Given the fact that Ace Hood has released three albums and a dozen mixtapes within the last five years, the Florida-native hasn’t quite piqued the interest that many of his contemporaries have garnered in that same time span. His work ethic alone has kept him a relevant fixture, but with many other younger talents emerging, one has to wonder if there even is a breakthrough in sight. At a hefty 19 tracks, Starvation II is another missed opportunity for the 24-year-old rapper to separate himself from the pack.
Ace Hood’s presence on the microphone has been an issue in the past, and tracks such as “Take Yo Bitch” and “On Right Now” do little to shed this stigma. With Antoine in full creep mode, the former record sounds like an amalgam of cliché themes used to describe a wild night. “Lil Nigga (Interlude)” starts off promising as Ace goes into storytelling mode about the pressures that come with being a teenager in the ghetto. However, it similarly takes a turn for the generic. Sure, you could call the tragic ending realistic, but other rappers have tackled the same subject with substantially superior results.
Holding court alongside Rap’s human rolodex in DJ Khaled, you would think the guest list for Starvation II would be loaded with big names. By stark contrast, what’s presented instead is a questionable lineup that rarely benefits his cause. Coke Boys’ own French Montana makes two hook appearances, both as forgettable as the next. Meek Mill follows suit on “It’s Going Down,” with Ace Hood creatively hitting a wall with his metaphors (“Millionaire nigga, I got diamonds on my dick,” “Might just buy your chick and give her that dick filet for dinner”). And then there’s the case of Plies, who somehow manages to set today’s society back with 12 bars of unfiltered chaos on “Got Damn.” Granted, the guests on a project shouldn’t make or break the prosperity of the headlining artist; however, Ace Hood could have rationally made some progress with the right assistance.
If the listener is able to sift through the cluttered track list, they may discover a record or two that holds some semblance of value. “Why” is a reflective piece of Ace Hood’s soul as he ponders the events of his life, while “Art of Deception” captures the striking narrative of a damaged woman (“Love found in the wrong place / Self-esteem at its lowest rate / Mama gone, fuck her whereabouts / Plenty sold dreams, men in and out“). Ace Hood’s other favorable cuts stay in the realm of thoughtfulness, though “Root of Evil” is a worthy track to get turnt up on.
“I’m here to let you know Ace Hood is one of the best in the game. And if you don’t think so, fuck you,” DJ Khaled contemptuously shouts on “Dec 31st.” It’s good to know Ace has full support from his label head, because frankly there’s very few who would agree with the above statement. With Starvation II, Ace Hood is no closer to success than he was with his last release, or his other last release for that matter.
DX Consensus: “Just a Mixtape”
firrssttt
didnt listen to it yet
im sure hiphopdx is a bit overreacting
second, ya bish
It’s slow when…
Yea this guys terrible only reason ne ones heard of him is khaled keeps putting him on them wack ‘hood anthems’ with ross n wayne a below average mc with a boring flow/delivery hes never gon blow up …………..but then again 2 chains did just go gold…………and that shits just scary
Being a great artist isn’t about volume. Just putting out endless records and referring to your “grind”, “hustle”, “hard work” , “being hungry” etc. doesn’t mean any of your work is of any value. Just flooding the market doesn’t always translate to success. The ubiquity of the internet means that distribution is effortless and instantaneous, hence if the so called street really wants your work they can get it with little to no effort. Rather quality is going to be the only thing that will differentiate you from the thousands of other rap songs uploaded everyday.
No where near as bad as HHDX making it out to be…
Yall are crazy, starvation 2 is fire please stop hatin!
dis tape is dope af fuck dis review. french montana was terrible on those hooks tho i agree
woooow!!!!ace iz the NIIGGGAAAA!!!! al yo’all pussyass niggaz, stop hatin….killa mixtape!!! but french fucked sum tracks up
UNDERRATED! Fuck This Review. DX Just Saying Dis Coz Ace Hood Didnt Give Them shyt.. no Money No Nothin.
check the track FUCK DA WORLD and then tell me hows the mixtape
fuck dx
Relax ladies. I think DX undervalued this tape a little but it’s stil just OK. Quit bitching like they shit on ya mother
5/5
wow…what a bullshit review. Yes, having French on 3 tracks and Plies on another was a bad decision. But this tape isnt half as bad that theyre makin it out to be. “Why” “fuck tha world” “Root of evil” “take yo bitch” “want for nothing” “on right now” “motive” & “MOB are all legit tracks.
