Masta Ace & Marco Polo: The 'P.P.E.' music video is the heartbeat of the city
Just to be clear? When I say ‘The City’ I’m not talking about The Warriors - unless we’re talking about those Coney Island ones. Rap veteran Masta Ace and Marco Polo teaming up for their ‘P.P.E.’ music video? Tough.
Just to be clear? When I say ‘The City’ I’m not talking about The Warriors - unless we’re talking about those Coney Island ones. Rap veteran Masta Ace and Marco Polo teaming up for their ‘P.P.E.’ music video? Tough.
It’s all types of New York City vibes and it hits way different than what you’re used to. Tap in.
Masta Ace & Marco Polo: It's a deep dive into luxury Culture in 'Jordan Theory'
If there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to Masta Ace? How about thought-provoking lines and rhymes? The hip-hop veteran teams with Marco Polo for their ‘Jordan Theory’ music video.
If there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to Masta Ace? How about thought-provoking lines and rhymes? The hip-hop veteran teams with Marco Polo for their ‘Jordan Theory’ music video.
It’s Jordan Brand gear all over the place and hard-hitting moments from start to finish. Tap in.
A respected rapper for over 35 years, few artists are better equipped to analyze how materialism intersects with hip-hop culture than Masta Ace. Armed with a head-nodding instrumental from his running mate Marco Polo, Ace examines the allure of unattainable luxury items in "JordanTheory," his new music video from Ace & Polo's new album Richmond Hill.
Over Marco's speaker-knocking bounce, defined by a circular keyboard riff and gently swinging drums, Ace explains how childhood poverty, and the material limitations placed by mom and dad, can influence imprudent financial decisions. Nimbly navigating the beat, Ace discusses how luxury-living rappers set an aspirational ideal that is impossible for regular folks to live up to: "Now everybody like 'wow, look what he got'/Brand new colorway, them ain't Reebok/Them sh*ts cost like three months rent/And his ex-girl knows what he once spent."
Directed by J Anders Urmacher, the video dramatizes Ace's lyrics with aplomb, depositing items like Jordan sneakers, Rolex watches, and more into display cases in a sterile museum room–in cases marked with the warning, "please do not touch." As he explores the wares, Ace reminisces about his childhood, with Marco Polo portraying the aggressive salesman at Foot Locker, coveting expensive shoes (which Ace notes have risen in price many times over in the ensuing decades), and contemplates his mistakes in his (literal) shoebox apartment. The video ends with a reminder of the fragile class politics that prop up the entire capitalistic enterprise: the Jordans are bathed in a heavenly light, while the fluorescents in the exhibit flicker and die.
"Jordan Theory" is a highlight from Masta Ace & Marco Polo's brand new album Richmond Hill, a full-length collaboration about how hip-hop can change a life. Following up their acclaimed 2018 album A Bruekelen Story, the 18-track (including skits) Richmond Hill is a cinematic journey that explores how the past echoes through the present. Welcoming guest appearances from notable names from all eras of rap history, including Inspectah Deck, Coast Contra, Blu, Che Noir, Speech of Arrested Development, Masta Ace's longtime collaborators Stricklin and Wordsworth, and many more, Richmond Hill is available to stream on all digital platforms and to purchase on vinyl via Fat Beats.
Home to the single, "Life Music" ft. Speech (of Arrested Development), Stricklin, and E Smitty, which dropped late in 2023 and arrived with a music video directed by Parris Stewart, Richmond Hill is another essential chapter in the career of the decorated rapper and Juno Award nominated producer.
Watch "Jordan Theory": https://youtu.be/ygVz6Gft8ys
Stream Richmond Hill & buy it on Vinyl: https://fatbeats.lnk.to/richmond-hill
Buy Richmond Hill on vinyl: https://www.fatbeats.com/products/masta-ace-marco-polo-richmond-hill
Richmond Hill tracklist:
December 26th (skit)
Brooklyn Heights
Certified ft. Coast Contra
Cartunes (skit)
Hero ft. Inspectah Deck
Life Music ft. Stricklin, E Smitty & Speech (Arrested Development)
Below The Clouds ft. Blu
St. Roberts (skit)
Heat Of The Moment ft. Pav Bundy
Jordan Theory
Money Problems ft. Che Noir
Scarborough (skit)
P.P.E.
Outside In ft. C-Red & E Smitty
Connections
Plant Based
December 25th (skit)
All I Want ft. Wordsworth
Torae & Marco Polo: Of course 'The Return' is all types of nostalgia with Blockbuster and Super Nintendo flashbacks
You know the vibes when Torae and Marco Polo link up and it’s the case in their new ‘The Return’ music video. With a full-fledged Midnight Run album now available for everyone’s streaming goals, it’s all about getting the cameras rolling on this visual gem.
You know the vibes when Torae and Marco Polo link up and it’s the case in their new ‘The Return’ music video. With a full-fledged Midnight Run album now available for everyone’s streaming goals, it’s all about getting the cameras rolling on this visual gem.
It’s all eyes on Torae on the bars and Polo delivering for the culture with the production. Get caught up in the nitty, gritty New York vibes.
Torae & Marco Polo taks their fans back to a much simpler time of video games without microtransactions in every mode and when streaming platforms weren’t a thing with their video for “The Return.”
The opening verse reflects on Torae’s and Marco’s first project together in Double Barrel along with how Torae challenges emcees. In the video, Marco & Torae watch the news and see that Blockbuster is going out of business. Marco finds a video game from there and realizes they have to return it to Blockbuster. Torae suggests they play the game one last time before returning it. The visual has both of them as players in the 64-bit Miami Vice-inspired hue video game driving cars at midnight.
“The Return” is one of the singles from their upcoming album, Midnight Run, which will be on streaming platforms tomorrow September 22, 2023.
Follow the duo on Instagram: @torae & @marcopolobeats