Merky ACE
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Merky ACE
| image = Merky ACE.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Merky ACE in 2017.
| alias = Splurt Diablo
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1992|04|01}}
| birth_place = Peckham, London, England
| origin = Lewisham, London, England
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- MC
- rapper
- songwriter
- record producer
}}
| years_active = 2009–present
| label = {{flatlist|
- Tizzy Gang
- Family Tree
- Dirtee Stank
- TUIGSE
- Oil Gang
}}
| associated_acts = Tre Mission, Dizzee Rascal
| website = {{URL|merkyace.com}}
}}
Aisa Khan Sampson-Spencer (born 1 April 1992), known professionally as Merky ACE, is a British grime MC, rapper, songwriter and record producer from Lewisham, South London. He was a founding member of the grime collective Family Tree, and later Tizzy Gang, with whom he is still a part of. He also produces beats under the pseudonym Splurt Diablo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.radarradio.com/blog/merky-ace-splurt-diablo-dj-mc-interview |title=Merk Diablo? Splurty Ace? Who's Who? - Radar Radio - Radar Radio |access-date=9 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810150459/http://www.radarradio.com/blog/merky-ace-splurt-diablo-dj-mc-interview |archive-date=10 August 2016 |url-status=live }} His debut album, Blue Battlefield, was released on 3 April 2011.
Career
Merky ACE first came to prominence on the UK underground scene as part of grime's "new wave" in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtviggy.com/interviews/merky-ace-grime-prince/|title=Merky Ace: Grime's New Prince {{pipe}} MTV IGGY|publisher=mtviggy.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005085300/http://www.mtviggy.com/interviews/merky-ace-grime-prince/|archive-date=5 October 2015|url-status=live}} In the same year he independently released his acclaimed Blue Battlefield mixtape and followed it up with the Catch Up EP in the same year.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.co.uk/the-wrap-up/blog/wrap-up-and-watch-out-merky-ace|title=Wrap Up And Watch Out: Merky Ace {{pipe}} MTV UK|publisher=mtv.co.uk|access-date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001115248/http://www.mtv.co.uk/the-wrap-up/blog/wrap-up-and-watch-out-merky-ace|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hitthefloor.com/music/urban/merky-ace-catch-up-ep-advert-tracklisting/|title=Merky Ace - Catch Up EP (Advert & Tracklisting) - Hit The Floor|publisher=hitthefloor.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001090326/http://www.hitthefloor.com/music/urban/merky-ace-catch-up-ep-advert-tracklisting/|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}} In 2012, Merky ACE recorded features for Dizzee Rascal's Dirtee TV 2 mixtape which was released on Christmas of that year.{{cite web|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/news/download-dizzee-rascals-dirtee-tv-vol-2-mixtape/72570/|title=Download: Dizzee Rascal's 'Dirtee TV Vol. 2' Mixtape {{pipe}} Prefix|publisher=prefixmag.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001163238/http://www.prefixmag.com/news/download-dizzee-rascals-dirtee-tv-vol-2-mixtape/72570/|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}} In 2013, he released two mixtapes - All or Nothing and Play Your Position - through grime label NoHatsNoHoods.{{cite web|url=http://www.factmag.com/2013/04/05/grime-up-and-comer-merky-ace-wants-all-or-nothing-on-new-mixtape/|title=Grime up-and-comer Merky Ace wants All or Nothing on new full-length - FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.|publisher=factmag.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001163351/http://www.factmag.com/2013/04/05/grime-up-and-comer-merky-ace-wants-all-or-nothing-on-new-mixtape/|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sonicrouter.com/2013/10/a-natural-balance-talking-merky-aces-second-album-play-your-position/|title=Sonic Router {{pipe}} A Natural Balance: Talking Merky Ace's Second Album, Play Your Position|publisher=sonicrouter.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001213900/http://www.sonicrouter.com/2013/10/a-natural-balance-talking-merky-aces-second-album-play-your-position/|archive-date=1 October 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.earmilk.com/2013/10/11/merky-ace-play-your-position-mixtape-premiere/|title=Merky ACE - Play Your Position [Mixtape Premiere] - EARMILK|publisher=Earmilk|accessdate=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002030125/http://www.earmilk.com/2013/10/11/merky-ace-play-your-position-mixtape-premiere/|archive-date=2 October 2015|url-status=live}}
In 2014, Merky ACE was signed to Dizzee Rascal's label Dirtee Stank.{{cite web|url=http://uk.complex.com/music/2015/06/premiere-merky-ace-cuss-match-produced-by-footsie|title=Premiere: Merky Ace Makes His Dirtee Stank Debut With "Cuss Match" (Prod. By Footsie) {{pipe}} Complex UK|publisher=uk.complex.com|accessdate=30 September 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106190829/http://uk.complex.com/music/2015/06/premiere-merky-ace-cuss-match-produced-by-footsie|archivedate=6 January 2016}} Merky ACE's first project on the label Peak Levels EP was released on 17 July 2015.{{cite web|url=http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/music-video-premieres/merky-ace-cuss-match-official-video|title=MERKY ACE - "CUSS MATCH" (OFFICIAL VIDEO) {{pipe}} MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERES {{pipe}} NOISEY|publisher=noisey.vice.com|access-date=30 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004161930/http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/music-video-premieres/merky-ace-cuss-match-official-video|archive-date=4 October 2015|url-status=dead}} In late 2015, Merky ACE formed a new crew, Tizzy Gang alongside Tre Mission and Cadell; following this news, Family Tree disbanded shortly after in early 2016.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sbtv.co.uk/read/features/in-the-studio-with-tizzy-gang |title=The Lowdown: In the Studio with...Tizzy Gang - SBTV |access-date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520053504/http://www.sbtv.co.uk/read/features/in-the-studio-with-tizzy-gang/ |archive-date=20 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.sbtv.co.uk/new_music/listen-merky-ace-tre-mission-and-cadell-team-up-on-hurt/]{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Merky was a joint executive producer of Tizzy Gang's debut collaborative album, Opps Next Door Vol. 1, which was released on 16 June 2017. He provided vocals for fifteen of the album's twenty tracks, and produced many of its tracks under his Splurt Diablo alias. The album's release was celebrated with a launch party at Relentless No. 5 in London.
