Disposable Arts [Explicit Lyrics]

Masta Ace | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Jcor Entertainment
• ASIN: B00005R8G1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,477 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Release

2. Too Long

3. Block Episode

4. Ida Commercial

5. Don't Understand

6. Goodbye Lisa

7. Hold U

8. Every Other Day

9. Roommates Meet

10. Take a Walk

11. Something's Wrong

12. The Classes

13. Acknowledge

14. Enuff

15. Watching the Game

16. Unfriendly Game

17. Alphabet Soup

18. Dear Yvette

19. I Like Dat

20. P.T.A.

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Disposable Arts begins with Ace’s character being release from prison and returning to his block, a metaphor for the five-year hiatus he took before returning to the rap game prior to this release. From there we follow Ace from BK to a college campus and ride with him as he leaves his hood in search of an education beyond the streets.

More than a concept album, Disposable Arts showcases Ace exceptional flow and highlights his own inner demons about the rap game. Ace’s versatility as an MC is evidenced throughout, and his knack for soulful producers (Ayatolla, Domingo, Paul Nice etc) and sharp-witted guests (Jean Grae, Greg Nice, Rah Digga, Wordsworth) make Disposable Arts a memorable edition to Hip Hop’s encyclopedia. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "The [re]Release"... (4.5 Stars), February 25, 2005

By 

Andrew Jacob (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Disposable Arts (Audio CD)

Originally released in 2001, Masta Ace's "Disposable Arts" is the epitome of an exceptional thematic-concept album. The basic theme of the album is how the hood can come back to bite you, despite leaving it in the past. Cryptic? Yes, but truthful. But in the midst of the focal point lies other layers, including happiness, sadness, humor, regret, nostalgia, and social awareness, all elements that are incorporated in the album with importance and ease. From start to finish, there is exceptional song after exceptional song, each building off each other with what proceeds, and each crafted so well that by the end of seventy-third minute, you'll have no other choice but to start from track one again. Highlights include the catchy "Enuff", the retrospective "Block Episode", the melancholic "Unfriendly Game", "No Regret", & "Dear Yvette", the reggae-flavored "Every Other Day", the simplistic but introspective "Type I Hate", the mocking of rappers who believe in their own hype in "Acknowledge", and the best track, the metaphoric "Hold U", which invokes an old-school soulful vibe. Similar to a lot of his albums, there are numerous interludes. Most of the time, they aren't needed. While I do feel there are one or two too much, they are relevant in this case, contributing to the "concept album" factor (and they are pretty funny, like "Roommates Meet"). But even with the abundance of interludes, it still doesn't diminish the quality this album. Nor does time; although released four years ago, it still sounds fresher and better, and is more innovatively complex than any contemporary rap album.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4.5, let's round up to 5 huh?, April 26, 2005

By 

DukeOfEarl (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Disposable Arts (Audio CD)

This is the re-release of the album that first came out not too long ago back in '01. I was introduced to Ace last year with his solid "A Long Hot Summer," which is a prequel to this. It took a couple run-throughs but I really began to feel this. I gave "ALHS" 4 stars so I got to rate this one higher because it's even better. I found this story to be more interesting and the execution was better.

Almost every song is good or above-average on the whole album. "ALHS" kinda fell apart in the middle. This one keeps the momentum until tracks 19-21, the only ones I'm not feelin' too much. I guess he just had to make his sexual presence known along w/ Punch & Words on "I Like Dat," and he might be mocking others' materialism on "P.T.A.," but isn't too exciting. "Type I Hate" is very bitter, although I can overstand if he needed to get some things off his chest along with Rah Digga there. The only other song that can be considered filler is "Something's Wrong," which is inconsistent but has a hot first verse by Strick.

Although Ace's flow is lacksadaisical and his voice nothing to rave about, what I like about him is his ability to handle the concepts. He'll pick a topic for a song and stick to it. He won't just lay back and brag the whole time. Not only does he craft concept albums, but concept songs within them! Plus he's sick with the metaphors, even if some of them are pop-culture references. My favorite song here, for some reason, is "Dear Yvette"(w/ Jane Doe). Here he tries to reach out to a woman who makes her money through stripping and sex and she rejects his help. This song just reminds me of a late-90's hit that you might hear on the radio, only this one actually has good lyrics. Other outstanding songs are conceptual ones like "Unfriendly Game" and "Hold U" and also "Take A Walk" where he paints a vivid picture of the ghetto (another one of his specialties).

Other very good songs are "Block Episode,"(a concept too, told from 3 different perspectives) the inspiring reggae-flavored "Every Other Day, then "Enuff" and "Dear Diary"-two more concepts there. "Enuff" is really good. Greg Nice hypes up "Don't Understand" nicely, and "Too Long" is a great leadoff announcing his return. The short "Alphabet Soup" is the ultimate concept here, although the song may not be too impressive if you're not paying attention too closely.

