At times, Ace Hood’s career seemed like a punchline. Back in 2009, his most memorable moment was arguably #uknowuAceHoodwhen—a Twitter hashtag which everyone and their mother used to make fun of his shortcomings as a rapper. As mean-spirited as it was, there was no denying that he had shortcomings. His first two albums, 2008’s Gutta and 2009’s Ruthless, didn’t spawn any major hits and didn’t sell particularly well.
What fans who were quick to crack wise didn’t know was that after his second album, the 23-year-old rapper was struggling financially, professionally, and personally. But as a firm believer in positive thinking, he didn’t let it get him down. He cut himself off from the world and hit the studio. After about a year, he came back with “Hustle Hard”—the biggest song of his career and one of the best songs of this year so far.
With what he promises will be his most personal album to date, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, dropping on August 9, we got on the horn with Ace and had him tell the story of how he made it back and how he’s living proof that closed mouths don't get fed on this boulevard.
As told to Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin)