Supreme Ace, who recently dropped Trill Influenced 2 in February, has built his name from the underground since 2015. He’s worked with artists such as CyHi The Prynce, Mark Battles, OG Maco, Dizzy Wright and many others. Now he seems keen to resonate with the masses while fending off the politics that has crushed so many careers. Get in tune and learn more about the upcoming artist:
Were you born in Denver?
Did the Denver hip hop scene gravitate you towards music or was it something you always wanted to do?
Ace: The Denver hip hop scene is actually a growth in progress. It ain’t that big but it’s definitely in progress and it’s coming along. But me, I would always write music or little lines on paper but I never took it seriously until I got older.
But I’ve always had a passion for hip hop. My pops raised me alone and he’s definitely hip hop all the way. From NWA to Pac to Dub C and E-40, all west coast shit [laughs]…so after that I was like “yeah I want to do music.”
Now, you said your father raised you by himself. How did that make you the man you are today?
Ace: My dad was strict so I don’t take no shit. Being raised by a man, I could say I’m very aggressive and I don’t let anybody get over me. My mom wasn’t in my life like that, but when life hits me fast, I know how to handle it. I wasn’t babied you know. My dad would hit me in the mouth. Not literally, but if I came home with bad grades or I was acting a fool, he’ll set me straight.
Now that you mentioned it, your upbringing seems to have an impact in your lyrics. They come across very understandable without being corny.
Ace: Exactly. It’s more relatable. I’m not trying to rap and put bars over people’s heads. Most people wanna blow somebody’s mind away but with my material, I want people to understand me.
You have expressed your distaste of the politics that happen behind the scenes in the industry. From a fan perspective, what exactly are those politics?
Ace: It’s pretty difficult to explain man.
Okay, so would you say you would lean towards what Wale continuously complains about on how this industry will “suck you dry”?
Ace: It does man. Wale makes a lot of valid points. People could call him a cry baby, people could say he complains, but he makes a lot of points. People get overlooked, because it’s all about who you know in this industry. Some people’s come up is real you know, and some people are industry plants…you know what I mean? It’s just all politics man [laughs].
What exactly is an industry plant?
Ace: To me, an industry plant is someone you just found out about. That out of nowhere is the new face of music, out of nowhere getting millions of streams, world tours and it’s their first year doing music. They have all this money, all these investors and secret labels behind them turning them into this superstar without ever having a come up.
I was scrolling through your Twitter and I have to ask, what happened to the collaboration albums you have previously announced with Wave Chappelle, Rob Hixxx and Rob4Real?
Ace: [Laughs] You gonna see ’em. Me and Wave Chappell have talked about collaborating on an EP and we’re all for it. Obviously we both got busy, so we haven’t been able to tackle it. I’m dropping another EP with Rob4Real and it’s done. Rob Hixxx and I have yet to work on any music together but we have discussed the idea and it’s coming. I could definitely guarantee the EP with Rob4Real is coming.
Could you expand on what exactly is Fly District?
Ace: Fly District is my independent label collective I have and am getting off the ground. I started it back in 2014 and once I got all the rights to that name, I started bringing on artists. I only have two artists right now, Rob4Real and Turnaonetake.
So what’s next for you?
Ace: I’m dropping an EP called Layover In NYC.
You announced that album a couple of years ago didn’t you?
Ace: Yeah, I actually shelved it. I put projects out like Something I Put Together and Trill Influence 2 because I felt like that was the track I need to be on at that time. I scratched the original Layover In NYC and made a completely new version. It’s going to be six tracks long, might cut it to five but it will have better material, crazy, crazy guest appearances and just something short that people could listen to over and over.
When can we expect the album?
Ace: Fall 2018. Maybe a little before fall, maybe August or September. Really just depends on how I’m feeling.
