Considering that hip-hop is packed full of here today, gone tonight artists and "longevity" generally means being able to stay relevant for more than two albums. Simple and plain, hip-hop is not an old man's game. With that in mind, it really is nothing short of remarkable that Duval Clear aka Masta Ace has now been in the game for over 20 years. Sure there's plenty of dudes from the old school that are still around and rhyming, but the new material they put out, if any, is more of a nostalgic novelty and doesn't really hold any weight to anyone outside their core fan base. Ace on the other hand, has refused to fade away into obscurity and continued to produce high quality hip-hop music well into his 40s, attracting an entirely new audience of young listeners who were shitting in their Pampers when he was conducting "The Symphony" as a member of the legendary Juice Crew. In fact, many champion Ace's most recent albums like "Disposable Arts" and "A Long Hot Summer" as his best work.

I've got no problem mentioning Ace in my top 15 rappers of all-time list and also feel that "A Long Hot Summer" is most definitely a modern day classic and one of my favorite concept albums ever and STRONGLY recommend it to anyone who considers themselves a hip-hop head, especially with the warm weather on the horizon. I even got an opportunity to catch dude live in Providence a couple of years ago at a small intimate venue and as any other fellow concert junkies can attest to, sometimes the smallest shows can be the most memorable...which was the case here as Ace tore up his set...letting us pick what tracks we wanted to hear (Dude's DJ couldn't find the fuckin' Soda & Soap instrumental!), giving me daps throughout the show, and even freely passin around a bottle of Henney. It was one of the tightest shows I've ever seen straight up.

But anywayy...enough chit chat..To go along with this little head nod to the living legend, today's edition of Digital Crate Diggin' will feature a fitting tribute to the Masta in the form of a collection of 3 compilations featuring a slew of rare, unreleased, remixes, b-sides, & freestyles from Ace appropriately titled "Hits U Missed"...


MASTA ACE - HITS U MISSED (VOLUME ONE)
01. Conflict ft Guru
02. Top 10 List
03. Ghetto Like
04. Last Bref
05. Observations ft Apocolypse
06. Hellbound ft Eminem & J.Black
07. The outcome
08. Splash
09. Cars ft Spunk Bigga
10. Rap 2k1
11. Brooklyn Blocks ft Buckshot
12. Spread it out
13. NY Confidential
14. Ya hardcore
15. Maintain
16. Bonus 1
17. Bonus 2


MASTA ACE - HITS U MISSED (VOLUME TWO)
01. Survival ft Koolade
02. What Am I ft DJ JS1
03. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
04. What Is It ft Yommy Lee
05. Out Da Box ft Tony Touch, Pete Rock & Large Professor
06. Again ft DJ Serious
07. Figure ft Uk's Finest
08. The Call ft Code Red
09. Family 1st ft Punchline & Apocolypse
10. Blvd Connection ft Ed OG & Common
11. We Get It Done ft Strick & Joe Budden
12. Get Large ft Tribeca, Mr. Complex & Lord Tariq
13. Who Killed Hip-Hop ft Shams the Professor
14. Hospitality ft Seanie T


MASTA ACE - HITS U MISSED (VOLUME THREE)

01. Slow Mix
02. Seasons (Feat Cunninglynguists)
03. Hitman (Feat Stricklin)
04. So What (Feat Kokane & Pretty Ugly)
05. NFL (1997 Unreleased Saukrates Mix)
06. Game Nuntin' (Feat Dynas)
07. I Need A Beat (Feat Def)
08. 3 Some (1997 Unreleased)
09. Get U Awn (Feat Punchline)
10. Sick Of It All (Feat Cronite)
11. Scared Of The Dark (1992 Unreleased)
12. The Truth (Feat Wordsworth)
13. Ghetto Ghetto (1997 Unreleased)
14. My Nine