Classics: Masta Ace - A Long Hot Summer (2004)

In this new series of posts I will cover basically classic albums that should have had a big influence and a lot of success but for some reason they just stayed mostly underground.
The first album in this series is from Brooklyn based rapper Masta Ace and is called "A Long Hot Summer".

It was released in 2004 and it's not Ace's first album, but it's his best in my opinion.
As some of his other albums this one is a concept album and it is about an underground rapper spending most of his time in the Brooklyn streets, but he eventually starts touring with his very funny manager Fats Belvedere. This is also the reason why the album contains a couple of skits that give more atmosphere to the story.
The reason this album should have been more successful is quite simple: great beats and clever lyrics. It has some weaker moments too but the highlights overweigh them and it's atmospheric beyond belief. It feels more like you're reading a book or watching a movie with a good soundtrack.
It's kind of unbelievable that this was released just 7 years ago, it sounds like an album from the 90s, basically from the golden times of hip hop. You listen to this and compare to most of the garbage that is around today. Masta Ace should have gotten way more recognition for this, he didn't really reinvent hip hop here but managed to capture it's essence and he even went a bit further because the lyrics seem to be very personal, which is rare these days(forget the fake shit you hear nowadays). Masta Ace still stays mostly underground but he sure as hell has his dedicated fanbase.
Check out some of the greatest tracks from this album below (imagine this on vinyl though, the youtube vids don't do it justice):
Masta Ace - Beautiful

Masta Ace - Good Ol' Love

Masta Ace - Da Grind