“It was really the fans that put the idea in our heads [to form the group],” explains Ace. “They were throwing little rumors out in the internet that we were doing an album together. It wasn’t even true at the time. But, it was going around.”

The group project was essentially a dream come true for many. For fans, all four rappers would be on the same album and inevitably on the same tour. For the group, they were able to record and hit the road with close friends while creating a brand of rap that they enjoyed making. Win-win. But, as times have shown to prove, things are rarely that easy.

The Show would be delayed. It happens. You’re driving down a beautiful scenic road and without realizing, you land right in a ditch. The scene changes and the script is flipped.

The EMC’s ditch came in many ways. The first blockade in their path dealt with industry woes. As with many other acts, they have suffered a huge slice of the label drama pie as solo artists. Now as a group, the industry simply cooked up another one as they faced problems with their first distribution company. Punch remembers this clearly.

“The first one was distribution cause the first company we was running with went out of business and then having to find another one…”

Needless to say, the process wasn’t exactly smooth. No real fuss was made, though. After all, they already knew the drill. But, the album had been a longtime coming. With that as a detractor, they were nearly done with the LP when another barricade fell on their road. Strick recalls his frustration with the situation. “The worst moment was probably when we found out the hard drive crashed and a lot of joints got lost! Getting that phone call, and all the hard work we’d been doing, without doing the mixing yet, we were like ‘Aw, naw! Dudes gotta go record a whole new album.’ And, I knew the fans been waiting and waiting.” Strick adds, “I was just frustrated and was like, ‘Damn, another hold up,’” he continues. “We came across a few bumps in the road while making this album and that was one thing that just made it feel like, ‘Is this album supposed to even be happening?’”

“It was pretty bad. My partner and I knew about it,” says Ace of the crash. “We were kind of trying to keep it from the fellas. We didn’t want anybody discouraged. It was already taking awhile to finish the record and this was like, ‘Okay, now this went wrong.’”

“We waited until we were sure that the hard drive was totally useless. But Wordsworth is one of the most positive people. He can be in the face of adversity and somehow or another he’ll say something positive to make it like ‘Okay, let’s brush ourselves off and let’s keep going.’”

As they say, The Show must go on. And it did. They finished the album, wrapped everything up, made a tour plan and were nearly ready for the release. As the message boards and blogs buzzed and as news articles surfaced of a possible release date, something else became an issue.

The seemingly inescapable leak hit. Bootlegs were out. Downloads were aplenty. Another pothole in a road that wasn’t paved so nicely to begin with made their road seem more like a steep mountain to climb.

This unfair and inexcusable leak hit the net as just another burden on top of what the crew had already experienced. It was another boulder to pile on the road. But, the response enabled the ordeal to become “bittersweet.”

“Ace was upset a lil’ something. Strick was bittersweet about it,” notes Punch. “I felt proud ‘cause it was wanted enough that someone would go out of their way and download my music so early. At the end of the day I'm an artist so I don't look forward to seeing money from the sales, especially in a four-man group.”

Nevertheless, the impact on sales was certain.

“We knew it would happen but not that fast,” adds Words. “It may take away on a sales note but on an appreciation of great music, you can't front on it. Everyone was pretty much heated but cool that people liked it so it kinda made things worth it.”

As they reach their destination, with a digital release last month and their release this month, the crew is finally seeing a clear path. Strick let us know what he’s been waiting for. “We just want to put the music out and make sure it’s good, man.” Wordsworth also notes the ability for the group’s members to carry on this EMC flag beyond the album’s release.

“I believe it’s well rounded, diverse, perfect from all angles, able to tackle any topic. We gonna be around for a minute because we all are together even as one.”

As you can see, the end of The Show is far from near.

Together, even with the falls, scrapes and crashes, the crew rolled on with The Show. The underdogs, with odds against them at every turn, managed to create light through the pitch black, obstacle ridden drive. In the end, these four emcees are underdogs no more. With a legendary past, some sure shot joints in the present and motivation for the future of the Ace-led label, there is a lot of hope for what’s to come. It’s this drive that enables them to persist through the obstacles.

“I don't get stressed out that much ‘cause in this business there will always be stress and hurdles,” explains Words. “We are pretty much built for this.”