So, I've named a couple handfuls of good songs for you already. Masta Ace is an underrated legend in Hiphop, and he carves a niche with "Disposable Arts" with the story told and the multiple concepts he carries out. Not only do his lyrical topics run the gamut, but the beats do as well! Truly, whatever no-names helped him out delivered with enjoyable beats throughout. They take you through a range of emotions and vibes, and compliment Ace and his guests accordingly. Even the beats on tracks 19-21 are superb. The only thing I can gripe about are some lacklustre guest spots and multiple same word rhymes: a couple by Ace but mostly by guests(calling out Strick with his lines ending in "running back")! Ya gotta watch that! I won't even bitch about the length, filler, and # of tracks on "Disposable Arts" because it didn't bother me too much. So check out this re-release because it truly elevated my opinion of Masta Ace even though I had heard his "A Long Hot Summer" cd. Hiphop is beautiful and it's life!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons in new school for an old rap Masta, July 18, 2004

By 

P. T. J. (Detroit MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Disposable Arts (Audio CD)

Masta Ace has been an incredible MC since the very beginning of hip-hop. Many people have complained about "Disposable Arts" because it's a different type of flow for him, but honestly, "Disposable Arts" is a record you can play straight through without having to skip a single track. The production is incredible and the word-play on both his part and the part of his guest-mc's is mind-blowing. Of course, Punchline and Wordsworth are incredible, but amazingly, every single guest rapper on the album manages to live up to Masta Ace's "masta" flow.

The best tracks on the CD would have to be "Block Episode", "Take A Walk", "Acknowledge", "Enuff", "Unfriendly Game", "Type I Hate", "Dear Diary", and "No Regrets".

On "Acknowledge", Masta Ace rips the clone-rapping emcees you see so often in the mainstream to shreds as he rhymes-
"And I heard your album, this must be something you're new at/Cause I'd rather hear a Little Wayne, Little Zane duet/"
"I'ma diss you via e-mail, and then through a fax/I'ma diss you by two-way, I ain't gonna never relax/I'ma diss you over fast, slow track, or no track/If your 'stuff' wasn't so wack, I'd diss you to your track/Your that little fish that I catch and I throw back/And by the way, give 50 Cent his flow back/"

"Block Episode" chronicles a shooting; Masta Ace plays the guy living in the apartment above the shooting, Punchline plays the shooter, and Wordsworth plays the victim. It's a genius song, rapped with amazing tact and skill, showing the dangers and sadness of a ghetto-life. "Enuff" basically is self-explanatory. Masta Ace and his featured emcee, Mr. Lee Gee, complains about the materialism in rap. It's an enlightening explanation of what makes records sell; money, sex, jail, thuggin', etc...

"Unfriendly Game" is another masterfully crafted song where Masta Ace compares life in the streets to a football game.
"/I'm about to take this beat, and teach you about the agony of defeat/In this football game in the streets/And no it ain't two hand touch, it's rough tackle/When 'brothers' ball on your block, and they bust at you/The field's full of players, and they all tryin to score/The whole team sits on the bench in a down-pour/Cause no matter the weather, the game don't stop/Competing with other teams, to reign on top/Your offense, has got to be cats with no conscience/No nonsense 'brothers' with no options/That know how to carry that rock/And make that hand off and run off the block/It's hard to get first down, when you new in this rough town/You sell a pound, it's a touch down/"
"It's monday night, 'we're watching the game'/But I could go outside, and still see 'the same'/Cause look, there's a bunch of brothers in the huddle/Look's like they're calling the play, come in kids, don't be all in the way/Cause that's Pookie, he's the -- quarterback/Cause he like to use the shotgun/If he don't, I know he got one/And that's Booger, he's the -- runningback/Cause he always say he gonna quit, and he always wind up running back/The rest of them? I'll just say they play the line/Cause they like to protect Pookie, and Pookie make 'em stay in line/"
NOTE: I had to "edit" a few words/lines in the lyrics for the sake of cleanness.
Things keep on going on like that, but it's just too long to write out.

"Dear Diary" is a genius song in which Masta Aces diary talks back to him, telling him he's washed up etc... It shows the negative thinking behind any accomplished artist, and the mental pit falls that Masta Ace probably had to go through while recording his "come back" album. "No Regrets" is the perfect closing song for this CD. The title is pretty self-explanatory, he basically goes through his career blow by blow, acknowledging his thanks, stating simply, he has no regrets.

Masta Ace, when it comes down to it, is really a "Masta" story-teller. He crafts each song to his clever two-line-rhyme style that chronicles the chain reaction of events in different situations. His rhymes reflect on many different aspects of life, and although he does occasionally abandon his conscience rhymes for a song like "I Like Dat", an overly vulgar sex-song with Punch and Words on the track, he generally maintains a street-wise attitude with catchy lyrics that have a message to them. I highly recommend this CD to, well, anyone.