Carter Ace is a 5-person Los Angeles-based hip-hop band that has recently consolidated its place in the spotlight with its 2021 hit single The One and Lonely. The band is known for its unique fusion of hip hop, neo-soul, R&B, and funk, and achieved most of its popularity through the artistic presence of the band’s frontman, O’Neil Carter.

The L.A based singer-songwriter, rapper, and composer, and frontman of Carter Ace is a Cameroonian-American artist who started his career in 2015 with the release of an EP titled The Manhattan Project. The album was initially released on Bandcamp and was preceded by his now-famous debut single ‘Don’t Waste My Time’.

In his debut EP, Carter revealed his cards as an artist and musician, allowing himself to express many different sides of his musical influence. Fusing LA-based hip-hop with neo-soul drip, psychedelia, and funk, Carter managed to enter the music industry with a unique, vibrant, and refreshing sound that many have compared to the likes of D’Angelo and Anderson Paak.

It’s no wonder that Carter was able to achieve this feat with his debut in 2015. Growing up, O’Neil Carter was surrounded by music as his father was in a band and his mother was a dancer. He explained in an interview that upon moving to America at a very young age, he was constantly around his parents as they worked on their art.

His earliest musical influences were African and Salsa music but as he grew up he began exploring his own musical tastes, primarily Kanye West, whose early fusions of hip-hop with space funk and neo-soul greatly influenced Carter. He also spent a lot of time in the studio watching his father working, which helped him realize his own dream of becoming a professional musician.

Around the same time, Carter began performing at various stage venues, including restaurants and underground gigs. Soon after, he managed to assemble a group of like-minded musicians who, to this day, make up the LA-based band known as Carter Ace.

Carter Ace’s latest release comes during the worldwide lockdown and has brought the band even more recognition and acclaim than any of their previous releases had. The hit single that leads the way for the latest releases is a track titled ‘The One and Lonely’, which explores Carter’s relationship with his newly acquired fame and the pressure to create more music.

The One and Lonely features hip-hop style verses over typical bass and drum before showing listeners Carter Ace’s willingness to expand and fuse genres together. The track’s chorus is a neo-soul, space rock vibe which shimmers with psychedelic guitars and vocal harmonies. The One and Lonely also incorporates a funk instrumental style, which serves the music video by framing Carter’s frustration with the media as he is shown running panicked through the desert in an oversized button-down dragging a suitcase behind him.

Carter Ace continues to reel in more fame and recognition despite the struggles of creating albums during the worldwide lockdown. Given the band’s quick rise to fame and their motivation to experiment with music in radically new ways, you won’t want to miss out on what Carter Ace has in store next.