An Interview With New Hip-Hop Duo SCRUB AND ACE HA!

Known for an energetic and inspired performance, veteran emcee Scrub has provided opening support for JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Macy Gray, Nappy Roots, DJ Swamp, Prof, Blueprint, Louis Logic, Palmer Squares and many more.

Now the St. Louis native has teamed up with LA-based producer Ace Ha to create an updated sound harkening back to a classic hip hop era.

The duo’s beats and raps weave elements  of golden-era Boom Bap, classic Rock, Soul, and Funk, all interspersed seamlessly with progressive sounds and intricate lyrics. Ranging from lighthearted storytelling to biting social critiques, Scrub and Ace Ha deliver a listening experience that is both engaging and heartfelt.

Their debut video, “Anita Ride”, opened many doors for the duo in 2016. The video was featured in Foot Locker stores worldwide and aired on H2o Television NYC, IndiMusicTV, California Music Channel, Video Hits NY, Taste TV, ClubCom Network, SmashVision, DailyMotion, Music Inner City, HipHopCanada, Video Diversity, ScreenPlay, Zuus Media, YesterdaysNothing, HipHopVideoWorld, ArtistRack, PCMusic Canada, VideoDetective, BaebleMusic, AllBayMusic, Hip-HopVibe, Gods Of Rap and more.

Scrub and Ace Ha have debuted the first video of the “Plastic Rock” Youtube series on Kill the Music. The compilation of videos chronicle a new take on classic rock songs we know and love. The first video gives a spin on Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4”.

“Plastic Rock”  comes from a place of  indecisiveness and doubt, “[…] Our first installment touches on a lot ideas and is probably the most provocative of the series. I see a lot of people in a rut doing things they think they are supposed to, rather than what they want to be doing. When I ask ‘Are you really here to try and dance with the Devil?’ I’m thinking of all those caught in the rat race and blind to the consequences of all work and no play. As an artist, this concept is very familiar. I’ve had to make endless sacrifices and endure criticism and judgment from every direction about what I should be doing with my life. This has always done nothing but fuel my fire”

Each installment of the “Plastic Rock” Series will be two minutes or less of intriguing lyrics and beats creating a unique new hybrid of musical content to be released roughly every two weeks.

Watch Plastic Rock Vol 1 here: https://killthemusic.net/blog/premiere-scrub-and-ace-ha-plastic-rock-vol-1

Plastic Rock vol. II –  (inspired by Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright”)  https://youtu.be/XgJ12lbAggA

Premiere link: http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2017/video-premiere-scrub-ace-ha-plastic-rock-vol-ii/

Follow Scrub & Ace Ha here:

http://scrubandaceha.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ScrubAndAceHa/

https://www.instagram.com/scrubmusic/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMmOEAijqQ8bGMU_oYFng

https://twitter.com/ScrubMusic

Learn more about Scrub & Ace Ha in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! So, now that 2016 is over, what are some words you would use to describe the year for you?

It was a year of preparation and groundwork. We’re making sure to hit the ground running, it’s important that we come out swinging with really consistent, quality work!

What have been some of the highlights for the band? What are you most excited about for 2017?

The launch of the new video series is going to be really dope. It’s a singles driven market and video an especially important aspect. We’re looking forward to just carpet-bombing the eyes and ears of an unsuspecting public!

Did you any of you make New Year’s Resolutions?

To explore any opportunities that present themselves! It is a brutally competitive game and an artist shouldn’t leave any stones un-turned in pursuit of an edge.

Growing up, did you both always want to be musicians? Can you recall some of your earliest musical memories?

As a kid I [Ace Ha] had no interest in being in the music game, I was much more interested in seeing where street skating would take me. Make no mistake, music has been an extremely important thing in my family; grandparents at Julliard, cousins in music, my step-mother was a music teacher. But I had no musical aspirations of my own until the end of High School, and I more or less fell into it, via a talent-show prank.

How did Scrub and Ace Ha first come to be?

I was tapped to produce some music for Zephyr Benson’s movie Straight Outta Tompkins. I put out a call to a lot of MCs I knew and one of them told me I should hit up his boy Scrub. I did and the song he did over one of my beats was BANGING. Like seriously, I got some good songs from some of the other cats, but Scrub’s was CRAZY good. I thought to myself, “this could really be something,” and I assume that Scrub thought the same, so we got busy and here we are.

How did you come up with your name? Was it hard to choose one name?

Ha, it’s just our rap names put together. Sort of harkening back to the days of the MC / DJ groups: Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Kool G Rap and Polo, like that.

Why do you think you get along so well together?

Scrub is laid back as fuck, I can’t imagine anyone not getting along with him!! I think it also has to do with neither of us being diva douchebags, too. It ain’t like we’re in competition with each other for the limelight; we just work together on songs that are ill.

What is it like working with each other when one of you lives in St. Louis and the other lives in LA?

It presents challenges for sure. It’s nice to be able to interact with cats on songs in real-time, sitting in the studio together, tweaking songs, eating lunch, drinking, whatever, but Scrub and I don’t have that luxury yet. The process is slowed down, somewhat, and that can be a little frustrating. On the other hand, if it weren’t for the internet, we wouldn’t be a group now, so I count it as a blessing.

Can you please elaborate on your “Plastic Rock” sound? What does that mean exactly? How did you come up with this sound?

The adjective “plastic” means malleable and transient it nature. With this series we’ve taken classic rock and roll – in terms of both audio samples and sensibility – and re-contextualized it in a hip hop framework. It’s bent, but not broken!

What’s been the most surprising thing about the music industry to you?

The rise of some truly, truly untalented stars. That may seem grouchy, but the record labels seem to have abdicated their role as gatekeepers. Can you imagine, for instance, an NBA full of cats that can’t dribble? It’s crazy. That’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of talented cats in the music game, but the ratio is mad skewed!

What has been the most challenging part about it for you both?

Probably working through the internet. It’s weird having your crew a thousand miles away!

Who are some of your favorite artists and what bands continue to inspire the band’s music? Who would you both love to work with in the future?

There are some cats that really keep me on my toes, production-wise. The whole Strange Music label, the Funk Volume label, this cat Sikwitit. I listen to a lot of new artists to see what new ideas are popping. As far as working with other cats, I don’t know; I’m pretty content with getting these joints with Scrub out! It would be dope to go on tour with cats that are in line with our ideals of quality and uniqueness!

When you aren’t performing, working in the studio, what do you like to do for fun? How do you all unwind from it all?

Skate, video games, chill with my girl, keep up on geopolitics.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

That it is rad to just do what moves you, rather than just swallow what the industry tells you is cool. That extends beyond music, I mean it in every arena: dress how you wanna dress, talk how you wanna talk, say what you wanna say. You don’t need Coca-Cola to tell you what’s dope. Just listen to yourself.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourselves or your music?

Scrub and Ace Ha got that ill shit! Thanks for chatting with us!