Highly recommended! Ace Hashimoto is a contemporary R&B singer, songwriter, and producer whose smooth vocals, frequently applied to jazzy hip-hop inspired productions, resemble a distinctive cross between Pharrell Williams and Frank Ocean. The Chicago native has been active on the hip-hop scene, producing for SZA, Mac Miller, and Chance the Rapper amongst others before moving to Toyko in 2017 to hone his songwriting & singing capabilities. While living in Japan, he wrote for two of the country's biggest acts in EXILE and CRAZYBOY/Elly of J-Soul Brothers and collaborated with fellow label-mate, Devin Morrison. The following year, around the time he scored his first digital hit "Natural" feat. Moeshop (acquiring over 2 million plays on Spotify) Hashimoto began working on Play.Make.Believe, an album recorded over a 3 month span after returning to the United States. He was able to enlist the talents of pH-1 (of Jay Park's H1GHRMUSIC), H.E.R producer, Lophile & many more assist in crafting this beautiful nod to his influences.
The album's title, "Play.Make.Believe." comes from Hashimoto's acknowledgement of the music he grew up on as child and his effort to recreate that nostalgia for the future generation.
