Disposable Arts
It's tempting to dismiss this album as another failed comeback by an '80s pioneer, yet Masta Ace stays one step ahead of irrelevance. True, there's an endless string of weaknesses, starting with at least 20 minutes of filler. Even worse, Ace sounds like an Eminem clone as he tries to update a flow unused for the better half of the '90s. It's only when he returns to his rapping roots thatDisposable Artsis saved from meltdown.The most impressive songs here find Ace doing what he does best: analyzing himself, hip-hop and the greater world around him. "Take a Walk" is yet another ode to Brooklyn, the inspiration behind many of Ace's better cuts, while "Dear Diary" is an impressively self-critical reflection on Ace's own limitations (even if it bites heavily from Slim Shady's "Stan"). Likewise, the LP's closer, "No Regrets," finds Ace flashing back over a decade-plus career with all its high and lowlights. The album's true winner is "Hold U," which invokes the common metaphor of the microphone as a woman/lover, but Ace, along with a strong cameo from Jean Grae, pulls it off by sticking to the basics - intelligent, heartfelt lyricism, the mainstay of Ace's long career.These songs, too short in supply, remain the album's saving grace because unlike so many of his colleagues, Ace isn't blinded by the light of his own ego. Compared to their blustery attitudes, Masta Ace's down-to-earth introspection preventsDisposable Artsfrom being disposable itself.Oliver Wang--From URB Magazine