BY BONITA • JULY 18, 2019

Nearly 30 years removed from his solo debut, Take A Look Around, Masta Ace is still spitting observant bars, taking stock of his surroundings and detailing what he sees for his listeners. On late 2018’s A Breukelen Story (named one of Ambrosia For Heads‘ best of the year), a collaborative album from the Brooklyn MC and (Brooklyn by way of Toronto, Ontario) producer Marco Polo, the longtime collaborators deliver an homage to the streets, the people, and the ongoing changes within the New York City borough.

On the Fat Beats Records LP, scenes of life are illustrated not only through Ace’s experience but also the journey of Marco, who made BK his home nearly 20 years ago. The album’s title traces things back to the Dutch town after which the New Netherlands colony was named, so there’s an inherent sense of sentimentality and diaspora — but A Breukelen Story is a contemporary look at the borough that’s evolving at a rapid rate. It’s both an examination of how Brooklyn has shaped them, and the way the same place Ace once co-christened “Crooklyn” is steadily reshaping.

Longtime co-creators, Masta Ace and Marco Polo enlisted Elzhi, Lil Fame, Pharoahe Monch, Smif-n-Wessun, Styles P and others to help tell their Story. But on “Get Shot,” the two are simply a duet. The song showcases Masta Ace’s straightforward wit and lyrical jabs, as he demonstrates the classic Hip-Hop blueprint: I’m doper than you.

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