The Hip Hop world has long been looking for a breath of fresh air and four legendary emcees are about to step up together, as EMC. EMC is a brand new super group consisting of the Midwest's phenom Stricklin, the widely re... more »spected Lyricist Lounge duo Punchline & Wordsworth, and the Brooklyn-bred, battle-tested Juice Crew member Masta Ace. After having extensively toured together in 2001, the four became extremely close and both they and their fans recognized their chemistry. The Milwaukee born and raised Stricklin garnered attention in the late 90's while he was signed to Tommy Boy Records and Punch and Words were integral in the success of the groundbreaking MTV program "The Lyricist Lounge Show" and have released EP's both as a group and as solo artists. All three rhymesayers caught the ear of Masta Ace before touring together and all three were featured on his two most recent albums. "The group idea was a natural progression of the relationships we all made from being on the road together", says Ace. "It's not just about the music with us, we are pretty much like brothers." EMC started a feeding frenzy in 2007 with the release of the 12" single "E.M.C." and now they are ready to finally drop their full-length album The Show. With more than 20 tracks and appearances by Sean Price, Little Brother, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), and Money Harm (of Product G & B), The Show is going to satisfy even the most Rap-hungry fan. And while the album proves to be a showcase of lyrical talents, the tracks themselves guarantee to bang with production by The Are, Ayatollah, Nicolay, Koolade, Quincy Tones, Frequency, and J. With the combination Stricklin's personality, the cleverness of Punchline and the word play and work ethic of Wordsworth, and the leadership of the Music Man himself Masta Ace, EMC is ready make some noise in the music industry. "EMC is a movement and Hip Hop should get ready for something really special", says Stricklin. "It's about to be a problem!"« less
The Hip Hop world has long been looking for a breath of fresh air and four legendary emcees are about to step up together, as EMC. EMC is a brand new super group consisting of the Midwest's phenom Stricklin, the widely respected Lyricist Lounge duo Punchline & Wordsworth, and the Brooklyn-bred, battle-tested Juice Crew member Masta Ace. After having extensively toured together in 2001, the four became extremely close and both they and their fans recognized their chemistry. The Milwaukee born and raised Stricklin garnered attention in the late 90's while he was signed to Tommy Boy Records and Punch and Words were integral in the success of the groundbreaking MTV program "The Lyricist Lounge Show" and have released EP's both as a group and as solo artists. All three rhymesayers caught the ear of Masta Ace before touring together and all three were featured on his two most recent albums. "The group idea was a natural progression of the relationships we all made from being on the road together", says Ace. "It's not just about the music with us, we are pretty much like brothers." EMC started a feeding frenzy in 2007 with the release of the 12" single "E.M.C." and now they are ready to finally drop their full-length album The Show. With more than 20 tracks and appearances by Sean Price, Little Brother, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), and Money Harm (of Product G & B), The Show is going to satisfy even the most Rap-hungry fan. And while the album proves to be a showcase of lyrical talents, the tracks themselves guarantee to bang with production by The Are, Ayatollah, Nicolay, Koolade, Quincy Tones, Frequency, and J. With the combination Stricklin's personality, the cleverness of Punchline and the word play and work ethic of Wordsworth, and the leadership of the Music Man himself Masta Ace, EMC is ready make some noise in the music industry. "EMC is a movement and Hip Hop should get ready for something really special", says Stricklin. "It's about to be a problem!"
CD Reviews
A Show You Will Not Want To Miss! (4.5 Stars)
Alan Pounds | Minneapolis, MN | 03/28/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"eMC is a super-group that consists of rappers Stricklin (hailing from Milwaukee), Punchline & Wordsworth (Lyricist Lounge), and legendary Juice Crew member Masta Ace. Punch, Words, & Stricklin all caught the ear of the ever-prolific Masta Ace, which resulted in tireless touring. And that's really what the album is thematically based upon.
The concept runs in a similar fashion to Masta Ace's two previous albums "Disposable Arts" (2001) & "A Long Hot Summer" (2004) (two near-classics, by the way). The album starts off at the Airport (just like the cover), where the group is stranded for 2+ hours, waiting for special promotions manager, Adam, to pick them up for their upcoming show of the night at Club MP3. Throughout the album, there are a series of clever, well-done skits that take us through their hotel amenities, calls back home, on-stage antics, & backstage tomfoolery. The concept is consistently strong and entertaining throughout.
From track one, it's apparent that these 4 emcees are definitely inspired by each other. The album has been in the works for 3 years, and all those chemistry problems you may expect are completely non-existent. They consistently play off each others' styles and flows with a formula that is airtight for the album's entire 75-minute playing time. Simply put, they possess dope flows, intelligent lyrics, and highly conceptual material, which is all displayed in it's finest form.
Weak beats? Guess again. The production is brought forth by heavyweights like Ayatollah, Nicolay, 9th Wonder, & The ARE, as well as some relatively more underground cats like Koolage (who dropped a beat on Ace's last record), Quincy Tones, Frequency, & J!. I really haven't found any of the production to be forgettable, let alone weak. I find myself nodding my head throughout the whole disc.
Weak guest rappers? Forget about it! Little Brother (9th Wonder, Big Pooh, & Phonte) drops by for one of my favorite tracks "Traffic". 9th's beat is top notch here. Adi steps up the reflective "Don't Give Up On Us". Sean Price shines brightly on one of my favorites here - "Git Sum" with dope production from J!. Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets) is featured on the energetic title track "The Show", where she lends the chorus. Money Harm (of Product G&B) brings some excellent vocals on the lush "Feel It". The guest emcees are far from outshining the core 4 of the group, who takes the spotlight throughout.
