Ace Hood Interview - All Hustle, All Grind, All The Time

In the interest of Truth and Fairness, I have a confession to make: I was nervous as all hell for this. My first major interview was to be with Ace Hood, a man whom I had given a decidedly mediocre review in my most recent write-up. Pacing the room, anxiety wracked fingertips fumbled with my phone once the call came in. Some Southern Comfort took the edge off, while I flipped the tape recorder on and hoped for some Southern Hospitality. The following is the Florida based rapper’s thoughts on hustle, the NFL and more. Enjoy.

BDZ: I know you played football back in high school; how do you feel about that NFL lockout stuff getting resolved today?

Ace: Oh man … I love it. I love it man I think that’s great. I wasn’t able to watch it … but I’m so excited. I’m just really excited man, I’m a huge football fanatic.

BDZ: Well we can move into the music a little bit, I just figured I’d like to get your opinion on that. It seems to me, listening to all your stuff, a constant theme is hustling, or a willingness to grind. Where does that come from?

Ace: It comes from my life man, and my circumstances. You know what I mean? What I’ve been through, what it took for me to be in the position that I am today; it was a grind, it was all a process … it’s pretty much all I know. You know what I’m saying? A hard work kind of life. That’s all I had to do, was just grind and hustle. I’m just trying to pick up my life, my perspective of my grind and my hustle, and I’m just trying to put it into my music, do you know what I’m saying?

BDZ: Definitely. The way you sort of popped off is pretty well known, but what I want to know is, when DJ Khaled gave you that “I’m So Hood” and he wanted you to write a verse over it, what was going through your mind, you know, knowing what that might mean. To put something hot down.

Ace: It had to be the most nerve wracking time of my life man … the most nerves I’ve ever had in my life. I wrote that verse like 600 times; I re-wrote it, re-wrote it, changed it. I kind of was over thinking the process. I knew it was just a make or break situation man, and I definitely wanted to put my best foot forward.

BDZ: Definitely. Obviously it must have worked. Going along with that, it seems like a lot of these Southern guys, especially you guys down there in Florida, are real good about helping each other out. Putting each other on each other’s tracks, really making each other pop. Is there a camaraderie down there that some other scenes might not be having?

Ace: It’s kind of like there’s unity down here; its definitely different. You know, we’re going to support one another whatever we do. It’s definitely a team, you know what i’m saying? It’s a team effort, so I mean, I don’t know if we do it different than other people or maybe other regions but … especially down here in Miami, in the Miami area, the Broward County area, it’s just that we feel each other down here man. It’s not, you know, this person trying to do this, it’s like it’s more a team. It’s not just We the Best Music and Maybach Music, it’s Maybach Music and Young Money Cash Money, everybody; it’s just music.

BDZ: Who are some of your favorite rappers that you like to get on the track with and work with?

Ace: Some of my favorite artists man growing up were like, you know, Trick Daddy, of course, T.I., Wayne, and stuff like that.

BDZ: Who are some of your favorite producers?

Ace: Some of my favorite producers? I like to work with the in-house producers, you know? That’s just my … I feel like the in-house producers, you know, a little more starving. I like White Hot, I like Cardiak. Who else? I like The Renegades as well. Them I deal with a lot. I deal with a lot of in-house producers.

BDZ: One of my favorite things about hip-hop is a remix, you know, or just getting a lot of different guys on the same track. When you know other people are going to be on the same song, does that sort of get you to step your game up, or try and … you know, a little competition, or something?

Ace: Yeah, because the whole game is competition, you know what I’m saying? You always want to have that top notch verse. You always want to have one of the best verses on there, so … I mean, you can go in a little bit hard I suppose if it’s just your own record, but you get somebody else on the track or it’s a big remix, you want to get in there and do what you do.

BDZ: Alright. Let’s say you got someone who has never heard Ace Hood before. If you could pick one of your songs and one song that somebody else did to sort of represent who you think you are, what would you tell them to listen to?

Ace: I would pick “Go N’ Get It” as one of them, and I would pick, um, probably “Everyday I’m Hustlin'” by Rick Ross.

BDZ: Great song. Now, do you know when you have a hit coming? Like, as soon as you record a song, can you tell that that one’s going to pop off or is it sometimes a surprise to you what catches on and what doesn’t?

Ace: By now I feel like I know. Right know I feel like I know. I would say I know what a hit is. What’s going to pop in the streets or what’s going to be an ok record.

BDZ: I know one of my favorite things you put out recently was “Same Dream” and stuff on Body Bag vol.1. Do you prefer making those mixtapes like that, or do you like, you know, the full on studio albums?

