Ace Hood Album: “Ruthless”

This album is actually good. Ace talks about the struggles he had to overcome to make it to the top, He doenst only speak about selling drugs like most rappers do but speak about other things as well. Favorite tracks are "Overtime" and "ChampioN" which are very motovative songs. I think Gutta was better but this album is not too far behind, Ace Hood fans should go cop it, and if you're not a fan....you will be after listening to this album. ACEE HOOOD!!!

The cd isnot bad but it's no different than his debut he shows no growth and every track seems to have the same flow and vibe making it pretty boring. I like ACE and I picked his cd up anyway and I must say Maino's came out today also and his cd runs circles around this cd.

(I tell you, I should have a job making better album titles lol)

Anyway, Ace Hood from Florida comes out with his second album, Ruthless. I really never checked for this Ace before when he came out with his first album

, probably because I can never stand DJ Khaled (luckily he doesn't appear on this album). Top that off by never heard a song by him before. So pretty much this was a blind purchase, which came out for the better. Ace Hood's flow is pretty much on point as he rides the beats on this album. Lyrically, of course he doesn't break any new ground, and pretty much at this point now, I really don't expect any rapper to anymore.

Well enough, he does has some songs that standout. A favorite of mine is "Born An OG" with Ludacris, as both artists go hard. "Get Money" featuring Rick Ross is pretty good too (I see Ross has improved a lot since he first came out, check out

). Other notable songs on this album are "Overtime" with Akon and T-Pain, "Wifey Material" with Lloyd, and "Don't Get Caught Slippin'".

Like I said earlier, the bad about this album is that lyrically, Ace Hood still has room to improve. Most of these songs on the album, he really doesn't say anything new. He's the kind of artist who just reps himself. Really theres nothing wrong with that, but it gets kind of stale through most of the album.

Even so, Ace Hood avoids the "sophomore jinx". This is the kind of album that is well put together to bump in the ride with your friends. Is this an innovative album? No. Does this push any lyrical barriers? No. Will Ace Hood we remembered 10 years down the road? Only time will tell. But did he drop a good album for the summer? Yes. Definately worth a purchase to ride for the summer. Peace.

Lyrics: B

Production: A-

Guest Appearances: B+

Musical Vibes: A-

Top 5 Tracks:

1. Born An OG (featuring Ludacris)

2. Don't Get Caught Slippin

3. Overtime (featuring Akon and T-Pain)

4. Get Money (featuring Rick Ross)

5. Wifey Material (featuring Lloyd)

Honorable Mention:

1. Make A Toast

2. Champion (featuring Jazmine Sullivan and Rick Ross)

I wasn't sure I would like this CD although there was a couple of songs that I liked being played on Sirius Hip Hop station. I looked to download only the couple of songs that I heard but then I saw the cost of the album at the time was only a few dollars more so I went for it. I am not over the top in love with it but I am glad that I got it. Track 6 shows a different side to the CD as well as # 5. Track 7 is the one I like to blast when playing.

I have seen far too much hate being thrown at Ace Hood the past couple days...and year for that matter. I'll list the problems I've heard people say and I'll address them one by one.

1. All he raps about is money.

Answer: Yes, to an extent. Let me just say that if you are not broke and have never been broke, Ace Hood is not for you because you have no prayer of understanding his music. His music is about coming from nothing and fighting as hard as you can to be everything you want to be. DJ Khaled said he liked the starvation in Ace's music and that's exactly what Gutta and Ruthless is about. Not only is he still motivated to keep grinding to be successful, but his music is meant to inspire his listeners to do whatever they can to succeed and accomplish their dreams.

2. Simple lyrics.

Answer: Two words: Young Jeezy. No one else can fill 4 minutes with 4 bars worth of words, BUT if you really pay attention, neither Ace or Jeezy fails to get their point across. In this world, which only cares about numbers, from school credits, to hours worked, to money in the bank, to GPA, to your credit score, Making It Is Everything and that's what Ace Hood is about.

3. Quality of Music.

Answer: I haven't heard this brought up that much, but this album is produced mostly by The Runners, The InKredibles, Cool & Dre, and DJ Nasty, which are all very utilized producers in the southern rap scene today. The fact is, that if your head doesn't at least nod to this music, then not only is Southern Rap not for you, but you probably shouldn't even be in the genre.

...and finally consider this: People consider Ace's flow to be too raw, too much yelling, and so on. Well unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you have heard Jay-Z's Death Of Autotune, where he is basically saying that rappers need to be more gangster, more hardcore, more raw, and less melodic. This single, and Jay, are both wildly popular, so there is a definite contradiction if you like Jigga and D.O.A., but don't dig Ace Hood.