Milwaukee’s hip hop scene (yes, they have one) has continued to take L’s for the last couple years. My brother Sonny introduced me to Jae Ace. I wasn’t really amused initially, I took him as another cocky local rapper that “knows everything”. Until I started talkin my shit and he said he wanted to learn from me. That was new for me. I’d had people outside my area pick my brain but never someone local. I told him almost everything I know. Whether he used it or not, I don’t know…but the fact that he asked meant a lot to me. There’s always room to learn and when you “know” what you’re doing but you’re not getting the result you want then guess what??????…….. Yeah, exactly.

Last week he dropped Portraits of Hours, a free album that is dedicated to his mother. POH really is a complete project. He’s got a little something for everyone and the production is some of the best I’ve heard in awhile from a local artist.

My favorite tracks:

Hold The Applause: This track features Kiara Dupree on the hook and the message is basically….hold your applause. There’s no need to get cocky or too excited. You can always do better, no matter what.

PLF: This track features Pizzle. Look what we’re doing. We’re being honest. We’re being ourselves. Take picture, bitch.

Praise: Listen, Deonte Hayes is so underrated it’s ridiculous. His production skills just continue to flourish. Praise is really Ace’s open diary of how he feels about what he’s doing, what he wants and how he focuses. Very rarely can an artist be vulnerable and raw without sounding like he needs a fucking shrink.

Easily one of my favorite projects of the year and it’s only April.
Go download it for free here.