BORN IN ROCHESTER NY, FEBUARY 6TH, 1983 TO THE BIRTH NAME, ACE TANTON ROMO, ACEROCK HAS ALWAYS ENJOYED AND DISPLAYED A LOVE FOR MUSIC. HE WAS KNOWN TO BE THE LITTLE MAN GOING AROUND SINGING THE HOOKS FOR MICHAEL JACKSONS SONGS "BEAT IT" AND "BAD"
AT THE TIME. PEOPLE JUST THOUGHT THAT YOUNG ACE WAS CUTE FOR DOING HIS RENDITIONS OF "RED RED WINE". LITTLE DID THEY KNOW THAT THIS WOULD BE THE PRE-CURSOR OF WHAT WAS TO BECOME OF ACE'S LIFE.BY THE AGE OF 4 ACE'S PARENTS WERE DIVORCED AND DAYS AFTER HIS 5TH BIRTHDAY, ACE'S MOTHER DECIDED TO PACK THEIR STUFF UP AND MOVE TO CALIFORNIA. EVEN THOUGH NOT RAISED AROUND HIP HOP MUSIC AT ALL. ONE DAY, ACE HAPPENED TO HEAR THE SONG "PLANET ROCK" THAT WAS THE SEED THAT WAS TO BECOME KNOWN AS THE BEGINNING OF ACE'S LOVE FOR HIP-HOP MUSIC. SOME OF THE FIRST GROUPS OR ARTISTS THAT ACE ENJOYED WERE: NAUGHTY BY NATURE, BIG DADDY KANE, BEASTIE BOYS, LL COOL J, KRISS KROSS, DE LA SOUL, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, DIGABLE PLANETS, KRS-ONE, DAS EFX, AND WHODINI.THEN ONE DAY. ACE HEARD SOMETHING DIFFERENT, SOMETHING HARDER. IT WAS CALLED GANGSTA RAP. GROWING UP IN CALIFORNIA, THIS BECAME THE PREFERED VERSION OF HIP-HOP. IDOLIZING THE LIKES OF: DR. DRE, SNOOP DOGGY DOGG, EAZY E, THA DOGG POUND, SPICE-ONE, ICE CUBE, MC REN, KING T, AND OF COURSE, 2 PAC.ACE WOULD RECORD ALL THE SONGS ON TAPE. THEN LISTEN TO THEM OVER AND OVER UNTIL HE HAD MEMORIZED ALL THEIR VERSES. THEN HE WOULD GO TO SCHOOL AND RECITE THE LYRICS ON POINT ACCAPELLA. HE LOVED THE WAY PEOPLE REACTED WHEN HE WOULD RECITE SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE VERSES AND HOOKS OUT OF NOWHERE. BY THE AGE OF NINE, ACE STARTED WRITTING POEMS FROM TIME TO TIME THAT PEOPLE ALWAYS THOUGHT WERE VERY WELL WRITTEN FOR SOMEONE OF SUCH A YOUNG AGE. THAT SPARKED HIS MIND. WHAT IF, HE COULD TURN HIS POEMS INTO RAPS? SOON, HE DID JUST THAT, BUT NO ONE EVER HEARD ANY OF IT. ACE DIDN'T THINK THAT IT WAS GOOD. SO HE KEPT IT ALL TO HIMSELF.ALSO IN THAT TIME PERIOD, ACE WAS SUBJECTED TO OTHER HIP-HOP ARTISTS SUCH AS: BIGGIE SMALLS, WU-TANG CLAN, HIEROGLYPHICS,
E-40, TOO SHORT, BONE THUGS N HARMONY, MACK 10, OUTKAST, KID FROST, SLOW PAIN, LIL ROB, COOLIO, AND NAS. HE ALSO HAD A FEW FEMALES MC'S THAT HE THOUGH WERE RAW, INCLUDING: MC LYTE, LADY OF RAGE AND LEFT EYE (R.I.P) OF THE R&B GROUP, TLC.BY THE TIME ACE WAS IN JR HIGH, HE HAD BECOME A JOCK, PLAYING EVERY SPORT HE COULD, SUCH AS: BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, TRACK AND FIELD, WRESTLING, CROSS COUNTRY, AND OF COURSE BASKETBALL. SO AT THIS TIME ACE HAD NO TIME OR EVEN THE SLIGHTEST URGE TO DO ANYTHING WITH HIS TALENT TO USE WORDS, WHETHER IT WAS FOR MUSIC OR EVEN IN SCHOOL. EVEN THOUGH ACE WAS AN OUTSTANDING ATHLETE, WINNING MANY AWARDS AND MEDALS FOR HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS, HIS TRUE TALENT OF USING HIS WORDS WAS BEING WASTED. ACE WOULD SOON ENTER HIGH SCHOOL WITH BIG ATHLETIC DREAMS, AND EVEN HAD THE HYPE TO BACK IT UP, BEING MENTIONED IN ONE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER ARTICLE AS BEING ONE OF THE TOP FRESHMAN POINT GUARDS IN THE COUNTY. NONE OF THOSE DREAMS AND NONE OF THE HYPE WOULD EVER GET ESTABLISHED AS WHAT HAPPENED NEXT CHANGED THE COURSE OF ACE'S LIFE FOREVER.ON OCTOBER 14TH, 1997, JUST ABOUT A MONTH AND A HALF INTO ACE'S FRESHMAN YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, ACE'S MOTHER, ROSA, DROPPED WHAT ACE HAS REFERRED TO AS "THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF HIS GLORY DAYS" HE WAS SITTING IN HIS ROOM, LATE THAT NIGHT, READING A SLAM MAGAZINE WHEN HIS MOTHER AND HER BOYFRIEND CAME ABRUTLY INTO HIS ROOM AND TOLD HIM TO PACK HIS THINGS, HE WAS MOVING TO CHICAGO TO LIVE WITH HIS FATHER, WHOM HE HAD NOT SEEN IN 5 YRS AND THAT HIS PLANE LEFT IN 3 HOURS. THE REASON FOR THE MOVE WAS BECAUSE HIS MOTHER FEARED THAT HE WAS GETTING INTO GANG ACTIVITY IN SCHOOL. YES, HE DID GO TO SCHOOL IN SANTA ANA, WHERE GANGS WERE VERY PREVELENT, AND YES, HE DID HAVE FRIENDS THAT WERE GANG MEMBERS,BUT ACE WAS NOT A GANG MEMBER HIMSELF AND BESIDES GETTING INTO A FEW SCHOOL YARD FIGHTS LIKE ALL BOYS HAVE, HE WAS ACTUALLY NOT WHAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD CONSIDER A PROBLEM CHILD. SO EVEN TO THIS DAY, ACE FEELS THAT HE WAS SENT AWAY TO LIVE WITH HIS FATHER NOT BECAUSE OF HIM BEING A PROBLEM CHILD, BUT SIMPLY BECAUSE HIS MOTHER CHOSE THIS MAN OVER HER SON. BY 5 IN THE MORNING, ACE WAS IN CHICAGO.
