Masta Ace & Marco Polo Release “P.P.E.” Video
Masta Ace and Marco Polo are working class heroes, making their living off beats and rhymes, but never removing themselves from the neighborhoods they call home. Closely examining the issues tearing their community apart, Ace & Polo share “P.P.E.,” the latest music video from their Richmond Hill album. Blessed by Marco Polo’s nursery rhyme pianos and rattling snares, the instrumental for “P.P.E.” gets a thematic heft from its sampled chant: “Junkies, pushers, everywhere/Poor people everywhere.” Wielding his incisive pen, Masta Ace aims to diagnose our sick society, lamenting the hard world that chews up and spits out those who don’t have the means to protect themselves, and oppresses those who try to stand up for what’s right: “I wanna live in some place that’s not a disgrace/They gave chase and that man got shot in the face/Bow/Why can’t we live like them over there?/Poor guys try to rise, they give us the chair.”
Directed by Ezru Gonzalez and shot by cinematographer @Aridaios, the video for “P.P.E.” follows Ace and Marco as they explore the less-tourist friendly neighborhoods of their home borough of Brooklyn. They take note of the residents (human and feline) who are just trying to survive, even returning to the famous stoop from the cover of Ace’s classic 2004 album A Long Hot Summer. “P.P.E.” follows the similarly high-concept video for “Jordan Theory,” another Richmond Hill highlight, and the lead single “Life Music” ft. Speech (of Arrested Development), Stricklin, and E Smitty, which dropped late in 2023.
Released on digital platforms and on vinyl in January, Richmond Hill is the second full-length collaboration between producer Marco Polo and rapper Masta Ace. Following up their acclaimed 2018 album A Bruekelen Story, the 18-track (including skits) Richmond Hill is a cinematic journey that about how hip-hop can change a life, exploring how the past echoes through the present. Welcoming guest appearances from notable names from all eras of rap history, including Inspectah Deck, Coast Contra, Blu, Che Noir, Speech of Arrested Development, Masta Ace’s longtime collaborators Stricklin and Wordsworth, and many more, Richmond Hill is available to stream on all digital platforms and to purchase on vinyl via Fat Beats.
Photo credit: @mrwattson