All Balls Don't Bounce
Encyclopedia
All Balls Don't Bounce is the debut solo album by Los Angeles
rapper Aceyalone
. It was released in October 1995 on Capitol Records
, and was produced by The Nonce, Punish, Vic Hop, Chillin Villin Empire, Mumbles and Fat Jack. The album followed the break-up of Aceyalone's former group, Freestyle Fellowship
, who parted ways after the release of their influential 1993 album Innercity Griots
.
Acey's standout performance on Innercity Griots landed him a solo deal with Capitol, but, due to the album's unspectacular sales, the rapper was dropped from the label after releasing only one album. All Balls was left out of print for a number of years, until being re-released on February 24, 2004 on Project Blowed Records
. All Balls Don't Bounce Revisited featured a bonus disc with fourteen rare songs, including a number of remixes and previously unreleased tracks.
, he instead focused on innovative lyricism, crafting tracks with detailed storytelling and extreme braggadocio. While the majority of the album is a solo showcase, Aceyalone recruited a close group of emcees for guest appearances, which are provided by Freestyle Fellowship members Mikah 9 and P.E.A.C.E., Change of Rhythm and Abstract Rude
. Aceyalone, Mikah 9 and Abstract Rude would later form the trio Haiku D'Etat
.
underground scene, the album was praised, almost solely, for its highly literate and creative lyricism. Though not commercially successful, All Balls received rave reviews from many sources. Allmusic gave the album a perfect 5 star rating, and writer Steve Huey stated:
The sparse beats were seemingly outshined by the lyrics. Allmusic describes; "The production on All Balls Don't Bounce is solid if unspectacular, usually spare and jazzy, with lots of piano/keyboard samples and some fitting nods to the abstract side of hard bop. If it's occasionally geared to spotlight the lyrics, that's only logical."
The production work also received some acclaim. RapReviews.com writer Steve Juon stated in his album review; "The production is as diverse as Acey's rap, with everyone from Punish to Vic Hop to Mumbles and Fat Jack handling the duties. While the styles range from the slow snapping poetry slam jazz of "Makeba" to the upliftingly fluid harmonies of "Keep it True" featuring Abstract Rude & Change of Rhythm, each beat feels perfectly chosen for the impact of Acey's verbals to be amplified beyond the limits that had previously been conceived for hip-hop."http://rapreviews.com/archive/2004_08_allballs.html Writing for The Austin Chronicle in November 1995, Rashied Gabriel thought that the album's production and Aceylone's "various styles" worked to complementary effect. He went on to label All Balls Don't Bounce "a sureshot record", and felt that it delivered "verbal calisthenics that astound with fresh insight as well as lyrical wizardry."
singles chart. Music videos were shot for the tracks "Mic Check", "Knownots" and "I Think", which were all included as enhanced features on All Balls Don't Bounce Revisited.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
rapper Aceyalone
Aceyalone
Eddie Hayes, better known by his stage name Aceyalone, is an American rapper.He is a founding member of the Freestyle Fellowship. Apart from his role in Freestyle Fellowship, Aceyalone is also a member of Haiku D'Etat and The A-Team , and he is a co-founder of Project Blowed.After releasing a...
. It was released in October 1995 on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, and was produced by The Nonce, Punish, Vic Hop, Chillin Villin Empire, Mumbles and Fat Jack. The album followed the break-up of Aceyalone's former group, Freestyle Fellowship
Freestyle Fellowship
Freestyle Fellowship are a rap group from Los Angeles consisting of rappers Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., Self Jupiter and producer J Sumbi...
, who parted ways after the release of their influential 1993 album Innercity Griots
Innercity Griots
-Personnel:Information taken from Allmusic.*arranging – Edman, JMD, Kevin O'Neal*bass – Robert Harris, JMD, Kevin O'Neal, Christy Smith, Alfred Threats*bass – Kevin O'Neal, Christy Smith*drums – Robert Harris, JMD...
.
Acey's standout performance on Innercity Griots landed him a solo deal with Capitol, but, due to the album's unspectacular sales, the rapper was dropped from the label after releasing only one album. All Balls was left out of print for a number of years, until being re-released on February 24, 2004 on Project Blowed Records
Project Blowed
Project Blowed refers to an open-mic workshop, its affiliated hip hop crew, and the two compilation albums released by that collective. The Leimert Park workshop is the longest running open-mic for Hip-Hop in the world.-The Good Life:...
. All Balls Don't Bounce Revisited featured a bonus disc with fourteen rare songs, including a number of remixes and previously unreleased tracks.
Background
Aceyalone's lyrical performance on All Balls established him as one of the more popular underground rappers in Los Angeles. At a time most California Hip Hop artists were focusing on pessimistic Gangsta rapGangsta rap
Gangsta Rap is a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths. Lyrics in gangsta rap have varied from accurate reflections to fictionalized accounts. Gangsta is a non-rhotic pronunciation of the word...
, he instead focused on innovative lyricism, crafting tracks with detailed storytelling and extreme braggadocio. While the majority of the album is a solo showcase, Aceyalone recruited a close group of emcees for guest appearances, which are provided by Freestyle Fellowship members Mikah 9 and P.E.A.C.E., Change of Rhythm and Abstract Rude
Abstract Rude
Abstract Rude is an American rapper, from Los Angeles, CA. He is the MC for the hip hop group Abstract Tribe Unique , alongside dancers Zulu Butterfly Prince and Irie Lion Locks, Turntablist DJ Drez, and Underground Hip Hop producer, Fat Jack...
. Aceyalone, Mikah 9 and Abstract Rude would later form the trio Haiku D'Etat
Haiku D'Etat
Haiku D'Etat is a hip hop supergroup trio consisting of Aceyalone & Myka 9 of the Freestyle Fellowship, and Abstract Rude, the leader of Abstract Tribe Unique . Abstract Rude previously worked with Aceyalone as the A-Team. All three artists are heavily affiliated with the Project Blowed, group...