Overall, this is exactly the record I had hoped it would be. In fact, it has exceeded my expectations at every turn. Masta Ace himself seems like he has an everlasting cannon on inspiration on his hands, and I think Stricklin, Punchline & Wordsworth all bring out the best in him. If you are a fan of Masta Ace's latest releases, I have no doubt you will find this album to be excellent through-in-through. So far, this is the best record I have heard all year. Highly recommended."
Every Minute Counts
Exxxxx | shack in the wilderness. | 04/07/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I try to keep my ear to the street for stuff like this, but really heard nothing about this group at all until a few weeks before the release which is surpising to me. I picked this up on Friday and it's been the only thing I've listened to all weekend. As another reviewer mentioned this album has the same feel as Disposable Arts and Long Hot Summer with all the skits and each song being a peice of the story of The Show, on top of that the production has the same "feel" as the previously mentioned albums which is definitely good since those joints were so unbelievably great. The producers all contributed some great bangers for these 4 veterans to get down to (especially the legendary Koolade's joints) so be prepared for some smooth beats. I'm not going into much details on the lyrical content because c'mon, it's Punch n Words teamed up with Masta Ace and Strick. With those four guys you already know what you're getting into on the rhyme tip. Easily the best album I've personally heard so far this year and highly recommend this to folks who check for music outside of the typical nonsense that the radio and MTV tend to offer. There's a couple of songs that were so so, but for the most part the whole thing is pretty strong with my favorite cuts being "Who We Be", "The Airport", "Say Now", & "Git Sum" Feat. Sean Price."
Enjoy The Show (Rating: 8 out of 10- -4.0 stars)
Chandler | Atlanta (College Park), Georgia | 06/25/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Hip Hop group eMC consisting of Masta Ace (hey wait...I thought he retired!), Punchline, Wordsworth, and Stricklin. The come at listeners with a conceptual album, sort of like A Long Hot Summer, with a story line throughout the entire album. Most of the concept of the album works out and is enjoyable.
The album itself is great. The concept here is that the emcees are preparing for a show, beginning from flying in at the airport. Everyone here is on point when it comes to the lyrics most through out the album. Masta Ace is great as ususal. When you hear him, you'll realize that he hasn't missed a beat yet. Stricklin is suprisingly good, because I've never heard of him until this album. Punch & Words also come correct at numerous times.
A few great tracks that quickly stood out to me are, "It's Alright", and "Make It Better". Both tracks talks about everyday life and how things get better, more direct on the latter track. The production by Nicolay makes "eMC (What It Stands For?)" a great track. Even the guests do a great job. Little Brother appears on the notable "Traffic". Sean Price drops a rememerable verse on "Git Sum". Ladybug Mecca (who I haven't heard in a while) vocals are heard on the fast paced "The Show".
This album is one of the great releases of '08. Minus a few tracks and irrevelent skits, this album is highly recommended. No one here dissapoints on this release. Peace.
Lyrics: B+
Production: A-
Guest Appearances: B+
Musical Vibes: A-
Top 5 Tracks:
1. It's Alright
2. The Grudge
3. eMC (What It Stands For)
4. Say Now
5. Make It Better
Honorable Mention:
1. Who We Be
2. The Show (featuring Ladybug Mecca)
"
The SHOW has started!
D. Powell | New York City | 05/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"WOW!! That's how I'm going to start this review......if you look at my past reviews you'll notice I only like to review HOT ish..that's just my preference and this fits right in there like a glove...from the beginning to the last cut on the album you will be moving your head....produced by Koolade, The Are, Quincy Tones, Nicolay, Frequency, J,and Ayatollah,these beats are just ridiculous...some of these guys you may recognize and some you may not but I'm sure that after this effort you'll begin to see their names popping up alot more often...IT'S THAT BANGIN, trust me..lol...
The lyrics are handled by the old school Juice Crew vet Masta Ace and he brought along a few of his friends like Stricklin,Punchline,and Wordsworth..this is a New York/Midwest collaboration with Stricklin being from Milwaukee of all places...and he's nice on the mic too...This is a complete hip-hop album...reflective of some "golden age" efforts, which is just a great look for 2008....This is the type of hip-hop we need to keep passing along to this "soulja boy" generation so hopefully it will inspire the next wave of mc's to understand that the ART and the time given to it is what will produce results like this.....ONE!!!!"
A LEGEND INDEED!!!! REAL HIP HOP
R. Miramontes | Los Angeles, California | 06/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Masta Ace is definitely a legend, up there with Jay Z and Nas no doubt. He has released nothing but quality albums including this great release. His previous two albums, the acclaimed "DISPOSABLE ARTS" and the great "LONG HOT SUMMER" are two albums essential in any hip hop collection and now "EMC" joins that rank. This group consisting of the Masta himself, Strickland, Punch and Wordsworth is nothing but creative. A very highly acclaimed and creative theme album, something that few artists can even do now in days. With that being said this album is nothing but fire from beginning to end. The beats are great and of course the lyrics as well. The previous reviewer said that Masta Ace sounds monotonous but guess what, if it aint broke dont fix it and Masta Ace's flow is nowhere near broken. ACE HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!!!!"
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1