''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 Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

, The ARE, Koolade,

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

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 concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

'' A Long Hot Summer'', the following year the veteran had formed the new collective with his protégé,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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

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 "

" Dorrell – producer (tracks: 14, 20) *Marco "

" 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Show, The 2008 albums 2000s concept albums Masta Ace albums Wordsworth (rapper) albums Albums produced by Ayatollah Albums produced by Marco Polo Albums produced by Nicolay (musician) Albums produced by Frequency (record producer)