Edwin Maximilian "Eddie" Hayes, Jr. (born September 30, 1970), better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. He is a member of

Freestyle Fellowship Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blo ...

, Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team. He is also a co-founder of

Project Blowed Project Blowed is an open-mic workshop, its affiliated underground hip hop crew and record label based in Los Angeles, California at 3333 Leimert. This hip hop function started in 1994 and features many music groups, emcees, dancers, music pro ...

. Aceyalone is best known for his role in evolving left-field hip-hop on the West Coast at a time when the West Coast was dominated by

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...

Career

Project Blowed and Freestyle Fellowship

Aceyalone emerged from the

collective, considered to be the longest-running open mic hip-hop workshop. He began rapping as part of the group

, which consisted of Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter. Later, P.E.A.C.E. Freestyle Fellowship developed a reputation for influencing a style of fast double-time rap used by rappers like

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

, and

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

. Aceyalone was part of Freestyle Fellowship releases of '' To Whom It May Concern...'' and '' Innercity Griots'' and a

compilation in 1994.

Solo projects

Aceyalone signed as a solo artist to

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

after the Freestyle Fellowship failed to break into mainstream radio with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

. Aceyalone released his debut solo album, ''

All Balls Don't Bounce ''All Balls Don't Bounce'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Aceyalone. It was released in 1995 on Capitol Records. In 2004, it was re-released on Project Blowed and Decon as ''All Balls Don't Bounce: Revisited'' with a bonus disc. It ...

'', in 1995. He returned three years later with the dark concept album '' A Book of Human Language'', which was a collaboration with producer Mumbles. His third solo album, '' Accepted Eclectic'', was released in 2001 and featured

Abstract Rude Aaron Pointer, better known by his stage name Abstract Rude, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is the rapper of Abstract Tribe Unique, alongside dancers Zulu Butterfly and Irie Lion King, turntablist DJ Drez and producer ...

with production from

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

. He released '' Hip Hop and the World We Live In'' in 2002. Aceyalone's next offering came a year later, and was titled '' Love & Hate''. The track "Find Out" was featured on the soundtrack to ''

You Got Served ''You Got Served'' is a 2004 American dance drama film written and directed by Chris Stokes, who was also the business manager of the performers who were the film's main characters: recording artist Marques Houston and the boy band B2K. The ...

''. In 2006, Aceyalone released ''

Magnificent City ''Magnificent City'' is a full American studio album by American rapper Aceyalone, accompanied by American hip hop producer RJD2. It was released on Decon and Project Blowed in 2006. It peaked at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseekers Album ...

'', a collaborative album with producer

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...

, followed by the '' Grand Imperial'' mixtape. Aceyalone frequently collaborates with producer Bionik, including on the 2007 release '' Lightning Strikes'' and the 2009 release '' Aceyalone & the Lonely Ones''. Both albums explored different genres –

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

, respectively – as part of Aceyalone's goal of "exploring the world of music through hip hop." The

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

-inspired ''Aceyalone & the Lonely Ones'' followed. Inspired by Spector's

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

, Aceyalone said: "I'm not from that era, but this is my ode to it. I'm just putting myself into that character as a showman and bandleader." '' Leanin' on Slick'', released in 2013 with Decon Records, continued the retro flow of the previous release, this time taking inspiration from 1960s style-R&B and hot buttered soul.

Style and influences

Aceyalone has been noted particularly for his innovative lyrical style and content. Some attribute the double-time rap styles that emerged in the mid-1990s to Aceyalone and

, although this is disputed by others. Aceyalone and Freestyle Fellowship were noted for their rejection of the West Coast trend of gangsta rap. Aceyalone developed strong critiques of rap music's commercialization and glorification of violence.

Discography

Studio albums

Aceyalone * ''

'' (1995) * '' A Book of Human Language'' (1998) (with Mumbles) * '' Accepted Eclectic'' (2001) * '' Hip Hop and the World We Live In'' (2002) (with Elusive) * '' Love & Hate'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) (with

) * '' Lightning Strikes'' (2007) (with Bionik) * '' Aceyalone & the Lonely Ones'' (2009) (with Bionik) * '' Leanin' on Slick'' (2013) (with Bionik) * ''Action'' (2015) (with Bionik) * ''Mars'' (2016) (with Slippers) * ''Ancient Future: Conversations With God'' (2017) (with Orko Eloheim) * ''43rd & Excellence'' (2018) (with Fat Jack) * ''Mars, Vol. 02'' (2018) (with Slippers & Michelle Stevens) * ''Let's Get It'' (2019) * ''Ice Water'' (2020)

(Aceyalone with Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E. & Self Jupiter) * '' To Whom It May Concern...'' (1991) * '' Innercity Griots'' (1993) * '' Temptations'' (2001) * '' Shockadoom'' (2002) P* '' The Promise'' (2011) Haiku d'Etat (Aceyalone with

and Myka 9) * '' Haiku d'Etat'' (1999) * '' Coup de Theatre'' (2004) The A-Team (Aceyalone with Abstract Rude) * ''Who Framed the A-Team?'' (1999) * ''Lab Down Under'' (2003)

Other releases

* ''Version 2.0: To Whom It May Concern... Remixed by J. Sumbi'' (2001) To Whom It May Concern...''">emixes of tracks from '' To Whom It May Concern...''/small> * ''The Lost Tapes'' (2003) ixtape/small> * ''Grade A'' (2004) arities collection/small> * '' Grand Imperial'' (2006) arities collection/small> * ''Who Reframed the A-Team?'' (2006) best of' compilation by The A-Team/small> * ''Power Plant'' (2011) ixtape by Freestyle Fellowship/small> * ''Aceyalone 101'' (2013) arities collection/small> * ''Action Accessed Remixes'' (2017) emixes of tracks from ''Action''/small>

References

External links

* *
Aceyalone
discography at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online encyclopedia of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also features comm ...

{{Authority control 1970 births Living people Rappers from Los Angeles West Coast hip-hop musicians Capitol Records artists Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers Project Blowed