Rating:
  Release Date: February 7, 2006
  Website: Aceyalone Website
  Label: Project Blowed

Aceyalone “Magnificent City” Album Review
I came across some interesting facts on the Internet this week. Did you know that 17 million Americans suffer from depression every year? Millions of people in this country consistently feel down and out about all kinds of things. For some, it is hereditary, meaning that there is some chemical or neurotransmitter in their brains passed down through the generations that makes them more susceptible to experiencing feelings of sadness or worthlessness.

For others, it is brought on by any number of external factors, including stress over job, family, finances or life purpose. But still for others, it seems to be this long-evolving process, like a significant string of events, troubles or hardships over weeks, months, or even years that compound over time to create sadness in people.

Taken aback by this overwhelming body of information, I decided to look into the cures of depression. I mean, what are these 17 million people doing to help themselves through these hard times and negative feelings? Unfortunately, there only seem to be two common treatments of depression: medication and psychotherapy. It’s like no one has figured a way to combat depression until it is so serious that you either need to drug yourself or see a shrink to have a possibility of overcoming it.

This worried me. I mean, I’m not depressed or anything, but everybody gets down once in a while. I been having some problems with my girl lately. I’m still hung up on that other chick, who has been moved on. I’m considering a career change and move across the country. I spent the majority of last night consoling a close friend who thinks she’s pregnant, but doesn’t know what to do. I worry about my mom being lonely, and my dad’s health problems, and my grandparents getting old, and my brother’s autistic son. I’ve been fighting this damn sore throat for like three weeks now, too. This stuff keeps me up at night sometimes, or keeps me from concentrating during the day, or keeps me from relaxing at night.

Depression & Youth Overmedication
Now I realize that these are just ordinary feelings of sadness, not real depression. Things will get better and I will feel great next week or the week after. But still, the only recommendations I continue to find to help me through these current hard times remain to be medications. I should take some Xanax, or some Paxil, or some Wellbutrin. Now as much as I’d like to pop a xanny, kill a forty, hit a blunt and forget about it all, that can’t be the best way. Can it? The youth generation is overmedicated as it is, and the last thing I want to do is add to the millions of kids running around with a buzz instead of dealing with their problems. I guess that’s why it’s damn near 4 a.m. and I’m sitting here sleepless at this computer, bumping Aceyalone‘s new album “Magnificent City.”

I think I picked up Acey’s new album at precisely the right time. All I’ve been listening to is hard core stuff lately: hip-hop with real social and political meanings. A lot of it is angry, or sad, or fed up . and for good reason. I believe that part of hip-hop’s purpose is to define the troubles of ordinary people to the masses. However, sometimes I get so caught up in this hard core stuff that I forget that hip-hop is also about fun, good times and feeling positive. Sitting here listening to “Magnificent City” is helping me remember that. WORD.

“Magnificent City,” Aceyalone’s highly-anticipated compilation with RJD2, one of hip-hop’s most unique up and coming producers, is, to say the least, a feel good album. Sure, it’s laced here and there with social lyrics, unfortunate street narratives and a conflicted eclectic worldview. But then again, what Aceyalone album isn’t? But the album is also a change in direction from his previous work, with consistently shifting beats from RJD2, unique song concepts and experimental methods of flow. Acey’s ability to playfully rhyme of the myriad production techniques utilized in “Magnificent City” is enjoyable, and left me with a positive vibe all last week.

Hip-Hop is that …
Some people’s therapy is drugs. Other people participate in talk therapy. And still others do nothing to help feeling down … they just attempt to deal somehow. I listen to hip-hop, and Aceyalone’s pleasant new album has added yet another record to my stack of feel good music. Hip-hop is that for me sometimes, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s my break from reality. It’s my stress release. It’s my weapon against depression. It’s, as a famous set of recent commercials might say, “my anti-drug.”

So before you take your doctor’s advice and refill that prescription to whatever depression or anxiety-related medication he might have you on, think about it. Before you pump your kid with adderall or Ritalin on his way to school tomorrow morning, think about it. Maybe it’s necessary. Or maybe all you need is a little therapeutic hip-hop. Pick up Aceyalone’s new album. You never know, it might make you feel a little better.