His debut solo album, War Is Normal, was released on 11 May 2018. The album features the singles "TDF", "Black Hawk Down", and "Out of Order", which were released on 9 March, 16 March, and 23 March 2018 respectively. The first two of these tracks had previously premiered on his SoundCloud in 2016, as had "Ruff's the New Buff", "Crash Bang Sound", and "What's the Program?".
On 5 June 2020, Merky marked his first collaboration with fellow grime MC Capo Lee with a joint project, the Clash of the Pagans EP.{{cite web|url=https://merkyace.bandcamp.com/album/clash-of-the-pagans|title=Clash of the Pagans|date=5 June 2020|website=bandcamp}}
Discography
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Opps Next Door (with Tizzy Gang)
|
|
| scope="row"| War is Normal
|
|
=Compilation albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Best of Merky ACE
|
|
=Mixtapes=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Headtop Turner
|
|
| scope="row"| Watch Me Leave Scars
|
|
| scope="row"| NWO: New World Order
|
|
| scope="row"| Normal
|
|
| scope="row"| Who's Merky?
|
|
| scope="row"| Grime
|
|
| scope="row"| The Ones That Didn't Make It
|
|
| scope="row"| Blue Battlefield
|
|
| scope="row"| All Or Nothing
|
|
| scope="row"| Play Your Position
|
|
=EPs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Shinobi (with Splurt Diablo)
|
|
| scope="row"| The Recycle Bin
|
|
| scope="row"| Catch Up
|
|
| scope="row"| Peak Levels
|
|
| scope="row"| GOAT (Greatest of All Time) (with MIK)
|
|
| scope="row"| Catch Up Vol. 2
|
|
| scope="row"| Catch Up Vol. 3
|
|
| scope="row"| Personality Cult
|
|
| scope="row"| Catch Up Vol. 4
|
|
| scope="row"| Clash of the Pagans (with Capo Lee)
|
|
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Title ! scope="col"| Album |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 2010
! scope="row"| "Blue Battle Kiwi" | rowspan="3"| Non-album singles |
| scope="row"| "Greaze" |
| rowspan="1" | 2011
! scope="row"| "Shutdown" |
| rowspan="2" | 2012
! scope="row"| "Eff Tizzy" | All Or Nothing |
| scope="row"| "3 CDs Freestyle"
| Non-album single |
| rowspan="3" | 2015
! scope="row"| "Cuss Match" | Peak Levels EP |
| scope="row"| "El Peñol"
| Catch Up Vol. 2 |
| scope="row"| "Polyphonic Ringtone"
| Catch Up Vol. 3 |
| rowspan="5"| 2017
! scope="row"| "Old Skool Roadman Jacket" | rowspan="3"| Opps Next Door Vol. 1 |
| scope="row"| "Shekel" (with Tizzy Gang) |
| scope="row"| "Opps Next Door" (with Tizzy Gang) |
| scope="row"| "Our Queen"
| rowspan="2"|Personality Cult EP |
| scope="row"| "Ragu" (featuring Southside JB and Ko-Kane) |
| rowspan="3" | 2018
! scope="row"| "TDF" | rowspan="3" | War is Normal |
| scope="row"| "Black Hawk Down" |
| scope="row"| "Out of Order" |
| rowspan="1" | 2019
! scope="row"| "Look Like Loubz" | Non-album single |
=As Splurt Diablo=
==Mixtapes and compilations==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Extra Terrestrial - The Splurt Diablo Anthology
|
|
| scope="row"| All About the Melanin
|
|
| scope="row"| /s
|
|
| scope="row"| Blacc
|
|
==EPs==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Vomit
|
|
| scope="row"| Vomit Vol. 2
|
|
| scope="row"| Vomit Vol. 3
|
|
| scope="row"| J3
|
|
| scope="row"| Throwbacks
|
|
| scope="row"| Cyborg Justice
|
|
| scope="row"| Fatigue
|
|
| scope="row"| CCTV Celeb
|
|
| scope="row"| Hara-Kiri
|
|
| scope="row"| Space Madness
|
|
| scope="row"| Amped / Irn Bru
|
|
Awards and nominations
{{awards table}}
!{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 2020
| rowspan="1"| Jme featuring Merky ACE - "Live"
| rowspan="1"| UK Music Video Awards Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video
| {{won}}
| style="text-align:center;"|{{Cite web|last=Paine|first=Andre|date=6 November 2020|title=UK Music Video Awards 2020 Winners Revealed|url=https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/uk-music-video-awards-2020-winners-revealed/081818|access-date=7 November 2020|website=Music Week}}
{{end}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merky ACE}}
Category:Black British male rappers
Category:British trap musicians
Category:English record producers
Category:Rappers from the London Borough of Lewisham