The Show (eMC album)

This article is about the eMC album. For the 1995 film soundtrack, see The Show (soundtrack).

The Show
Studio album by eMC
Released	March 25, 2008
Recorded	2005–07
Genre	East Coast hip hop underground hip hop
Length	1:14:35
Label	M3 Records Traffic Entertainment Group
Producer	Ayatollah Frequency J! Koolade Marco Polo Nicolay Quincy Tones The ARE
EMC chronology
The Show (2008) The Turning Point (2014)
Singles from The Show
"E.M.C. What It Stands For?" Released: September 25, 2007
Masta Ace chronology
A Long Hot Summer (2004) The Show (2008) Arts & Entertainment (2009)
Wordsworth chronology
Mirror Music (2004) The Show (2008) The Photo Album (2012)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B+[3]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[4]
HipHopDX	4/5[5]
Pitchfork	7.9/10[6]
PopMatters	7/10[7]
RapReviews	8.5/10[8]
Robert Christgau	[9]

The Show is the debut studio album by American hip hop supergroup eMC. It was released on March 25, 2008 via M3 Records/Traffic Entertainment Group. Production was handled by Frequency, J!, Quincy Tones, Ayatollah, The ARE, Koolade, Marco Polo and Nicolay, with DJ Rob, Filthy Rich and Masta Ace serving as executive producers. Beside members Masta Ace, Punchline, Wordsworth and Strick, it features guest appearances from Adi, Ladybug Mecca, Little Brother, Money Harm and Sean Price.

Background

While it was originally rumored that Ace had retired from music after the release of his acclaimed 2004 concept album A Long Hot Summer, the following year the veteran had formed the new collective with his protégé, Milwaukee rapper Strick, and revered underground lyricists Punch & Words. The four had previously collaborated on numerous albums and tracks, and toured extensively as a collective.

Like Ace's previous albums, A Long Hot Summer and Disposable Arts, The Show is a thematic concept album that tells a story. The album's story follows a day in the life of eMC doing a show on the road.

Singles

The first official eMC track, the Ayatollah-produced "Four Brothers", was released in 2006. A music video for the song was released online on December 10, 2006, however, this track was not included on the album. Music videos were released for "What It Stand For" and "Leak It Out" as well.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Who We Be"	Duval Clear Vinson Jamel Johnson Rashaan Truell Stephen Stricklin Matko Sasek	Koolade	3:16
2.	"The Airport" (featuring Paul Nice and Eternia)			1:37
3.	"Leak It Out"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Phillip R. Gonzalez	The ARE	3:28
4.	"The Check In" (featuring Paul Nice)			0:56
5.	"Traffic" (featuring Little Brother)	Clear Truell Phonte Lyshod Coleman Thomas Louis Jones S. McCaffery	Quincy Tones	4:17
6.	"Say Now"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Gonzalez	The ARE	4:16
7.	"The Message"			0:47
8.	"Don't Give Up on Us" (featuring ADI)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Bryan Fryzel	Frequency	3:38
9.	"Git Sum" (featuring Sean Price)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Sean Price J. Balde	J!	3:39
10.	"We Alright" (featuring Terrel Howard)	Clear Johnson Stricklin Fryzel	Frequency	3:47
11.	"The Interview" (featuring Amanda Diva)			0:58
12.	"Emc (What It Stand For?)" (featuring Adanita Ross)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Matthijs Rook	Nicolay	3:18
13.	"The Angry Merch Guy" (featuring Stephen "FaTone" Mills)			1:23
14.	"The Grudge"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Lamont Dorrell	Ayatollah	3:49
15.	"Make It Better" (featuring Adanita Ross and Angelita Ross)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Balde	J!	3:45
16.	"The Lobby" (featuring Paul Nice)			1:01
17.	"Winds of Change"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin McCaffery	Quincy Tones	4:21
18.	"The Show" (featuring Ladybug Mecca)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Mary Ann "Khalilah Azraa" Vieira Balde	J!	3:48
19.	"The Backstage" (featuring Marco Polo and Torae)			1:05
20.	"Borrow You"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Dorrell	Ayatollah	3:26
21.	"Once More"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Marco Bruno	Marco Polo	3:49
22.	"U Let Me Grow"	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin McCaffery	Quincy Tones	4:58
23.	"Feel It" (featuring Money Harm and Katrina Chambers)	Clear Johnson Truell Stricklin Marvin Moore-Hough Fryzel	Frequency	5:26
24.	Untitled			3:47
Total length:				1:14:35

Personnel

eMC Duval "Masta Ace" – vocals, mixing, executive producer Vinson "Wordsworth" Johnson – vocals, recording Rashaan "Punchline" Truell – vocals Stephen "Strick" Stricklin – vocals Technical Matko "Koolade" Sasek – producer (track 1) Phillip "The ARE" Gonzalez – producer (tracks: 3, 6) S. "Quincy Tones" McCaffery – producer (tracks: 5, 17, 22) Bryan "Frequency" Fryzel – producer (tracks: 8, 10, 23) J. "J!" Balde – producer (tracks: 9, 15, 18) Matthijs "Nicolay" Rook – producer (track 12) Lamont "Ayatollah" Dorrell – producer (tracks: 14, 20) Marco "Marco Polo" Bruno – producer (track 21) Filthy Rich – recording, mixing, executive producer DJ Rob – recording, executive producer Robert Alphonse – art direction Francois Bonura – photography Marvin Anthony – photography Peter Chin – photography

Guest vocalists Phonte of Little Brother – vocals (track 5) Thomas Jones a.k.a. Big Pooh of Little Brother – vocals (track 5) ADI of Growing Nation – vocals (track 8) Sean Price a.k.a. Ruck of Heltah Skeltah – vocals (track 9) Mariana Khalilah Azraa Vieira a.k.a. Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets – vocals (track 18) Marvin Moore-Hough a.k.a. Money Harm of The Product G&B – vocals (track 23) Terrel Howard – additional vocals (track 10) Adanita Ross – additional vocals (tracks: 12, 15) Angelita Ross – additional vocals (track 15) Musicians DJ Eclipse – scratches (track 12) Anthony Lucas – bass (track 20) "The Cast" Paul Nice as Adam Amanda Diva Eternia as Club MP3 Voicemail Stephen Mills aka FaTone as Merch Man Torae as security guard Marco Polo as boyfriend April Hill as fan Katrina Chambers as hotel manager

References

1. "Critic Reviews for The Show". Metacritic. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
2. Rinaldi, Matt. "The Show - eMC | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
3. Rabin, Nathan (April 21, 2008). "EMC: The Show". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
4. Passantino, Dom (April 7, 2008). "Album Review: eMC - The Show". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
5. Ketchum III, William (March 31, 2008). "EMC - The Show". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
6. Westhoff, Ben (April 18, 2008). "eMC: The Show". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
7. Henriques, Anthony (April 23, 2008). "eMC: The Show". PopMatters. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
8. Woods, Emilee (April 8, 2008). "eMC :: The Show – RapReviews". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
9. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: eMC". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.

External links

• E.M.C. – The Show at Discogs (list of releases)