Damn, that felt great. Thanks for listening, yo. I’m taking my ass to bed now. Although Acey’s lyrics don’t quite to this album justice without the music, I have listed some of my favorites below. Peace.

All For U
They put me on the wrong world, yes they did
Star on my forehead bless this kid
They threw me in headfirst, blind in the dark
In the alligator pit with the rest of the sharks
All I could think about was how they set me apart
I never knew a killer whale who had so much bark
The heart of a lion, I’m sharp as a dart
And it took me a long while to master the art

I’m Aceyalone, how can I be of service?
What else do you need besides superb wordage?
Man I stay heated like a burner from the furnace
My shoes always brown, same color as my shirt is
I write authentic, always all in it
Outside the law, raw, never fall timid
Always ahead of myself, pushing past the limit
We taught the world to freestyle now it’s a epidemic

I walked the long mile just because I had to
I’ll be glad to add to the pile if I have to
Ain’t a situation on earth that I can’t adapt to
I do what I got to, and a little well that too
I am what I am but that ain’t all I can be
Spend a lifetime trying to big up the family
I leave ‘em with they eyes open wider than Bambi
They don’t understand me, that’s why they abandon me

I’m always on next and ready to bust it up
Work hard, play hard, never a customer
Skills stay hardy at the party for sustenance
Man I’m on the grind, I’m a non-stop hustler
I’ll fight the fight that nobody will fight though
Spite those fools that be trying to bite dope
I’m like no other MC on the mi-cro
I might go psycho, keeping it tight though

No guts, no glory, it’s the same ol’ story for
I’m out with my nightstick, cruising the corridor
They always wanna ask why you swinging that sword of yours
Because I’m a warrior, killing them more and more
Who you gonna call when there’s so many to choose from
You win some, lose some, now who wanna do some
A new somebody who be trying to prove some
Now I gotta move some, and give you a new sum

Yeah I’ll put a fire to the house that Jack built
I rose from the grave for the people that crack killed
My name on my buckle when I’m wearing my black belt
I gave you half the world now tell me how that felt
Cause anywhere you go, I’ll be right behind you
And if you don’t know, then I gotta remind you
Hold on to your parachute and jump when it’s time to
Cause I was designed to have the people to rhyme to

Fire
Love life let it love you back

I come with it, yeah, rain or shine
I lit it up, I hit it up, I came to grind
And the game ain’t mine but it will be when I’m done
Right now I like to kill MCs for fun
Let your mamma know she’ll feel me like a son
And when I’m dead and gone I’ll still be number one

I’m outspoken, I’m not about joking
I’m from California, but I’m not from Oakland
But they my folks now, fool, I’m from so-Cal
Put it down like a champion on vo-cal

Didn’t you notice by my swagger I was an artist?
I came here to party out with you and your partners
Square as a dollar bill, twice as hard up
Before I start up, I put my guard up
My time share’s open to whoever can use it
My music make more love than you did
My new shit rock, RJ produced it
New kid on the block, now I’m used to it
Side view, ride through Technicolor my
Techniques speak heat like no other, I’m
Low key, high-signed, yet discovered
Lone wolf, sho nuff, like no other
I come through, one two, that’s all it takes for me
Old school, new school, serving them basically
All in the future so just don’t wait for me
World class champion forever and faithfully
Lifestyle freestyle, trying to get past it though
Whole mind, gold mine, keeping it classical
How we rock is just so cunning and masterful
And that’s that flow that the people was asking for

Cornbread, Eddy and Me
Ah man, I’m just a brother whose intentions are good
Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
I gotta 10 fifty-four under the hood
Several stages of lifespan, damned if I would
Be a dope when it’s not a laughing matter
Modern contemporary man still hunt and gather data
They want glamour, the priceless prize
Give ‘em a torch and they put the fire to your eyes
Give ‘em an inch they take a yard and they pull your card
Throw a wrench so far in yours it’ll leave a scar

