Aceyalone

Aceyalone’s status as a West Coast rhyme pioneer and as part of the Freestyle Fellowship is assured. Yet as his last effort Accepted Eclectic confirmed his recorded output as a solo artist is a little spotty. Ever since he dropped A Book of Human Language to underground acclaim back in ’98 it seems that Acey’s been trying to reconcile the experimental and straight-up party tracks. Accepted Eclectic, his 2000 release fell short in this department and unfortunately for him, Love and Hate falls into similar traps. While the Run DMC influence on the bombastic "Find Out” and the butter smooth "The Saga Continues” with A Team associate Abstract Rude are tracks worthy of your attention, there’s too much material that doesn’t reach its potential around. Disappointing collaborations with Casual and El-P and RJD2 on the boards undermine Aceyalone’s game efforts on the mic. There are a few gems amongst this release, but it speaks volumes when the bonus previously released cut "Ms. Amerikkka” is better than most of the official album.