Masta Ace & Marco Polo

On 2007’s “Nostalgia,” a memorable track off Marco Polo's album, Port Authority, chemistry between Polo and guest MC Masta Ace is easily heard and felt. What was a quick one-off collab was not only a reminder of Masta Ace’s timelessness, but it was also the impetus for a larger, more fleshed out concept between the Toronto beatsmith Polo and the legendary MC. The pair since formed a duo and the result is a powerfully evenhanded project, A Breukelen Story.

We find hip-hop’s storied journeyman, Masta Ace, at the helm of another sharp, tightly wrought project. He’s traversed hip-hop’s ever-changing landscape for nearly three decades, navigating different eras while expanding his already extensive catalogue. It’s hard to find a more humble master of ceremony than Ace—even harder is finding another figure whose work is equally embraced on both coasts, East and West, as well as abroad.

Polo is not new to forming quality collabs, with notable stints on the aforementioned Port Authority as well as it’s follow up, PA2, and others like 2016’s work with young MC, A-F-R-O. Yet out of Polo’s previous collaborative efforts, this one stands out and is a bit more special, according to Polo: “Ace does not like to write random songs, its usually conceptual and topical,” he says. “But we do have some straight spitting joints on A Breukelen Story which is what makes this album possibly the most diverse of all of my collaborative albums.”

- David Ma