Florida’s heat has been radiating over
hip-hop for many years. From the legendary “Uncle” Luke Campbell, Trick
Daddy and Trina to DJ Khaled, Flo Rida, T-Pain, Rick Ross and Plies, the
sunshine state has always produced hot music. The next artist to emerge
from this sizzling climate is Ace Hood, and with an ace on the top of
the deck, he is guaranteed to continue Florida’s heat wave.
“I got the name Ace as a child. My family
always thought that I would be the one who would succeed in whatever I
did,” he explains. “I feel like I’m an army in myself. I carry my own
weight and since I represent for the hood, why not attach that to my
name?”
Born Antoine McColister in Broward County, Florida, Ace knew he was
destined for greatness. After an injury derailed his burgeoning football
career, Ace turned to his true passion, rapping. At the age of 17, Ace
teamed up with the Broward-County-based entertainment label, Dollaz &
Dealz, to record the hit "M.O.E." ("Money Over Everything") which
sparked an immediate buzz in South Florida. Ace began to perform and
network which helped him gain exposure like never before. After
fine-tuning his craft on local crowds, he set his sights on performing
for DJ Khaled at his annual birthday bash.
“We was outside the radio station not even trying to get a deal, just
hoping to perform at his birthday bash,” he recalls. “We just figured
we’d try and perform. He had a contest going on where you had to give a
certain amount of reasons why you should perform at the birthday bash.
So I was going to rap for him on camera and show him why I was worthy.
Although he had to go to a meeting, he came out, looked at me and said I
love his image. We handed him a CD and once we did that he listened to
it and called my manager that night. He said I love his swag, I hear
starvation in his music and I want to take a meeting with him.”
That meeting turned into Ace becoming the first artist signed to DJ
Khaled’s label “We the Best” distributed by Def Jam Records. His hot new
single “Cash Flow” featuring T-Pain and Rick Ross is currently blazing
the radio waves everywhere. “Once I played the song for Rick Ross he
loved it and he put his whole swag to it” explains Khaled. “The song was
pretty much done but we felt to make it more of a hit record, get
somebody like T-Pain who’s running the game right now, on the hook to
make it go that much further.” The song is setting the stage for Ace’s
debut album, Gutta, with guest appearances from some of rap’s elite
including Trick Daddy, Flo Rida, Akon, Plies and production from Cool &
Dre, The Runners, Danjahandz and J.U.S.T.C.E. League, Ace’s deck is
definitely stacked.
“This album is definitely gonna be a classic,” Ace says confidently.
“People are expecting a lot out of me not only because I’m on Khaled’s
label, but because everyone knows that the ace is ranked as the
highest.”