Hold your head up, you only got your life left
Make the right step and don’t sing the wrong song
Fight somebody your own damn size
You dead wrong, thinking you won’t meet your demise
This baby here, gon’ grow up to be a king
I don’t know how you seeing things, but that’s a fact
It’ll be over my dead body
If I let you put a motherfucking monkey on his back
Shit ain’t changed, it’s just the choices
The voices in your head saying do what you don’t gotta do
They scared of themselves which means that they scared of me
And them the same, punk-ass fools that shot at you
The lord giveth and he taketh away
God bless that I can live to see another day
And if I had it my way I’d hang you all by the neck
Have some respect, I’ll serve and protect

And if my teachers could see you now
They’ll take your head, cause you probably wouldn’t even bow
You ain’t humble, you mumble jumble
Your tower of so-called power’ll crumble
You killed my uncle, put a dagger through my brother’s heart
I need another start, cause if I knew then
What I know now, it’ll be wild
Booyaka! Booyaka! I’ll put you in the ground
A peaceful man ain’t got no place here

Mooore
They always want a little more than they got
Never take a little and they always take a lot
Get it and they want more cause they never stop
You always on the bottom and they always on the top
They know what to say, you face them every day
Always got a place for you in case you wanna play
A fire in the hole couldn’t chase them away
They come around and take it all and never want to stay
Gotta have extra, add to the texture
I don’t want to lecture but that’s a nice gesture
Eat a bigger portion, plant it on my plate
Gluttony and suddenly there’s nothing left to take
Less is more, unless you poor
Give me everything and leave a mess on the floor
With the best score and the rest of yours
They forge and they gourd and they hoard
Just a little bit more

No they’re not satisfied, no it’s not enough
Make mine bigger, pile it up to the rough
Over your head, I need more bread
Even my ego needs to be fed

It’s perfectly normal to not have morals
No more talented he want every morsel
Who is the mortal I see every morning?
With more than a little bit, he must be important
No I’m not surprised you want more fries
You want to be formally immortalized
Mortified at the borderline
Cause this moron got more than mine
I need more fees, I want more things
The mortgage is due and I need more green
To get more high, bye bye bye
I take it, I steal it, I get it with a lie
An eye for an eye, looking more wide
I need more room when I jump in the ride
There’s more than enough, more stuff I can hide
I need all mine’s in an endless supply

Supahero
Baby I’m your star, but you looking for a super hero
And Superman don’t fly no more cause he ain’t one with the people
He ain’t nowhere to be found, when he should be fighting evil

You make me whole It’s not the movies, but it fake the role
I try to take control for the sake of soul
But the only thing I get to do is scrape the bowl
When God made me, said “break the mold”
I put foot to the concrete and shake the road
I don’t have powers like a caped crusader
But I do have powers like an Ace invader
Back in the days he had so much flavor
He was so major to get you out of danger
Now you can’t find him, and he’s just a stranger
And if you did he’d probably give you the finger
Your hit channel’s evil on your channel changer
And your hero with a lifesaver threw you an anchor

I really don’t know what you thinking of
I can’t make it wet from underneath my glove
I can’t see through walls but I can see through you
You dress up the ball but that’s all you do
You fell for him, he didn’t fall for you
And just me is what I got to offer you
I don’t save the day, I just pave the way
In the city of Gotham where every day’s a day
I know it pays to play, but I ain’t playing
I ain’t laying my coat down; know what I’m saying?
You want lots of muscles and lots of green
But my hustle and bustle is my only thing
It ended all bad as my last song seems
You need a star in your life and not in your dreams

High Life
The legislation wants regulation
Want to interfere with my cultivation
My personal usage for meditation
And medication to help the patients
Cancer, asthma, emphysema
Back pains, migraines, grass is greener
Glaucoma, arthritis, epileptic seizures
Medicine man make me a believer
Cheech & Chong, “Reefer Madness”
“Half Baked,” “How High,” heal the masses
Light that, puff that, dump the ashes
Take two, take three, take four and pass it

