"Me? I'd rather be undefined, not underestimated nor undermined I'm underlined as the underdog under the influence of time."
--Aceyalone from "Arhythmaticulas"

From the pioneering Uncle Jamm's Army to the days of Radio Tron, there was not much room in the west coast flow for Iyrical extrapolations. Left to his own microphone devises and deviant styles, Aceyalone was part of "another" West Coast hip hop history -- a verbal voice somewhere between the L.A. Dream Team scheme and the vague nomenclature of Gangsta Rap, as we know it. Left outside of the L.A. hip hop chronicles were the MCs.

Interfacing the impromptu notations of jazz scatology with the imaginative verse of African village griots, Aceyalone brings an unabashed mishmash of styles. While trends and time have claimed much bank, Aceyalone preserved a purist approach to MCing while being distinctively innovative from most orthodox understudies of Hip Hop Culture. As with many of the unique heavyweights, Aceyalone has rhymed through the South Central Jungle maelstrom since the early Eighties. Local householders like Volume 10, Mikah 9, and T. Spoon, joined him in the one love of 'getting open' on the mic at the mythic Good Life Cafe (now known as Project Blowed) -- the 1990 hallmark of L.A. skillbuilding. Such sessions spawned a Freestyle Fellowship of Acey, Mikah 9, Self Jupiter and Mtulazaji P.E.A.C.E. to record the-'91 indie classic "To Whom It May Concern" album (now in demand overseas).

Continuing to raze live shows with the Underground Railroad Band, the Fellowship then made a major attempt on Island Records with '93's "Inner City Griots." However, the curse of being "ahead of one's time" buried the Fellowship back underground. There, Acey, Abstract Rude, and a slew of L.A.-known MCs (Nonce, CVE, SIN) independently released the "Project Blowed" compilation in '94 (which debuted the Nonce hit "Mix Tapes"). Acey's tenacity for L.A.'s unsung rhyme experience now gives way to a solo outburst on Capitol -- a creative assessment entitled "All Balls Don't Bounce." "It's an imaginative interpretation of what I observe," defines Acey. The single, "Mic Check," reminds MCs why they're here: "If it wasn't for a mic check, you wouldn't have a check at all." Other cuts like "Deep And Wide" (duet with Grand Royal's Abstract Rude) and "Anywhere You Go" make the MC mentality a priority through the essence of battling. The latter is produced by scratchfiend DJ Punish, while "Know Notz" features Abstract and Mikah Nine lending a mic to educate about the underground West. Longtime collaborator Fatjack steps behind the boards for "Keep It True" (another duet with Abstract Rude) and the haunting "B Boy Kingdom" in which Acey, Abstract, Mikah (chorus), and P.E.A.C.E. breakdown the political hostilities to the Heavyweight existence. Most ambitious in Aceyalone's rhyme zone is "Greatest Show On Earth" -- lyrically intangible under the menacing tent erected by beat architect Mumbles. Descibing the plight of the black man in these Amerikas is the poetic "Headaches and Woes," complete with vibraphones courtesy of Onaji Murray. It's a prolific lyricist delineated from a prolific underground waiting to be heard. Nothing is as it seems inside Acey's world, 'cause "All Balls Don't Bounce."