“Music for the mind, body, and soul,” that’s how Harlem native Ace Deuce describes his music. The youngest of 3 children, Ace always had a passion for music. Growing up listening to classic groups and artists from the 70s and 80s such as Delfonics, Blue Magic, Cheryl Lynn and countless others, he quickly fell in love with music and the words and meanings behind them. It wasn’t until a visit to Sony Music Studios in mid-2003 that he realized music would be his calling in life.
Ace has done some producing and engineering for local artist’s mixtapes and other projects. His hard work and perseverance paid off when he landed an internship with Mona Scott-Young (Love N Hip Hop) at her company Monami Entertainment. Helping out artists such as Jim Jones, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot and others, he soaked all of this knowledge up and began to apply what he learned towards his music. After parting ways and venturing out on his own, Ace inked a TV/Film licensing deal with Linnette Harrigan Media, where he landed a few important song placements. He also linked up with veteran producers and executives who have credits on major albums and mixtapes like Usher, Jay Z, Fat Joe, Fabolous and French Montana, etc. In a recent interview Ace gave us some insights into his world.
How long have you been doing what you’re doing and how did you get started in the first place?
Ace Deuce: I have been doing music for many years, but if I had to pinpoint I can say around 99-2000 I started writing lil freestyles and rapping amongst friends as a teen. But it wasn’t until 2003 when I started trying to write full songs complete with choruses, verses and breaks that I noticed that I had something here. Now as far as that I learned how to make beats and engineer a little, so I was making beats for a few indie artists in my neighborhood in Harlem for their mixtapes and what not, but once I got my internship at Monami Entertainment in 2007, I just took off from there. Started songwriting again in 2009 on a serious level, and started going the hip hop artist route Jan 2015.
Who were your first musical influences that you can remember?
Ace Deuce: So many to name since I had so many as a kid but as far as when I got older and started doing music I can say Dipset, Mary J Blige, Notorious BIG, 2 Pac and the Outlawz, Mase, Fabolous, Cash Money, No Limit, 36 Mafia, The Lox, Nas and many others.
How did your visit to Sony Music Studios come about and how did that impact your life?
Ace Deuce: Well this was in 2003 when my older cousin was working there at the time. I had just left one college on academic probation I believe and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn’t working like I had wanted to because my parents wouldn’t allow it. They wanted me to go to school and get my degree, but school wasn’t for me and I was tired of it. So when I went to see my cousin at his job one night we ended up going into one of the studio rooms with other co-workers, and we freestyled over a beat that the engineer there had for us. Just doing that, the whole atmosphere, the vibe, the equipment, being in the booth, just everything about it felt right. And right then and there I knew that this was what I wanted to do for a living.
What was your experience at Touro College like and which skills did you acquire there?
Ace Deuce: Touro was cool. One day on the train after my experience at Sony I seen an ad for the school and they had a new music program called Digital Media Arts. So I told my parents, that’s the school I wanted to attend. I didn’t know of anywhere else that could teach me audio engineering, production, and other things as far as the music industry was concerned. So once I persuaded them to let me go there I transferred and did really well. Although I’m rusty at some of the things I learned, I was taught how to use Pro Tools to record and to edit video footage, the music business as far as contracts, Reason software to produce/make beats, sound waves and a whole bunch of other things. Plus I was able to connect with other students who were musicians themselves and we collaborated later on in the future.
How did you land an internship with Mona Scott-Young and what benefits did that bring you?
Ace Deuce: Well a co-worker at one of my other jobs had a friend who left the company and they needed a new intern. She didn’t give me the full details on the company name and who ran it, but since it was music related, I jumped at the opportunity. I was given an email to send my resume to and I did so. When I went there for an interview and looked around the office I knew this was serious business and the real deal. This was my first break in the music industry. Thank you Tyisha
In which way did you help out artists of the caliber of Jim Jones, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot while linked to Monami Entertainment?
Ace Deuce: I helped out with the budgets at times for certain tours, helped set up meetings and shows, helped out with wardrobe for video shoots, helping out with press kits for new clients, and a bunch of other work that involved me running from label to label, events, and photo shoots to photo shoots.
After parting ways with Mona Scott-Young, you apparently hit rock bottom and nearly lost everything, including your life? What actually happened during that period?
Ace Deuce: Lost the jobs I had around that time, was hospitalized 3 times due to sickle cell anemia (third time I almost lost my life), and went thru a struggle financially. So I was going thru it for a few years.
How did you move out of that period and what are you aiming to achieve in the next step of your career?
Ace Deuce: I was able to get it together, and started songwriting and using connects I met during my time with Monami and new music connects I met afterwards. Songwriting helped me out financially since I started doing music for TV shows and for a couple of indie artists. Health wise I was able to take care of myself better and stay on top of it, made it to all my appointments, and stopped doing certain things that I used to do such as drinking. Now because of hip hop songs I did for TV shows and networks such as Bad Girls Club, VH1, MTV, etc etc. it was suggested that I go the artist route. So beginning of this year I pretty much started doing songs for myself, a few shows and working on my mixtape. And I have to say so far so good. So my expectation now is to build a buzz with my style of music. Since I’m from NYC I have songs that will cater to the hip hop crowd with the story telling, more lyrical tracks. And I have the party/club songs with infectious beats that catch the ears of a lot of today’s audiences. And afterwards a few years from now go back into songwriting after I do my thing as an artist. Songwriting is my first love and I would love to go back to writing for others and have my favorite artists past and present sing/rap the words that came from my heart and soul.
What are you current music and/or video releases and where can fans find you or your material?
Ace Deuce: Well I have two songs at the moment on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify etc etc. Those songs are called “Percocet” and “Bad Girl’s Club Chicago: Dalila’s Theme”(background music I did for the tv show).You can also check out my songs on my EPK at www.artistecard.com/youngace my soundcloud at www.soundcloud.com/acedeuce my youtube channel at www.youtube.com/user/harlemhaze My social media accounts are as follows: Twitter- YoungAceDeuce(Personal page) I_AmAceDeuce(Promo page) Instagram – Youngacedeuce(Personal page) iamacedeucepromo(Promo page) Facebook – www.facebook.com/youngacedeuce Looking forward to my new fans and interacting with yall. Peace
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