Juice Crew alum Masta Ace wouldn"t make his mark until he moved west to Los Angeles and began making jeep-ass music, but, in 1990, he was the liquid philosopher, cracking both wise and intelligent. This record collects nearly all the tracks from his debut Take a Look Around, a mostly slept-on classic. Ace flexes tremendous range on some of Marley Marl"s best production work, including the hilariously on-point impression of a fellow diabolical Crew member on "Me and the Biz," the snappy club fave "Music Man," and the updated Scott-Heronisms of "Take a Look Around." Ace"s stream-of-consciousness flows on "Brooklyn Battles" and "I Got Ta" sealed his underground rep, and that"s where he would emerge from in the mid-90s. Heads will appreciate the inclusion of rare B-sides, especially the intoxicatingly oddball "Go Where I Send Thee." An easily likable set of beats and rhymes that have aged well. --Jeff Chang