ACE HOOD GETS RUTHLESS, HIS SECOND ALBUM ON DJ KHALED’s WE THE BEST MUSIC, VIA DEF JAM, RELEASED JUNE 30th
Two singles working at Urban and Rhythmic radio formats and video outlets:
• “CHAMPION” FEATURING JAZMINE SULLIVAN AND RICK ROSS
• “OVERTIME” FEATURING AKON AND T-PAIN
RUTHLESS follows Ace Hood’s 2008 debut GUTTA, with singles “Cash Flow” featuring T-Pain and Rick Ross; and “Ride” featuring Trey Songz
“Hood’s street stripes remain intact… more moments like this and he can truly ace the test of time.”
– XXL magazine, RUTHLESS album review, (August 2009 issue)
(June 23, 2009 – New York, NY) South Florida rapper Ace Hood – named to the “Freshmen of ’09” roster at XXL magazine – heats up the Internet and urban media scene this summer with the release of his second album RUTHLESS, arriving in the physical and digital marketplace on June 30th. Ace Hood was the first artist signed to Terror Squad member DJ Khaled’s We The Best Music, an exclusive partnership with Island Def Jam Music Group.
Kicking off the new album are two singles working their way up the Mediabase Urban and Rhythmic charts: “Champion” featuring Jazmine Sullivan and fellow Def Jam artist Rick Ross (which went up on iTunes one week ago) jumps to #55-bullet on the Mediabase Urban/ New & Active side, with a 2 million audience. News of the video premiere for “Champion” will be announced in the days ahead. “Overtime” featuring Akon and T-Pain, which has scanned over 32,000 digital sales to date, boasts a Mediabase total audience of 1.5 million. The “Overtime” video, which was 106 & Park’s “New Joint of the Day” when it premiered last month, continues to be aired on BET.
“Champion” and an edited (clean) version of “Overtime” can be heard at Ace Hood’s MySpace website http://www.myspace.com/acehood, which has amassed over 37.8 million total plays since its launch last year. Other full-length tracks from RUTHLESS on the site include “Born An OG” featuring Ludacris, “About Me” featuring Ballgreezy, “Broward Anthem” featuring All Stars, “Straight Outta Broward,” “Loco Wit the Cake,” and “Ruthless Freestyle.”
RUTHLESS is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Gutta, Ace Hood’s debut album released November 2008. Gutta contained the Top 30 Urban breakout single “Cash Flow” featuring T-Pain and Rick Ross; co-written with T-Pain, Rick Ross and DJ Khaled (who is heard on additional vocals) and produced by the Runners. The second single, “Ride” featuring Trey Songz and produced by The Inkredibles, hit #14 on the Billboard Rap Tracks charts, nudged the R&B/Hip-Hop Top 20, and crossed over to the Hot 100. Ace Hood earned the distinction of being named to the “Freshmen of ’09” roster at XXL magazine.
Antoine ‘Ace Hood’ McColister set his sights on the big time three years ago, when he turned to rapping after his high school football career was short-circuited by an injury. He signed to local indie label Dollaz & Dealz, and recorded “M.O.E.” (“Money Over Everything”) which enabled him to perform and network around South Florida. In November 2007, he showed up outside Miami radio 99-Jamz, where local contenders were gathered to show off their rhymes for a spot on DJ Khaled’s birthday bash at South Beach’s Club Mansion. Khaled was so impressed that he came outside to meet the rapper for himself and grab his demo. He phoned Ace’s manager and a freestyle studio audition was set up for the very same night.
“I signed Ace because of his swagger,” Khaled told XXL. “We went in the studio and made a lot of hit records. His energy is just incredible.” For his part, Ace is looking forward to big changes in his life this year. “This album is definitely gonna be a classic,” he confidently says of RUTHLESS. “People are expecting a lot out of me not only because I’m on Khaled’s label, but because everyone knows that the ace is ranked as the highest.”
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