Bio
A widely accepted fact of life is that, "everything happens for a reason",
the story of Andrew J. Reis is no exception. Born and raised in Providence,
Rhode Island, Andrew Reis (aka Ace Diamond) has lived more and persevered
more at the age of 29 then most people go through in two lifetimes. The
evolution of Andrew Reis into "Ace Diamond" is a story of triumph, a story
of tragedy, but mostly of all it is a story of what can happen when life
challenges all you know and understand.
As a young boy growing up on the south side of Providence, Ace was much
like any other city youth. Ace hung around the neighborhoods with his
friends, played basketball, and saw more than any child should see at a
young age. Luckily for Ace his family watched over him. Ace also had some
close family friends, who were already well-known local musicians;
eventually peak his interest in music. Ace began composing hip hop tracks
when he was 11 years old and by the age of 12 he was already involved in
the scene. At the age of fifteen Ace along with his rap group Varius at the
time, performed at his first Hip Hop concert at the Strand Theater in
Providence opening up for rap icons Redman and Foxy Brown. It was obvious
then that his talents were unparalleled and that the future was as bright
as he desired to make it. After a few more shows the group of young adults
broke up, but Ace’s desire to be a star never wavered.
After playing basketball at Mitchell Junior College in New London, CT, Ace
returned to Rhode Island to continue his music career. During the year of
1997 Ace was presented with an opportunity to go to New York in pursuit of
a music career with the help of his college friend Cheron Scales and
Shitockey Laku. Upon returning from New York, Ace started working in the
club scene performing and trying to get his talents recognized.
In 2005, even though he was using his singing talents in various groups to
help with paying his bills, Ace decided to take his rap music career more
seriously and he started rapping under the name of "Cascius" and was
working on his rap skills under this name since 2000 with limited success.
In 2001, at the age of 21, Hot 106 FM's DJ Buck made it possible for
Cascius to open up for yet another rap icon, Master P, at Jovans Nightclub
in Providence. This was his first big solo appearance and it seemed as if
"Cascius" was going to be able to accomplish the desired success that the
singing groups could not. After a couple of more shows and traveling the
East Coast with Bad Boy Record's DJ Mason Storm, aka DJ Finesse, Cascius
was not going as far as he would have liked to so he began to give up on
his dream of rap music, settling for singing at local venues and weddings a
few times a week once again to keep up with the bills.
In July of 2005, at the age of 26, Andrew was at his mother's house when he
suddenly fell victim to a violent seizure. Assuming it was the result of a
car accident that had happen a few months earlier Ace was immediately
rushed to Rhode Island Hospital. Upon MRI testing the doctors concluded
that the seizure was not the result of any type of accident. At the age of
26 Ace was informed that he was suffering from a brain tumor. Through
numerous consultations and examinations Ace began to see the severity of
what was happening to him and he placed his faith, his life in the hands of
God as well as Dr. John Duncan III, Chief Neurosurgeon of the Neurosurgeon
Foundation.
With no medical coverage Dr. Duncan took Andrew’s case and showed him
that there is more to life than money and fame. Andrew could now see the
fragileness of life, the fear of death, and what living life really meant.
Dr. Duncan had given Andrew a second chance at life, but what he was not
aware of was that he had given Ace the motivation to return to his dreams.
On December 7, 2005, Ace underwent successful brain surgery and in the
process gained a purpose, a meaning to be heard. No longer was he concerned
with being famous or being rich. Ace now had a purpose, a reason to be
heard that had nothing to do with being a rap star.
Dr. Duncan had informed Andrew that the chances for reoccurrence were
decent and that it had to be monitored and kept in mind as being a real
possibility. This news instilled a sense of urgency in Andrew’s desire to
be heard and shortly after, with the help of lifelong friends, he returned
to the studio and released "The Transition" mix tape in the spring of 2006.
The mix tape spread through the streets and once again Andrew's talents
under the rap name “Cascius” were on display for all to see.
In October of 2006, Andrew’s brain tumor returned and he once again
underwent surgery. Facing months of treatments and therapy he had to once
again evaluate his outlook on life. He acknowledges the fact that feeling
as if he had to be the strong one in the family, helped him through some of
the toughest parts of his bouts with brain tumors. Around that exact same
time of the reoccurrence, Andrew caught the eye and ear of Gene Dozier,
legendary artist, song writer, producer, and owner of 18 gold and platinum
records. Mr. Dozier had recently moved to Rhode Island and formed his own
record label, Renaissance City Records. Andrew was offered a record deal
from Renaissance City Records. Andrew was given a clean bill of health once
again by Dr. Duncan and accepted the record deal. This is when Andrew
decided to change his name from “Cascius” to “Ace Diamond”.
“Ace” a childhood nickname that was given to him by the late Domingo
“Moe” Alves his godfather and “Diamond” which is his birthstone.
He put the two together and “Ace Diamond” was born!
Ace Diamond was well on his way once again, with a release date picked for
his debut album, “The Hand I Was Dealt”, and a buzz being created by
radio personalities in Rhode Island, Ace saw promise in his new label.
However, tragically Gene Dozier passed away in November 2007, just one day
before the first shipment of albums was to be made. Crushed by this
tragedy, Ace once again had suffered a setback in the face of success. This
did not distract him though and just two months later, Ace returned to the
stage in a big way.
“Ace Diamond” was booked as the first Hip Hop act to ever perform at
Twin River Casino’s Light House Bar where he opened up for the R
