Ace Hood

Ace Hood

Ace Hood is the stage name of Antoine McColister, an American hip hop rapper from Port St. Lucie, Florida. He begins rapping seriously after a football injury ends his early sporting path. He gets the name Ace as a child, and uses it with “Hood” to reflect his connection to his background.

Career

In 2007, Ace Hood meets DJ Khaled and gives him a demo tape. Khaled asks him to rap over the instrumental of “I’m So Hood” and then signs him to We the Best Music, distributed by Def Jam Records. He becomes the first artist signed to the label.

Before that meeting, he works with the Broward County label Dollaz & Dealz and records “M.O.E.”, short for “Money Over Everything”, which helps build his profile in South Florida. He also performs locally and networks to widen his exposure.

Albums and collaborations

His debut album, Gutta, is released in 2008. It includes guest appearances from T-Pain, Rick Ross, Akon, Flo Rida and Trey Songz, and also features production from Cool & Dre, The Runners, Danjahandz and J.U.S.T.C.E. League. A single from the album, “Cash Flow”, features T-Pain and Rick Ross.

His second album, Ruthless, is released in 2009 and debuts at number 23 on the Billboard 200.