Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was signed to record producer

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

's label

We the Best Music Group We The Best Music Group is an American record label founded by DJ Khaled. Previously We The Best operated as an imprint of IDJMG's division Def Jam South, and afterward as an imprint of the Universal Records division Cash Money Records. As of Nov ...

in 2008, in a

joint-venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. He has released four studio albums with his most successful of which being ''

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura N ...

'' (2011) and '' Trials & Tribulations'' (2013). The albums contained his highest-charting singles, " Hustle Hard" and "

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars ...

" (featuring

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that current ...

and

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

), respectively. In 2016, McColister announced his departure from We the Best Music and is currently working as an independent artist.

Early life

Ace Hood was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and was raised by his mother, who is of Haitian origin, alongside his younger cousin Ty Barton Jr. in Deerfield Beach, part of Broward County. He graduated from Deerfield Beach High School. Following a football injury in the 10th grade, and after realizing he wouldn't be able to go pro, the Broward County native began to seriously consider rapping as a career. Hood teamed up with a local group called Dollaz & Dealz and released a single titled "M.O.E." in 2006. He also began promoting himself via open mic events and talent shows around town.

Career

2006–2008: Career beginnings and ''Gutta''

In 2007, he met

outside the office of the WEDR 99 Jamz radio station. After Hood gave Khaled an autobiography and his demo tape, Khaled asked Hood to do a freestyle over the instrumental of his song "

I'm So Hood "I'm So Hood" is a song by American musician DJ Khaled's featuring American rappers T-Pain, Trick Daddy, Rick Ross, and Plies, released as the second single from the former's second studio album ''We the Best'' (2007). "I'm So Hood" is one ...

" from his second album, '' We the Best'', and later signed Hood to his

label. Hood was named, along with several others, on the ''Freshmen of '09'' by ''XXL'' magazine. His first album, ''Gutta'', was released in 2008. Singles included "

Cash Flow A cash flow is a real or virtual movement of money: *a cash flow in its narrow sense is a payment (in a currency), especially from one central bank account to another; the term 'cash flow' is mostly used to describe payments that are expected ...

" featuring T-Pain and

, and " Ride" featuring

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

. Hood also released mixtapes called ''Ace Won't Fold'' and ''All Bets On Ace''. He made a guest performance among several rappers on DJ Khaled's single " Out Here Grindin'", also featuring Akon, Rick Ross, Plies, Lil Boosie and Trick Daddy, which peaked at number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It is from Khaled's third studio album '' We Global'', and was eventually certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. Ace Hood appeared on Wildstyle Radio on WUAG 103.1FM in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, on September 7, 2008, to promote his album, '' Gutta'', along with DJ Khaled. The album debuted at number 36 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 25,000 copies its first week.

2009–2012: ''Ruthless'' and ''Blood, Sweat, & Tears''

On June 30, 2009, seven months later, Hood released his second album, titled ''Ruthless'', once again on Def Jam. The album's first single was "Overtime", which was produced by The Runners and featured Akon and T-Pain. The album's second single is "Loco Wit The Cake", which was produced by Schife, of the Palm Beach County Karbeen Mafia. The album's guest list includes Rick Ross, Ludacris, Jazmine Sullivan, The-Dream, Birdman, and

Lloyd Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to: People * Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' or ', which means "grey" or "brown" ** List of people with given name Lloyd ** List of people with surname Lloyd * Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), America ...

. The album debuted at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 20,000 copies its first week. Hood confirmed that his third album will be called, ''

''. It was released on August 9, 2011. The first official single, " Hustle Hard", became Ace's highest charting solo single, peaking at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The second official single is " Go 'N' Get It". Both tracks are produced by

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for h ...

. The third single is " Body 2 Body" featuring

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

and the song is produced by

J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League J.U.S.T.I.C.E. (Just Undeniably Some of The Illest Composers Ever) League is an American record production team composed of producers and instrumentalists from Tampa, Florida. The group is made up of members Erik "Rook" Ortiz, Kevin "Colione ...

