Critical Reception
Highly acclaimed and influential over the California underground scene, the album was praised, almost solely, for its highly literate and creative lyricism. Though not commercially successful, All Balls received rave reviews from many sources. Allmusic gave the album a perfect 5 star rating, and writer Steve Huey stated:
A spectacular lyrical milestone, All Balls was overlooked at the time, and later slipped quietly out of print. Which is extremely unfortunate, since Aceyalone is one of the greatest lyricists the West Coast has ever produced, twisting his fluid rhymes around and off the beat with the improvisational assurance of Rakim. What's more, his subject matter goes beyond the battle rhymes that most mike virtuosos hone their technique with. He's cerebral and philosophical, yet bursting with confidence at the same time, which lends a definite sense of excitement to his literate wordplay. His lyrics aren't just long strings of ten-cent words — they're an important part of the songs' rhythmic drive, and he knows when to leave empty space in his lines to keep the groove flowing smoothly.
The sparse beats were seemingly outshined by the lyrics. Allmusic describes; "The production on All Balls Don't Bounce is solid if unspectacular, usually spare and jazzy, with lots of piano/keyboard samples and some fitting nods to the abstract side of hard bop. If it's occasionally geared to spotlight the lyrics, that's only logical."
The production work also received some acclaim. RapReviews.com writer Steve Juon stated in his album review; "The production is as diverse as Acey's rap, with everyone from Punish to Vic Hop to Mumbles and Fat Jack handling the duties. While the styles range from the slow snapping poetry slam jazz of "Makeba" to the upliftingly fluid harmonies of "Keep it True" featuring Abstract Rude & Change of Rhythm, each beat feels perfectly chosen for the impact of Acey's verbals to be amplified beyond the limits that had previously been conceived for hip-hop." Writing for The Austin Chronicle in November 1995, Rashied Gabriel thought that the album's production and Aceylone's "various styles" worked to complementary effect. He went on to label All Balls Don't Bounce "a sureshot record", and felt that it delivered "verbal calisthenics that astound with fresh insight as well as lyrical wizardry."
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