Take a Look Around is a genuine rap classic from the most slept on Juice Crew member Masta Ace. Almost entirely produced by Marley Marl, the man who defined the hip hop sound in first years of the 90′s, with 4 tracks handled by Mister Cee, this was one of the tightest albums of 1990. Ace had made his debut on the iconic Juice Crew track ‘The Symphony’ back in ’88, holding his own alongside heavyweights of the mic Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane and Craig G. Ace was signed to the Marley Marl-fronted Cold Chillin Records and released his first single the following year before following up with his debut album Take a Look Around.

The album is a solid 15 tracks from start to finish featuring no fillers, intros, outros or skits and all being above standard for a 1990 release. The album showcases Masta Ace’s lyrical diversity – being comfortable spittin’ on any topic and vibe seems to come effortlessly to Ace. He steers between battle raps on ‘Aces Wild’ to comedy on ‘Me and the Biz’ through to conscious raps on ‘I Got Ta’ and opens a window into ghetto life on ‘Brooklyn Battles’ and the title track ‘Take a Look Around. The album spawned 4 singles, the most popular being ‘Me and the Biz’- the video for which features Ace controlling a Biz Markie marionette puppet.

Trivia

Me and the Biz doesn’t feature Biz Markie; it’s actually Ace’s impression of his fellow Juice Crew member

Was a member of the original ‘Crooklyn Dodgers’ who recorded a track for Spike Lee’s ‘Crooklyn’ film.

Singles

Me and the Biz

Click here to view the embedded video.

Music Man

Click here to view the embedded video.

Slang Dictionary

Bumrush, high postin, livin large, blunts, fly, diss, slimmy, British walkers, Jimmy, Cuban Link, homeboys, wack

90s Guy says

This is an instant classic that has aged well but can instantly take you back nearly 20 years in one listen. Marley Marl was a rap factory the way Timbaland is now, except he never sold out, never went pop, just made album after album of real hip hop classics. Masta Ace was a jack of all trades; he could flip it any which way but was always commanding despite being laid back. This may have been his main downfall commercially: the labels couldn’t pigeonhole him and the fact that he openly attacked the fake gangster rappers of the time who were doing major sales probably didn’t help. His pro knowledge positive lyrics sum him up best:

I got ta teach the youth that they capable
I got ta show the ghetto is escapable

I got to understand the pain and strife of the next man
So I got avoid flaunting, showing off, and high posting if I can

90s Guy Favourites

Brooklyn Battles, Take a Look Around, I Got Ta, Music Man, Postin High, The Other Side of Town

Link

Listen for yourself

On the DL

Bonus disc