Disconnected
Shoot for the moon, end up amongst the stars
Work hard, play hard, hard times, play your cards
Yeah make room, make a way, make my day
Make money, meet your maker, make a play
Run a lifetime for it, hon; what you gotta say?
Man I’m just so disconnected

Yeah do what you gotta do, say what you wanna say
Act like you wanna act, do that shit anyway
Think how you wanna think, play how you wanna play
Man I’m just so disconnected
Yeah love what you want to, claim what you wanna claim
Be who you wanna be, take a walk in the rain
Do it if it feels good, put an end to the pain

I been to the mountain top, I didn’t see a thing
Same view from the bottom, I didn’t see a change
Life’s got the same problems, only got me to blame

Caged Bird
Some birds don’t deserve to be caged
They gotta fly away and search for the waves
Bein locked up is worse than the grave
I live by the words on the page – I know

I jumped on the planet and I landed on both feet
Tippy-toed across the continent, on the dope beat
Settled in the mainland ghetto by the sand trap
Rocked to a handclap until I got my band back
Thoughts came thick in a ball of confusion
A wall of elusion it’s all so amusing
I laughed at the pain sometimes with a straight face
Just another hate case, you control your fate Ace!
Long walks down the lonely road turned path paved
Bask in the cascade, grey clouds circle me
Tuned to the channel so their energy will work on me

First flew the coop when they tried to cage a rocking bird
Looking for the truth in the booth when I serve
Never clip the wings if they seem a little out of touch
Let ‘em fly free please, don’t try to box ‘em up

I open a lot cause I smash it with brute force
Flew over the roof, headed North on a crash course
Eagle eyes spot ‘em all, groundhog peeking out
Sticking out against the whack world while they freaking out
Wasn’t supposed to go but I just didn’t wanna wait
Been had a ticket but the Chattanooga’s running late
Hate never had a lover good as I been to her
Couldn’t put an end to her, cause she got followers
Whole flock of spitters and swallowers, wow
Integrity didn’t have a home ’til I gave him one
Cozen and diamonds, God said say no more
Find a piece of mind like a needle in the haystack
Grind on the real on the playback, ready for the at-tack

Building my art from the parts that they overlooked
Fuse lit from the last match in the book
Stand in adrenaline, pumped through the reservoir
Plucked out the air cause he didn’t sit duck
Pretty as the peacock who can’t even leave the ground
Let the heart glide on, don’t buy the muck

Solomon Jones
Then all of a sudden the music changed and everyone just held their post
But it felt like a life had been robbed from you, and everything that you held close
That someone has stolen the women you love and that her love was a devil’s lie
That your heart was gone and the best thing that you could do is crawl away and die
It’s the painful cry of a man’s despair deep down in his bones
I guess misery enjoys company, said big bad Solomon Jones

Junior
But why kill off the goose if you making a grip?
And why kill off the captain if you run a good ship?
Some people are strong, some people are weak
Others are smart, but still don’t got a stomach for the streets

Four years later Junior got him a nice stack
Compared to what he used to have, now he got twice that
When beef was at his door, he decided to ice that
Not knowing more and more he was caught in the mice trap
He wanted to fight back, but who could he tell?
The lesser of two the evils would just put him in a cell
Everybody around knew that Junior was frail
Be he didn’t, he must’ve made it, all he need was a scale
One hundred and twenty thousand in cold hard cash
A stash, a gun blast, and don’t even ask
You get beat by the only one thing that could beat you
Defeat you, cheat you, the streets will eat you
Jealousy and envy make a person deceitful
Then you add greed to it, combination is lethal
But it’s short life knowing that it won’t be a sequel
Sometimes bad things just happen to good people

Heaven
Give us this day my daily bread me up
They led me up to the pearly gates and I said what’s up
Then the gates shut, now I’m stuck
Rotting in a stinking hole, three hundred months
Then the devil turned to me and said it’s me you want
I can give you all the power over anyone
Put it this way, you want new life I’ll give you one
Have faith in me, I’m only being genuine
I contemplated: Could it be he ran the planet?
Or was he banished, and blood dripped from his bandage?
It’s outlandish, I still didn’t overstand it
I took a long look in his eyes and he vanished

