for my album "Aces High"
coming in the fall. The single "So Juicy" is the current club
banger. "4 Eva" is also heating up clubs right now.
Where can we buy or listen to your
music?
I just designed a website ( www.clubspadeentertainment.com ) and I'm
working on putting the music up there.
What is your definition of Freedom?
The ability to do whatever the fuck you want to do.
Who is your favorite Mcee?
Big Daddy Kane. He's the original ghost writer.
Do you have any shouts outs or last comments for the reader?
I don't do shout outs. I call niggas out every now and then but
I'm gonna leave the haters alone
for now. I would like to say the
readers, don't be fooled by the mainstream
media. They don't have your
best interests at heart. All rappers are not drug dealers. It's not
cool to go to jail. Being a thug is not real or official. I publish a
magazine called Music Notes and 80
percent of the rappers I interviewed in the past 2 1/2 years are either college grads, in college
or atleast
went to college. Most of them never been to jail and have no
aspirations of going to jail. Hit up www.clubspadentertainment.com and
drop me a line. Come down to my showcases and I'll show you what real
Hip-Hop is all about. Holla.
Thanx Remi for all the love and support.
Ace Of Spades: World Champion of Hip-Hop
DJ/Rapper/Producer/Journalist/Publisher
Join my yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/clubspade
Music Notes Magazine March Issue
Online
http://hotspot411.com/ace/music_notes_web.pdf
