Masta Ace & Marco Polo feat. Stricklin, Speech, & E Smitty “Life Music” (Video)

Masta Ace & Marco Polo feat. Stricklin, Speech, & E Smitty "Life Music" (Video)

Masta Ace and Marco Polo announce their 2024 album, ‘Richmond Hill’, plus share their life-affirming lead single and music video for “Life Music”.

Acclaimed rap veterans Masta Ace and Marco Polo transform personal stories into universal sentiments using just their beats and rhymes.

Today, the Brooklyn rapper and the Canadian producer announce ‘Richmond Hill’, their upcoming collaborative album.

Coming to you via Fat Beats, ‘Richmond Hill’ is available on vinyl and all digital platforms on January 26th, and is currently available for pre-order.

The follow-up up their acclaimed 2018 album ‘A Bruekelen Story’, which focused on Marco Polo’s life in the big city and his attempts to get into the rap game, ‘Richmond Hill’ is inspired by Marco’s childhood in the titular neighborhood, a small town in Ontario, just outside of Toronto.

Between interstitials about Marco’s passion for hip-hop and cartoons, his struggle with addiction, and the support of his parents, Marco Polo and Masta Ace tackle the issues of the day head-on with clarity, the rapper using his decades-worth of rapping experience to slice through the producer’s warm soul samples and crisp percussion.

A cinematic journey that explores how the past echoes through the present, the album welcomes 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.

Along with the official announcement of ‘Richmond Hill’, Masta Ace and Marco Polo share “Life Music”, featuring Speech (of Arrested Development), Stricklin, and E Smitty, the new single and music video from the project.

Riding a propulsive groove defined by warm electric piano, vibrant organs, and heavenly vocal harmonies, “Life Music” is a direct response to the negativity that permeates the endless scroll, as Ace attempts to switch the energy and emphasize life’s preciousness: “There’s only one choice, that’s life, hope you pickin’ it,” he spits.

In his own verse, Masta Ace’s longtime collaborator Stricklin speaks of a near-death experience while on tour, and his long road to recovery.

Directed by Parris Stewart, the “Life Music” video follows a young man as he runs through New York City, urged forward by the music as he passes all walks of life.

I wrote ‘Life Music’ while riding on a local bus to town in Barbados,” says Masta Ace. “Listening to that beat and looking at the masked faces of the working class passengers sitting around me combined with seeing the many impoverished residents in the neighborhoods the bus rolled through, I was inspired to write a song that celebrated life. There are so many songs on the charts that glorify and celebrate death, I felt it was important to rail against those themes which we have somewhat normalized in our culture. I’m challenging the listener to embrace life and reject the negative messages we are constantly being fed in music.”

Masta Ace & Marco Polo feat. Stricklin, Speech, & E Smitty "Life Music" (Video)

“Life Music” and the Richmond Hill pre-order arrive as Ace and Polo prepare to embark on the “Richmond Hill Tour”, their European tour.

Kicking off in Berlin on November 29th, the tour makes its way through the continent for the next three weeks, stopping in Paris, Milan, Zurich, Cologne, Hamburg, and more.

Tickets for the “Richmond Hill Tour” are available at mastaace.com/events.

Masta Ace & Marco Polo feat. Stricklin, Speech, & E Smitty "Life Music" (Video)

Richmond Hill‘ Tracklisting:

  1. December 26th (Skit)
  2. Brooklyn Heights
  3. Certified featuring Coast Contra
  4. Cartunes (Skit)
  5. Hero featuring Inspectah Deck
  6. Life Music featuring Stricklin, Speech (of Arrested Development), & E Smitty
  7. Below The Clouds featuring Blu
  8. St. Roberts (Skit)
  9. Heat Of The Moment featuring Pav Bundy
  10. Jordan Theory
  11. Money Problems featuring Che Noir
  12. Scarborough (Skit)
  13. P.P.E.
  14. Outside In featuring C-Red & E Smitty
  15. Connections
  16. Plant Based
  17. December 25th (Skit)
  18. All I Want featuring Wordsworth

Stay tuned for ‘Richmond Hill’, coming January 26th, and keep an eye out for more announcements from Marco Polo and Masta Ace!!!