Aceyalone gets a hero’s welcome in the brand new video for “Pass the Hint.” Returning to Los Angeles from Cuba (if his “Leanin’ on Slick” clip is any indication), the underground rap icon gets picked up from the airport in a gorgeous classic car, then heads straight into the Crenshaw Community, home to that cultural epicenter inextricable from the man’s career: Leimert Park. Eddie Haze looks perfectly at ease playing the role of elder statesman and he should — it was there that he became a figurehead for the Project Blowed open-mic workshop and music collective that touched so many L.A. hip-hop artists on their way up. And yet, Aceyalone knows, “Bullshit don’t pay the rent,” so let’s “ease back with the compliments” already. “Pass the Hint” continues the funk-soul thread that colors the MC’s freshly released 10th solo album, Leanin’ on Slick, adding in an Afro-beat flourish underneath the vocals, which split the difference between Busta Rhymes at his most laid back and James Brown spurring on his band. Dig his grown-man swag above.
Aceyalone Is the King of Crenshaw in ‘Pass the Hint’ Video