. It peaked at number 65 on the Hot 100. The album features artists like T-Pain,

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

, Kevin Cossom, Rick Ross &

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

. The album debuted at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 26,000 copies, becoming the rapper's most successful album so far. He promoted the album with his first concert tour, the Hustle Hard Tour. He also appeared on three tracks from DJ Khaled's fifth studio album, '' We the Best Forever'': "I'm Thuggin'", "Future", and the " Welcome to My Hood (Remix)". Hood started 2012 by collaborating with Cash Money Records artist Bow Wow on a song called "We Going Hard". He will be appearing on Maybach Music's ''

Self Made Vol. 2 ''Self Made Vol. 2'' is the second compilation album by MMG. The album was released on June 26, 2012, by Maybach Music Group, Warner Bros. Records and Def Jam Recordings. Like the previous album, ''Self Made Vol. 2'' features contributions from m ...

'' album. Birdman and

signed Hood and

We The Best Music Group We The Best Music Group is an American record label founded by DJ Khaled. Previously We The Best operated as an imprint of IDJMG's division Def Jam South, and afterward as an imprint of the Universal Records division Cash Money Records. As of Nov ...

to Cash Money Records. Hood will be recording his fourth studio album under We The Best and Cash Money Records. He has made guest appearances on tracks by other recording artists such s

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, Jadakiss, Brisco, and "The Drill" by The Game, also featuring Meek Mill, which appears on his ''

California Republic The California Republic ( es, La República de California), or Bear Flag Republic, was an unrecognized breakaway state from Mexico, that for 25 days in 1846 militarily controlled an area north of San Francisco, in and around what is now So ...

''.

2013–present: ''Trials & Tribulations''

For his debut single on the We The Best & Cash Money label, he reunited with

after 4 years, to make the early-2000s-styled love single known as "I Need Your Love". Hood released his mixtape ''Starvation 2'' on January 10, 2013. The mixtape features guest appearances from Meek Mill,

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

and Plies. On January 16, 2013, Hood announced his fourth studio album titled '' Trials & Tribulations'' and released the first single from the album titled "

" featuring

and Rick Ross. The song is produced by Mike WiLL Made It. On February 6, 2013, the music video was released for "Bugatti" featuring Future and Rick Ross. The song made a hot-shot debut on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 42. "Bugatti" has since peaked at number 33 on the Hot 100, becoming Hood's most successful single to date as a lead artist, and his first top 40 hit since "Out Here Grindin'". On February 19, 2013, it was announced that ''Trials & Tribulations'' would be released on July 16, 2013. On April 7, 2013, in an interview on Power 99 Philly with Mina SayWhat about his "Trials and Tribulations" album, Hood opens up about his family and deciding to go a different route with this album, working with Anthony Hamilton and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

and plans to get

and

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

to feature on the album too. On May 6, 2013, Hood released the remix to "Bugatti" featuring guests

, Future, Meek Mill, T.I.,

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

, Birdman,

and 2 Chainz. On June 5, 2013, Hood released the second single called " We Outchea" featuring his Cash Money label-mate Lil Wayne. On June 26, 2013, the final track listing was revealed featuring appearances from Meek Mill, Anthony Hamilton,

and

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teen ...

. Hood released his ''Starvation 3'' mixtape on January 17, 2014. The free project included features from We The Best label-mates Vado and Mavado, as well as

and Kevin Cossom. Production for the mixtape came from Cool & Dre, The Renegades, StreetRunner, and The Beat Bully, among others. ''Body Bag 3'' was released on August 29. Two months after that, Hood would team up with Rich Homie Quan for a return single titled "We Don't". In 2021, He joined '' Love & Hip Hop: Miami''.

Personal life

Ace Hood is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

and states that he "highly believe in God". Hood and his previous girlfriend, Shanice Tyria Sarratt, had twin girls, Lyric and Sailor Blu McColister, on May 25, 2011. Lyric died shortly after birth due to health complications. He also has a son. He proposed to longtime girlfriend Shelah Marie in April 2019; they got married on February 7, 2020.

Discography

* '' Gutta'' (2008) * '' Ruthless'' (2009) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Trials & Tribulations'' (2013) * ''Mr. Hood'' (2020) * ''M.I.N.D. (Memories Inside Never Die)'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ace Hood Living people African-American male rappers Cash Money Records artists Republic Records artists Def Jam Recordings artists Deerfield Beach High School alumni People from Deerfield Beach, Florida People from Port St. Lucie, Florida Rappers from Florida Southern hip hop musicians Gangsta rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American Christians 1988 births 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people American rappers of Haitian descent