Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (born April 12, 1967), better known as Mellow Man Ace, is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

known for

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

delivery and

novelty Novelty (derived from Latin word ''novus'' for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an ...

rhymes. He was born in Cuba and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

with his family at the age of four.

Early life and career

An Afro-Cuban rapper born in Cuba, Mellow Man Ace focused on lovers rap with a blend of urban hip hop and occasional bilingual delivery, and a heady gift for novelty rhymes. Born Ulpiano Sergio Reyes in 1967, he left Cuba with his family at the age of four and resettled in Los Angeles. His family moved to South Gate,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

at a very young age. His debut album '' Escape from Havana'' was released on Capitol on August 29, 1989, and featured production from

the Dust Brothers The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work o ...

and

Def Jef Def Jef is the stage name of Jeffrey Fortson (born September 27, 1970), an American alternative hip hop musician and rapper of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born in Harlem, New York City. His debut album was 1989's '' Just a Poet wi ...

. The single "

Mentirosa "Mentirosa" (lit. "''liar''" (female)) is a single by Mellow Man Ace from his debut album, ''Escape from Havana''. It was one of the first songs produced by Tony G, with scratches provided by Tony's fellow DJ at Los Angeles' KDAY radio station, Ju ...

" was released on March 9, 1990. It was his only hit single, peaking at Number 14 on ''Billboard'''s Hot 100 Chart, with Ace rapping over a crafty hook from the Santana songs " No One to Depend On" and "

Evil Ways "Evil Ways" is a song made famous by Mexican-American rock band Santana from their 1969 self-titled debut album. It was written by Clarence "Sonny" Henry and originally recorded by jazz percussionist Willie Bobo on his 1967 album ''Bobo Motio ...

." His use of these songs got him into some legal trouble, as he had not obtained permission to sample Santana's songs, nor were any royalty fees paid to Santana before recording and releasing the track. Ace recorded one additional album, ''The Brother with Two Tongues'', before virtually retiring from the music scene, but 2000 saw the release of the album ''From the Darkness into the Light''. Next came the album ''

Vengo a Cobrar ''Vengo A Cobrar'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Mellow Man Ace. It was released on June 8, 2004 via Dimelo Records. The seventeen-track record featured guest appearances from Sen Dog, Big Chill, E-Step, Cuban Pete, Lance Robinson, ...

''. It was released on June 8, 2004 on Dimelo Records. In 2006, he collaborated with his brother Sen Dog of hip-hop group

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

, culminating in the album release ''

Ghetto Therapy ''Ghetto Therapy'' is the first collaborative album by American rappers Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace as the Reyes Brothers, released on June 13, 2006 via Latin Thugs Entertainment LLC. Background The seventeen-track record features guest appearance ...

''. 2010 saw the release of the album ''Restoring Order''. In 2018, he released the single, "South Gate." He was the first Latino artist to have a hit bilingual single, and has been called "The Godfather of Latin Rap." He was also a founding member of the hip hop group

and member of the Latin Alliance project. Ace has a son named Cazal Organism who produces most of his more recent music, along with one daughter by the name of Havana Reyes.

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Escape from Havana'' (1989) *'' The Brother with Two Tongues'' (1992) *'' From the Darkness into the Light'' (2000) *''

'' (2004) *''Restoring Order'' (2010) ;Collaboration albums *'' Latin Alliance'' with Latin Alliance (1991) *''

'' with Reyes Bros (2006) *''La Familia Vol. 1'' with Various Artists (2008) ;Charting singles

Filmography

* '' Only the Strong'' (1993) — Student rapper * ''Heroes of Latin Hip Hop'' (2002)

References

External links

Mellow Man Ace Interview on Dubcnn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellow Man Ace 1967 births Living people People from South Gate, California American people of Cuban descent Rappers from California Capitol Records artists Five percenters Hispanic and Latino American rappers Cypress Hill members 21st-century American rappers

Early life and career

Discography

Filmography

See also

References

External links