Heavenly bodies lined up at the gate
Wind up in purgatory, story of your own fate
Not one person dressed in white
It’s a curse of plight, rest of life, burst of death, burst of light
As the lost angels descended down to the ground
Form a mist of clouds, standing amongst the foul
It’s more than trial, it’s universal order now
The borders crowd, the souls are sorted out somehow
I hear the violins, and said let’s try again
And to decide again I looked into his eye again
And he was frying in the pit that he was lying in
I held my head down, said I didn’t want to die again

Here & Now
She said, son, your Uzi weights a ton
The world for you has just begun
Now go out there and have some fun
But don’t abuse time on earth cause time is worth more than gold
The here is here and the now is now and the world is hella cold
So off onto the street I strolled
I think I was supposed to take your head as far as I was told
It’s a shake shake of the dice
To take take my advice
You dealing with snakes and mice
That means you can’t win but loose
And I never had trouble choosing just when I’m gonna use ‘em
If it ain’t worth doing now it ain’t worth doing at all
I ain’t bullshitting with ya’ll

Well here I am, here I stand, here I be
Behind this mic trying to set my life free
Let my shit be testimony of the D
Who’s seen sights that other people just couldn’t see
They say “where you wanna do it?” I say here
They say “when you wanna do it?” I say now, they say how
I say with my style, one of the few things that I got in this world
My family, a couple friends, my beautiful baby girl
And procrastination, lack of motivation in your operation
I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the patience
You’ll never get a second chance to dance
While you sit on your hands, we spit out the jams for the fans
And I’m so far advanced, I had to bring it back some
And I said fuck it, let’s take it to the maximum
Like walking with your legs broken
Mic’s smoking, arms dragging
Staggering and laughing
Here and now, I don’t cry later I’ll put it down now; I don’t want to try later
I seize the time and ease from behind
I freeze frame the game for the grind
I came for your mind
Not for the fame, but the deaf, dumb and blind
Cause everybody’s going to get just what come to them
Find your god and run to him

I wanna talk now; no you can’t call me back
You’re too anxious, yeah you can call me that
I wanna eat now, cause there’s the food right there
No I can’t wait, I just want my fair share
So where to fool that calls all the shots at?
Patience is a virtue; yeah, man I got that
But my clock reads half past a monkey’s ass
And it’s pointed to his balls and it’s moving fast
I just wish some people wouldn’t dick around
Cause I want it here and now; I can’t stick around

A Beautiful Mine
Didn’t hear a sound til the first tree grew and fell
Def to the oceans’ swell, washed up a miracle
A beautiful yours, a beautiful mines
By the grace of fire out sprouts the lamb
Fan the desire footprints in the sand
Top of the mountain peak man speaks to himself
Closer to the mother star, what he felt
Can’t be described, it’s alive, rise with the tide
Communicate with all sides, nothing wants to die
Build a nest, build a bridge, build a tower
Construct a dam, dig a hole, build a flower

They opened up the brain and opened up the heart
What is man made of? Love from the dark
The will to invent the wheel, work the field
The shield, the intent to kill, the uphill
Battle of existence, matter of persistence
Matter of distance to search for the mystics
Finder of lost souls, future of apostles
The mind’s so colossal
A beautiful mind, a beautiful mind
A beautiful idea, one that was right here
Blind to the naked eye, tied to a fear
Once it was nothing, now it is here

A beautiful mind put fruit on the vine
At the same time he made love a crime
Bellowed out the screams of all mankind
Walked on the side of you and you was left behind
Purified the waters, carved the canyons
Fed the families when they was starved and famine
Drew the blueprints so everybody had a chance
Organized the people and made men advance
A beautiful yours, a beautiful mines
Something out of nothing, oh what a far cry
More than a hard try, pointed out the star guide
Made love, made hate
Saved sake; nothing left to crave but fate