Who: Aceyalone
When: Friday, March 7. Doors open at 9:30 p.m.
Where: Garfinkel’s
Tickets: $15 presale
A legend in the world of hip-hop, LA-based rapper Aceyalone is set to take the stage with Juno-nominated artist, Arabesque, and Anonymous Twist at Garf’s on Friday night, as part of their West Coast tour.
Aceyalone emerged on the forefront of the underground Los Angeles hip-hop scene in the early ’90s as a founding member of the renowned Freestyle Fellowship, a group that helped to shape West Coast hip-hop with albums like, To Whom It May Concern and Inner City Griots . Through his involvement with the Fellowship, Aceyalone developed a reputation as a strong, outgoing emcee.
Piggybacking on the popularity and reputation of the Fellowship, Aceyalone teamed up with Abstract Rude in 1994 to launch a new generation of hip-hop with Project Blowed, an open mic night that Aceyalone eventually turned into a record label. The progressive hip-hop movement caught on, and 14 years later, Project Blowed is still uniting lyricists of all backgrounds.
In the late ’90s, he joined forces with Mikah 9 and Abstract Rude to form Haiku D’Etat, and with Abstract Rude, again, to create The A-Team.
By 1995, Acey was ready to step out on his own. He signed with Capitol Records and released his solo debut album, All Balls Don’t Bounce. The first album was a hit, and since then he has gained widespread respect as a rapper, and accumulated an impressive discography, with albums like A Book of Human Language, and Lightning Strikes .
More recently, Aceyalone teamed up with producer RJD2 for two new projects: Magnificent City and Grand Imperial. These two veterans of the hip-hop scene meld well, creating a unified voice, with a slick overall sound.
Offering street cred and some sick rhymes, along with an extensive vocabulary, Aceyalone’s music is known to be seriously thought provoking and inspiring, with deep lyrics that require exploration. While it’s still the kind of hip-hop you can enjoy at the club, it’s almost the kind of music you need to sit back and listen to with your eyes closed.
