In 1998, Large Punisher famously rhymed “It’s bound to happen like Latins goin’ Platinum.” However earlier than Pun might hit the Platinum mark with Capital Punishment, somebody needed to declare the Gold first, and the primary Latino MC to realize that accolade was Mellow Man Ace, an MC broadly thought to be the Godfather Of Latin Hip-Hop.
Hearken to Mellow Man Ace right here.
Latinos have pioneered and supported hip-hop tradition and rap music from its inception, however they haven’t all the time gotten the respect they rightfully deserve. Whether or not it’s pioneering graf writers like JULIO 204 or LEE; b-boys like Jojo, Jimmy Lee, Spy and Loopy Legs; DJ’s like Disco Wiz and Charlie Chase; or MCs like Rubie Dee, Prince Whipper Whip, Devastating Tito, and PESO; the presence of Latinos in hip-hop and their contributions are plain.
The primary Latin rap crew that rhymed each in English and Spanish was The Imply Machine, whose 1981 12” “Disco Dream” was launched on Sugar Hill Data, adopted shortly afterwards by Spanish Fly & The Horrible Two’s “Spanglish” on Take pleasure in Data. A younger man named Ulpiano Sergio Reyes was listening: “In 1979 I heard ‘Rapper’s Delight,’ then Kurtis Blow’s ‘The Breaks,’” explains the person who finally turned Mellow Man Ace. “Then in 1981, I heard a song by a group called Mean Machine.” Listening to MCs rhyming in his native Spanish and English made fairly the impression, however in his phrases, “I was hooked when the first hip-hop film Wild Style came out.”
Mellow Man Ace got here to America as a baby from Cuba, and grew up a fan of rap and hip-hop tradition. He was already writing rhymes by the age of 15. In 1985, he started rocking home events and highschool dances in California, and gained a status that led to performances at ASCAP and showcases held by Los Angeles’ iconic hip-hop radio station KDAY the next 12 months. He later joined DVX along with his brother Sen, his buddy B-Actual, and their DJ Grandmixer Muggs earlier than going solo in 1987. (The remaining group members would go on to type Cypress Hill.)
Shortly after Ace went solo, Muggs invited him to one in every of his studio periods with the group 7A3. It was right here Ace first met Mike Ross and Matt Dike, house owners of Scrumptious Vinyl Data and a manufacturing workforce collectively often called The Mud Brothers. “They really felt my style after kicking some bars to them. That led them to invite me back the next day. Eventually, they offered me my first deal,” Ace explains.
Mellow Man Ace launched his debut single “Do This” again in 1987. The A-side featured Mellow rhyming in English, and the B-side his rhymes in Spanish, with Muggs doing the cuts. The concept was to showcase how good Ace was in each languages, permitting listeners to simply evaluate each the English and Spanish variations. The music had a direct impression with followers, and Scrumptious Vinyl staged a sponsored present at San Diego College the place Ace’s bilingual rhymes impressed Capitol Data A&R Kenny Ortiz.
Ace clearly had the potential to bridge two rap audiences and doable crossover enchantment, main Scrumptious Vinyl to supply him a solo deal by means of Capitol. Work commenced on his debut album, Escape From Havana, with a proficient crew of producers, together with The Mud Brothers, Tony G of the KDAY Mixmasters, Grandmixer Muggs, Johnny Rivers, and Def Jef.
“Rhyme Fighter” led Escape From Havana’s 1989 launch, with an advert promising “this bilingual rapper will knock you out with his new single and video” within the September sixteenth, 1989 difficulty of Billboard. Two weeks later, Escape From Havana debuted at No. 88 on High Black Albums, and “Rhyme Fighter” broke into the Sizzling Rap Singles chart at No. 24 in October. The album steadily rose up the charts as the one obtained increasingly airplay on radio, Yo! MTV Raps, and BET’s new program Rap Metropolis.
“Rhyme Fighter” stayed on the Billboard Sizzling Rap Singles chart for 13 weeks, powered by the B-side – dubbed the Spanish Fly Facet – which contained the Spanish model of his 1987 Scrumptious Vinyl launch “Do This,” now re-titled “Mas Pingon,” and the bilingual music “En La Casa,” his collaboration with Def Jef. Mellow Man Ace’s preliminary run on the High Black Albums chart ended at 11 consecutive weeks on December ninth, 1989.
In early March 1990, the second single from Escape From Havana was launched. “Mentirosa” sampled a basic Santana tune and informed the story, in each Spanish and English, of a person confronting his dishonest girlfriend. The music turned common not solely on the Rap charts, but it surely crossed over into the Sizzling 100 on Could twelfth, 1990 at No. 88. The following week, “Mentirosa” started an 18 week run on the Sizzling Rap Singles chart.
On June ninth, 1990, “Mentirosa” entered the High 40 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, a primary for a Latino rapper. Pushed by the one’s success, Escape From Havana re-entered the High Black Albums chart and began to climb the High Pop Albums chart as nicely. The LP would find yourself spending 29 straight weeks on the High Black Albums chart, lastly dropping off over a 12 months after its preliminary launch.
“Mentirosa” was RIAA licensed Gold on July thirteenth, 1990, and the following day it was the sixth best-selling single within the nation. The music’s success made Mellow Man Ace an inspiration to a brand new technology of Latin MCs, the identical approach Imply Machine did for him practically a decade earlier than. Proper after “Mentirosa” started blowing up, for example, it opened up a path for Child Frost’s “La Raza” to turn into a crossover Sizzling 100 hit and crack the highest 10 on the Sizzling Rap Singles chart in September 1990.
A number of different Latino MCs and teams obtained signed to main document offers, and made noise in subsequent years, like Powerule, Cypress Hill, ALT & The Misplaced Civilization, Lighter Shade Of Brown, Fats Joe, The Beatnuts, Kurious, Correct Dos, Funkdoobiest, Mesanjarz Of Funk, Tha Mexakinz, Foremost One, Artwork Of Origin, and Jaz B. Latin amongst others. When requested to replicate on his place within the tradition, Mellow Man Ace says, “I feel very humble yet very proud to have been able to add on to hip-hop because this culture has given me so much in return. I will forever be grateful.” Def Jef provides, “Mel put it down in a major way. He is, no question, a pioneer and has earned his place.”
This piece was initially printed in September 2020. We’re re-publishing it immediately in celebration of Mellow Man Ace’s birthday. The article is a part of Black Music Reframed, an editorial collection on uDiscover Music that seeks to encourage a unique lens, a wider lens, a brand new lens, when contemplating Black music; one not outlined by style parameters or labels, however by the creators. Gross sales and charts and firsts and rarities are necessary. However artists, music, and moments that form tradition aren’t all the time best-sellers, chart-toppers, or fast successes. This collection, which facilities Black writers writing about Black music, takes a brand new take a look at music and moments which have beforehand both been missed or not had their tales informed with the right context.