This Review is nonsense. The Mixtape is a good one. Better than some albums out there. Some of the features suck ass, but the damn thing is free. I like it, been in heavy rotation this past week.
this shit is freshh . its a must get
Fuck this review man
it simply 5star..
Ace needs to find a way to separate himself from his wack ass label and team. He needs to go back and fucke with Dollaz and Dealz because they truly had his best interest in mind. He can’t hold down a song for himself and that’s his biggest problem. His singles always have atleast 2 features. He should be a premiere artist by now… He’s not.
Ace hood is a average artist and his main problem is he doesn’t have star quality and also having that fat khaled guy doesn’t help, cause i get the feeling his telling him what to do. It wasn’t long ago he was saying he was broke and got kicked outta his apartment and now all of a sudden his got all this money and cars and bitches i its just not believable. he needs to just do him and tell khaled NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
absolutley nothing like starvation 1, I was really looking forward to this and it was a total letdown. you can do better ace
“Just flooding the market doesn’t always translate to success”
He’s three albums in so somebody likes him. He just needs that 1 song to propel him, and off his last album, he had at least 2 that should have done that. If his next album tanks, then it’s probably a wrap for him, but in the meantime, he just needs to keep his name out there and make as much music as possible.
dope collabos
aceeeeee went arddd on the starvation 2 fuck all ya’ll niggas dissing my homie
Ace is going to stay underrated if he keeps making this type of music. He needs to throw away the generic trap/club tracks and make more tracks like “Fuck the World”. He reminds me of how people slept on T.I. in the beginning because the style of music overshadowed the lyricism.
Yall niggas trippin this nigga ace just lost his daughter and still put down two nasty mix tapes. How the fuck yall niggas gon sit here and say he holdin himself back hes surrounded by some of the best in the game. Fuck all the haters real talk
This mixtape is live and one of the greatest made my Ace Hood
this is a really good mixtape and its funny because i sit hear and listen to it it resambles trapordie1 #themostunbiasedreviewever
5/5
This is the Hottest Tape out right now!!! You are bugging for dissing on this nigga! Seriously, are you even a hip hop fan? Some one must have gave your bitch that dick filet for diner, because you are seriously hating on my son! Word Up!!!
i don’t usually comment on these but the dude reviewing this is a straight up hater.
fuck the haterz ace is a fucking beast and dis mixtape is 5 stars keep up the good work ma nigga.
i dont like the nigga that wrote dis article a fucking hater i will cut u up motherfucker for real nigga betta not see u on these streetz ace is a beast coming for yo ass.
legendary
Ace tha truth on the real. fuck the hating ass nigga that wrote this garbage article. Ace by far the realist nigga out.
bunch of idiots writing for hhdx
Review was a bit too biased…first time hearing this dude and he goes in.
I mean sure it’s not gonna be the deepest shit out there but delivery is on point and his lyrics aren’t disappointing.
GREAT.
The Mixtape was Dope, the HipHopDX Reviewer is a Hater! its a 4 out of 5 to me, but since the reviewer hated soo Bad, I gave it a 5 out of 5!
Good ass c d
This Review IS straight bullshit. iv been listening to ace for a minute now. and for people on bullshit ass rewview websites to continue to bash him is just bs. and YESS I would even agree that some tracks could have been better. but that DOES NOT take away for the over all POINT of the message he is so despreatly tryin to tell .. ~F*ck The World~
first ace hood mixtape i got. its good and i like hood.
you are a dumbass ace hood is going hard mixtape is the illest motivation for the niggas in the hood
I think the author of this review has lost touch. Ace Hood is one of the best in the game right now. While materialism is often the topic of choice (e.g. “Bugatti”) , Hood manages to separate himself with standout tracks like “Fuck da World”, which is ridiculously real, a serious wake-up call to the hip-hop community.
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