Emeritus is the tenth solo studio album by American rapper Scarface. Promoted as his final studio album,[1] it was released on December 2, 2008, through J. Prince Entertainment, Rap-A-Lot 4 Life and Asylum Records.
| Emeritus | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 2, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Scarface chronology | ||||
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The recording sessions took place at M.A.D. Studios in Houston, Dean's List House of Hits in Cypress, The Record Room in North Miami, The Durt Factory Studio in Norfolk, and The Ranch Studio in New York. Production was handled by N.O. Joe, Illmind, Mike Dean, Nottz, Cool & Dre, Jake One, Scram Jones, Sha Money XL, Tone Capone, Young Cee, and Scarface himself. It features guest appearances from Wacko, Bilal, Bun B, J. Prince, K-Rino, Lil' Wayne, Papa Reu, Porsha, Slim Thug, Shateish, Takai "Cookie" Hicks and Z-Ro.
In the United States, the album debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200, number 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number-one on the Top Rap Albums charts, selling 42,000 copies in its first week.[2] According to Hits Daily Double, it has sold 167,000 copies in the US as of August 2015[update].[3]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 85/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| HipHopDX | 3.5/5[6] |
| Pitchfork | 8/10[7] |
| RapReviews | 8.5/10[8] |
| Slant | [9] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4/5[10] |
| Urb |  [11] |
Emeritus was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85 based on seven reviews.[4]
Conan Milne of Urb praised the album, saying it "concludes Scarface's tenure as one of the genre's favorite artists actively recording. It's a depressing thought, yet this is an album that stands proudly among an already hugely influential back catalogue".[11] Steve 'Flash' Juon of RapReviews stated: "no one will forget after Emeritus, an album that proves Scarface deserves accolades and titles just as much as we deserve for him not to retire".[8] AllMusic's David Jeffries found "Emeritus is not the usual, very serious good-bye record, but in so many ways, it's a typical Scarface record. It's just better than usual with the rapper sounding liberated by his decision to move on".[5] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork wrote: "and yet, that Emeritus often seems more righteous than cynical or hopeless (the latter two are a bit soft) is a testament to Scarface strengthening his flow in age".[7]
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote: "it is also among his breeziest, with just a touch of nimbleness animating his reliably sleepy growl over surprisingly exuberant production".[12] Jayson Greene of The Village Voice praised the album, saying "Scarface remains trapped in the four-cornered room of his mind, but he seems to have found a measure of peace in solitude, turning out quietly masterful albums like this one, and letting time turn him into a weathered monument".[13]
In his mixed review for Slant Magazine, Jesse Cataldo resumed: "if this is truly the end for Scarface then Emeritus is a backdoor exit, an unassuming, professional album that quietly gets the job done".[9]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" (featuring J. Prince) | 3:58 | ||
| 2. | "High Powered" (featuring Papa Reu) |
| N.O. Joe | 3:03 |
| 3. | "Forgot About Me" (featuring Lil' Wayne and Bun B) |
| Cool & Dre | 3:36 |
| 4. | "Can't Get Right" (featuring Bilal) | Nottz | 4:04 | |
| 5. | "Still Here" (featuring Shateish) |
| Nottz | 3:53 |
| 6. | "It's Not a Game" (featuring Takai "Cookie" Hicks) |
| Illmind | 3:47 |
| 7. | "Who Are They" (featuring K-Rino, Slim Thug and Porsha) |
| Illmind | 3:57 |
| 8. | "Soldier Story" (featuring Z-Ro) |
| Tone Capone | 4:25 |
| 9. | "Redemption Song" |
| N.O. Joe | 3:15 |
| 10. | "High Note" |
| Jake One | 3:54 |
| 11. | "We Need You" (featuring Wacko) |
| N.O. Joe | 3:28 |
| 12. | "Unexpected" (featuring Wacko) |
|
| 4:11 |
| 13. | "Emeritus" |
| Scram Jones | 3:31 |
| 14. | "Outro" |
|
| 1:12 |
- Sample credits
- Track 3 contains a sample of Billy Paul's "I'm Just a Prisoner" from the 360 Degrees of Billy Paul LP.
- Track 4 contains a sample from Ohio Players' "Good Luck Charm" from the LP Mr. Mean.
- Track 10 contains a sample from Willie Hutch's "Never Let Me Be Without Love" from the LP Midnight Dancer.
Personnel
edit- Brad "Scarface" Jordan — vocals, producer (tracks: 1, 14)
- James "J. Prince" Smith — vocals (track 1), executive producer
- Reuben "Papa Reu" Nero — vocals (track 2)
- Dwayne "Lil' Wayne" Carter — vocals (track 3)
- Bernard "Bun B" Freeman — vocals (track 3)
- Bilal Oliver — vocals (track 4)
- Teresa "Shateish" Cook — vocals (track 5)
- Takai "Cookie" Hicks — vocals (track 6)
- Eric "K-Rino" Kaiser — vocals (track 7)
- Stayve "Slim Thug" Thomas — vocals (track 7)
- Keryl Jean "Porsha" Watkins — vocals (track 7)
- Joseph "Z-Ro" McVey — vocals (track 8)
- Cory Moore — additional vocals (track 10), engineering
- Damon "Wacko" Grison — vocals (tracks: 11, 12)
- Eddie "Crack Keys" Montilla — strings (track 3)
- Mike Dean — producer (tracks: 1, 14), engineering, mixing, mastering
- Joseph "N.O. Joe" Johnson — producer (tracks: 2, 9, 11)
- Marcello "Cool" Valenzano — producer (track 3)
- Andre "Dre" Lyon — producer (track 3)
- Dominick "Nottz" Lamb — producer (tracks: 4, 5), engineering
- Ramon "!llmind" Ibanga, Jr. — producer (tracks: 6, 7)
- Anthony "Tone Capone" Gilmour — producer (track 8)
- Jacob "Jake One" Dutton — producer (track 10)
- Rayshaun "Young Cee" Thompson — producer (track 12)
- Michael "Sha Money XL" Clervoix — producer (track 12)
- Marc "Scram Jones" Shemer — producer (track 13)
- Mike Moore — engineering
- Gina Victoria — engineering
- Darryl Sloan — engineering
- Christian Gugielmo — engineering
- Marc Smilow — engineering
- John Bido — mixing, mastering
- Cey Adams — art direction, design
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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References
edit- ^ Reid, Shaheem (September 29, 2008). "Maino Brings New York To The Masses; Scarface Preps His Last Solo LP: Mixtape Monday - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV.com". MTV. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved October 25, 2012 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (December 11, 2008). "Spears album tops sales chart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on 2015-08-25. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Emeritus - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Emeritus - Scarface | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ Tardio, Andres (December 4, 2008). "Scarface - Emeritus". HipHopDX. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Cohen, Ian (January 14, 2009). "Scarface: Emeritus". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Juon, Steve 'Flash' (December 9, 2008). "Scarface :: Emeritus :: Rap-A-Lot/Asylum Records". RapReviews. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse (December 3, 2008). "Review: Scarface, Emeritus". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Scarface - Emeritus (album review) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. December 1, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Milne, Conan (December 1, 2008). "URB Magazine :: CD Reviews :: Scarface :: Emeritus". URB. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved December 8, 2008 – via Wayback Machine.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (January 5, 2009). "CRITICS' CHOICE; Scarface". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ Greene, Jayson (December 3, 2008). "Scarface Is Never Gonna Change, and Thank God". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Scarface Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Scarface Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "Scarface Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ "2009 Year-end Charts - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Vol. 121. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 2009. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
External links
edit- Scarface – Emeritus at Discogs (list of releases)