Master Ace – Take A Look Around 4xLP

Traffic (2007, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Though he's known as Master Ace on this album, his 1990 debut, I know him as Masta Ace.  I first heard Masta Ace from his "Jeep Ass N***h" single from the 1993 album Slaughtahouse.  That whole album is great, but when it came out, I didn't really know that the Masta had another album that came out three years earlier.  Later on, I did dig into Masta Ace's other albums.  I was really disappointed by 1995's Sittin' On Chrome.  The production is just not what I want to listen to, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised as the sound of hip hop in 1995 had drastically changed from what I was interested in.

But, going backwards to Take A Look Around shows a younger Master Ace, who was just as adept on the microphone then.  The production isn't at all like Slaughtahouse, but 1990 Marly Marl was making some pretty incredible beats and the album is full of them.  Is it as lush and dynamic as things would get over the next couple of years?  It isn't, but it doesn't sound dated the way a lot of pre-1991 albums sometimes can.  The production is excellent top to bottom with head nodding bass lines providing a canvas for Masta Ace to rhyme over.

This version of the LP that I found is a quadruple LP version from 2007.  In addition to the original album, there's two extra LPs of remixes, bonus tracks and instrumentals.  I can't really say any of it is essential, but for me, I like to have the most comprehensive version of a record that's out there.  Most folks would be totally set with the main album, which more than stands on its own.  

Master Ace – Take A Look Around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvULvhZ5CXk&ab_