.
Critical reception
Highly acclaimed and influential over the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
underground scene, the album was praised, almost solely, for its highly literate and creative lyricism. Though not commercially successful, All Balls received rave reviews from many sources. Allmusic gave the album a perfect 5 star rating, and writer Steve Huey stated:
A spectacular lyrical milestone, All Balls was overlooked at the time, and later slipped quietly out of print. Which is extremely unfortunate, since Aceyalone is one of the greatest lyricists the West Coast has ever produced, twisting his fluid rhymes around and off the beat with the improvisational assurance of Rakim. What's more, his subject matter goes beyond the battle rhymes that most mike virtuosos hone their technique with. He's cerebral and philosophical, yet bursting with confidence at the same time, which lends a definite sense of excitement to his literate wordplay. His lyrics aren't just long strings of ten-cent words — they're an important part of the songs' rhythmic drive, and he knows when to leave empty space in his lines to keep the groove flowing smoothly.
The sparse beats were seemingly outshined by the lyrics. Allmusic describes; "The production on All Balls Don't Bounce is solid if unspectacular, usually spare and jazzy, with lots of piano/keyboard samples and some fitting nods to the abstract side of hard bop. If it's occasionally geared to spotlight the lyrics, that's only logical."
The production work also received some acclaim. RapReviews.com writer Steve Juon stated in his album review; "The production is as diverse as Acey's rap, with everyone from Punish to Vic Hop to Mumbles and Fat Jack handling the duties. While the styles range from the slow snapping poetry slam jazz of "Makeba" to the upliftingly fluid harmonies of "Keep it True" featuring Abstract Rude & Change of Rhythm, each beat feels perfectly chosen for the impact of Acey's verbals to be amplified beyond the limits that had previously been conceived for hip-hop."http://rapreviews.com/archive/2004_08_allballs.html Writing for The Austin Chronicle in November 1995, Rashied Gabriel thought that the album's production and Aceylone's "various styles" worked to complementary effect. He went on to label All Balls Don't Bounce "a sureshot record", and felt that it delivered "verbal calisthenics that astound with fresh insight as well as lyrical wizardry."
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) | Sample(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "All Balls" | The Nonce | Aceyalone | *"Too Blue" by Stanley Turrentine Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine, also known as "Mr. T" or "The Sugar Man", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Turrentine was born in Pittsburgh's Hill District into a musical family... |
| 2 | "Anywhere You Go" | Punish | Aceyalone | |
| 3 | "Deep and Wide" | Vic Hop | Aceyalone, Abstract Rude | *"It Happens Everyday" by Hubert Laws Hubert Laws Hubert Laws is an American flutist and saxophonist with a 40+ year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Alongside Herbie Mann, Laws is probably the most recognized and respected jazz flutist... |
| 4 | "Mr. Outsider" | The Nonce | Aceyalone | |
| 5 | "Annalillia?" | The Nonce | Aceyalone | |
| 6 | "Knownots" | Vic Hop | Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Mikah 9 | |
| 7 | "Arhythamaticulas" | Chillin Villin Empire | Aceyalone | |
| 8 | "The Greatest Show on Earth" | Mumbles | Aceyalone | *"Mongoose" by Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory was a New York band, most notable for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono during 1972 on a pair of albums, and a handful of TV and live appearances, including the John Lennon "One To One Concert", with two performances the 30th of August 1972 to benefit the Willowbrook School for... |
| 9 | "Mic Check" | Vic Hop | Aceyalone | |
| 10 | "Call it Cali" | Punish | *Instrumental* | |
| 11 | "Headaches and Woes" | Punish | Aceyalone | |
| 12 | "I Think" | Aceyalone | Aceyalone | *"Wild Horses" by John Hammond |
| 13 | "Makeba" | Mumbles | Aceyalone | *"In The Silence" by Michael Howell |
| 14 | "B-Boy Kingdom" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Mikah 9, P.E.A.C.E. | *"I Can't Help It" by Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records... |
| 15 | "Keep it True" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Change of Rhythm |
Bonus disc
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "All Balls Intro" | The Nonce | Aceyalone |
| 2 | "Universal Soldier" | Riddlore, Fish, C.V.E. | Aceyalone |
| 3 | "Headaches and Woes Intro" | Aceyalone | *Interlude* |
| 4 | "Headaches and Woes (Remix)" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone |
| 5 | "The Greatest Show on Earth (Remix)" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone |
| 6 | "The Greatest Show on Earth (Remix)" | Bar 9 | Aceyalone |
| 7 | "Mic Check (Remix)" | Kemo | Aceyalone |
| 8 | "Show Your Right" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone |
| 9 | "The Nobodys" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone |
| 10 | "They Don't Know" | Underground Railroad | Aceyalone |
| 11 | "Feet Up on the Table" | DJ Homicide | Aceyalone, Riddlore, Vic Hop, Ellay Khule, NGA Fish, Mark the Murderah, Abstract Rude |
| 12 | "TweakendZ" | Vic Hop, Aceyalone | Aceyalone |
| 13 | "I Dream" | O-Roc, Aceyalone | Aceyalone |
| 14 | "Believe in Your Self" | Fat Jack | Aceyalone |
Singles
The album produced two singles, "Mic Check" and "The Greatest Show on Earth". Both singles were commercially unsuccessful, failing to reach any BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
singles chart. Music videos were shot for the tracks "Mic Check", "Knownots" and "I Think", which were all included as enhanced features on All Balls Don't Bounce Revisited.
| Single information |
|---|
"Mic Check"
|
| "The Greatest Show on Earth"
|