Ace: I love the mixtapes, but you know the albums are cool as well. The thing I love about mixtapes , you know, they’re you. You get to kind of show your versatility … that’s where you get the real grittiness from, as opposed to an album being so much more scripted. I prefer the mixtape joints, they’re definitely one of my favorites to do.

BDZ: How do you feel when guys like me in the media either build you up, or break you down? Do you feed off it, do you ignore it, do you take it to heart? How do you feel about that stuff?

Ace: I mean … I don’t ever mind it. Believe me, I really care less about what anybody might have to say about it as long as my fans love it. I continue to grow and it really doesn’t matter about what people think about anything as long as I’m comfortable … that’s how I live my life.

BDZ: I feel like you’ve got a pretty aggressive delivery when you’re on the microphone. Where do you think that comes from, or who influenced your style?

Ace: Nobody influenced the style man … it’s my life struggle, what I’ve been through. That really has that aggression in it. The music that I write man is passionate music. It’s very passionate music and it means it’s deeper than just rap, it’s deeper than just what you hear. It took me a while to be in the position that I am in today, you know what I’m saying, so I take all that passion man, that pain, and I just live it on the mic. You know what i’m saying … my past life experiences man, the pain that I’ve endured, that reminds me to kind of put that pain and that aggression also in my music.

BDZ: What can fans expect from Blood, Sweat & Tears when it comes out?

Ace: Blood, Sweat &Tears is just timeless music. I love to call it timeless music because I feel like years from now you’re going to be able to put this album in and play it continuously. … It really represents what goes on out here in the streets and it represents the struggle but I’m just giving it to you from my point of view. From my standpoint in life and show you what I’ve been through. Blood, Sweat & Tears is just my life testimony man, the things I’ve been through, the things that I’ve endured in life. The thing is man with this you see a lot more personal … closer to me… it’s real music. It’s not just fabricated; it’s all real.

BDZ: That’s pretty much all the questions I got for you Ace. Anything else you want to add for your fans or anybody?

Ace: Aw man, I love the fans. Of course, Body Bag is in the streets and online now. Follow me @Acehood. Blood, Sweat & Tears man, August 9. My best work thus far, man.

In the interest of Truth and Fairness, I have a confession to make: I was nervous as all hell for this. My first major interview was to be with Ace Hood, a man whom I had given a decidedly mediocre review in my most recent write-up. Pacing the room, anxiety wracked fingertips fumbled with my phone once the call came in. Some Southern Comfort took the edge off, while I flipped the tape recorder on and hoped for some Southern Hospitality. The following is the Florida based rapper’s thoughts on hustle, the NFL and more. Enjoy. The Ace Hood interview…

Parlé Magazine: I know you played football back in high school; how do you feel about that NFL lockout stuff getting resolved today?

Ace Hood: Oh man … I love it. I love it man I think that’s great. I wasn’t able to watch it … but I’m so excited. I’m just really excited man, I’m a huge football fanatic.

Parlé Magazine: Well we can move into the music a little bit, I just figured I’d like to get your opinion on that. It seems to me, listening to all your stuff, a constant theme is hustling, or a willingness to grind. Where does that come from?

Ace: It comes from my life man, and my circumstances. You know what I mean? What I’ve been through, what it took for me to be in the position that I am today; it was a grind, it was all a process … it’s pretty much all I know. You know what I’m saying? A hard work kind of life. That’s all I had to do, was just grind and hustle. I’m just trying to pick up my life, my perspective of my grind and my hustle, and I’m just trying to put it into my music, do you know what I’m saying?

Parlé Magazine: Definitely. The way you sort of popped off is pretty well known, but what I want to know is, when DJ Khaled gave you that “I’m So Hood” track and he wanted you to write a verse over it, what was going through your mind, you know, knowing what that might mean. To put something hot down.

Ace: It had to be the most nerve wracking time of my life man … the most nerves I’ve ever had in my life. I wrote that verse like 600 times; I re-wrote it, re-wrote it, changed it. I kind of was over thinking the process. I knew it was just a make or break situation man, and I definitely wanted to put my best foot forward.

Parlé Magazine: Definitely. Obviously it worked. Going along with that, it seems like a lot of these Southern guys, especially you guys down there in Florida, are real good about helping each other out. Putting each other on each other’s tracks, really making each other pop. Is there a camaraderie down there that some other scenes might not be having?

Ace: It’s kind of like there’s unity down here; its definitely different. You know, we’re going to support one another whatever we do. It’s definitely a team, you know what I’m saying? It’s a team effort, so I mean, I don’t know if we do it different than other people or maybe other regions but … especially down here in Miami, in the Miami area, the Broward County area, it’s just that we feel each other down here man. It’s not, you know, this person trying to do this, it’s like it’s more a team. It’s not just We the Best Music and Maybach Music, it’s Maybach Music and Young Money Cash Money, everybody; it’s just music.

Parlé Magazine: Who are some of your favorite rappers that you like to get on the track with and work with?

Ace: Some of my favorite artists man growing up were like, you know, Trick Daddy, of course, T.I., Wayne, and stuff like that.

Parlé Magazine: Who are some of your favorite producers?

Ace: Some of my favorite producers? I like to work with the in-house producers, you know? That’s just my … I feel like the in-house producers, you know, are a little more starving. I like White Hot, I like Cardiak. Who else? I like The Renegades as well. Them I deal with a lot. I deal with a lot of in-house producers.

Parlé Magazine: One of my favorite things about Hip-Hop is a remix, you know, or just getting a lot of different guys on the same track. When you know other people are going to be on the same song, does that sort of get you to step your game up, or try and … you know, a little competition, or something?

Ace: Yeah, because the whole game is competition, you know what I’m saying? You always want to have that top notch verse. You always want to have one of the best verses on there, so … I mean, you can go in a little bit hard I suppose if it’s just your own record, but you get somebody else on the track or it’s a big remix, you want to get in there and do what you do.

Parlé Magazine: Alright. Let’s say you got someone who has never heard Ace Hood before. If you could pick one of your songs and one song that somebody else did to sort of represent who you think you are, what would you tell them to listen to?

Ace: I would pick “Go N’ Get It” as one of them, and I would pick, um, probably “Everyday I’m Hustlin'” by Rick Ross.

Parlé Magazine: Great song. Now, do you know when you have a hit coming? Like, as soon as you record a song, can you tell that that one’s going to pop off or is it sometimes a surprise to you what catches on and what doesn’t?

Ace: By now I feel like I know. Right know I feel like I know. I would say I know what a hit is. What’s going to pop in the streets or what’s going to be an ok record.

Parlé Magazine: I know one of my favorite things you put out recently was “Same Dream” and stuff on Body Bag vol.1. Do you prefer making those mixtapes like that, or do you like, you know, the full on studio albums?

Ace: I love the mixtapes, but you know the albums are cool as well. The thing I love about mixtapes , you know, they’re you. You get to kind of show your versatility … that’s where you get the real grittiness from, as opposed to an album being so much more scripted. I prefer the mixtape joints, they’re definitely one of my favorites to do.

Parlé Magazine: How do you feel when guys like me in the media either build you up, or break you down? Do you feed off it, do you ignore it, do you take it to heart? How do you feel about that stuff?

Ace: I mean … I don’t ever mind it. Believe me, I really care less about what anybody might have to say about it as long as my fans love it. I continue to grow and it really doesn’t matter about what people think about anything as long as I’m comfortable … that’s how I live my life.

Parlé Magazine: I feel like you’ve got a pretty aggressive delivery when you’re on the microphone. Where do you think that comes from, or who influenced your style?

Ace: Nobody influenced the style man … it’s my life struggle, what I’ve been through. That really has that aggression in it. The music that I write man is passionate music. It’s very passionate music and it means it’s deeper than just rap, it’s deeper than just what you hear. It took me a while to be in the position that I am in today, you know what I’m saying, so I take all that passion man, that pain, and I just live it on the mic. You know what i’m saying … my past life experiences man, the pain that I’ve endured, that reminds me to kind of put that pain and that aggression also in my music.

Parlé Magazine: What can fans expect from Blood, Sweat & Tears when it comes out?

Ace: Blood, Sweat &Tears is just timeless music. I love to call it timeless music because I feel like years from now you’re going to be able to put this album in and play it continuously. … It really represents what goes on out here in the streets and it represents the struggle but I’m just giving it to you from my point of view. From my standpoint in life and show you what I’ve been through. Blood, Sweat & Tears is just my life testimony man, the things I’ve been through, the things that I’ve endured in life. The thing is man with this you see a lot more personal … closer to me… it’s real music. It’s not just fabricated; it’s all real.
Parlé Magazine: Anything else you want to add for your fans or anybody?

Ace: Aww man, I love the fans. Of course, Body Bag is in the streets and online now. Follow me @Acehood. Blood, Sweat & Tears man, August 9. My best work thus far man.

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