Emeritus (album)

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
Studio album by Scarface
Released	December 2, 2008 (2008-12-02)
Recorded	2008
Studio	M.A.D. Studios (Houston, TX) Dean's List House of Hits (Cypress, TX) The Record Room (North Miami, FL) The Durt Factory Studio (Norfolk, VA) The Ranch Studio (New York, NY)
Genre	Hip hop
Label	J. Prince Rap-A-Lot 4 Life Asylum
Producer	Cool & Dre Illmind Jake One Mike Dean N.O. Joe Nottz Scarface Scram Jones Sha Money XL Tone Capone Young Cee
Scarface chronology
Made (2007) Emeritus (2008) Deeply Rooted (2015)

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. The album was produced by N.O. Joe, Illmind, Mike Dean, Nottz, Cool & Dre, Jake One, Scram Jones, Sha Money XL, Tone Capone, Young Cee, and Scarface. 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

Professional ratings

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 favorable 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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro" (featuring J. Prince)	Brad Jordan James Smith Michael Dean	Scarface Mike Dean	3:58
2.	"High Powered" (featuring Papa Reu)	Jordan Joseph Johnson	N.O. Joe	3:03
3.	"Forgot About Me" (featuring Lil' Wayne and Bun B)	Jordan Dwayne Carter Bernard Freeman Eddie Montilla Andre Lyon Marcello Valenzano	Cool & Dre	3:36
4.	"Can't Get Right" (featuring Bilal)	Jordan Bilal Oliver Dominick Lamb	Nottz	4:04
5.	"Still Here" (featuring Shateish)	Jordan Teresa Marie Cook Lamb	Nottz	3:53
6.	"It's Not a Game" (featuring Takai "Cookie" Hicks)	Jordan Ramon Ibanga Jr.	Illmind	3:47
7.	"Who Are They" (featuring K-Rino, Slim Thug and Porsha)	Jordan Eric Kaiser Stayve Thomas Ibanga Jr.	Illmind	3:57
8.	"Soldier Story" (featuring Z-Ro)	Jordan Joseph McVey Anthony Gilmour	Tone Capone	4:25
9.	"Redemption Song"	Jordan Johnson	N.O. Joe	3:15
10.	"High Note"	Jordan Jacob Dutton	Jake One	3:54
11.	"We Need You" (featuring Wacko)	Jordan Damon Grison Johnson	N.O. Joe	3:28
12.	"Unexpected" (featuring Wacko)	Jordan Grison Rayshaun Thompson Michael Clervoix	Young Cee Sha Money XL	4:11
13.	"Emeritus"	Jordan Marc Shemer	Scram Jones	3:31
14.	"Outro"	Jordan Dean	Scarface Mike Dean	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

• 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

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position US Billboard 200[14] 24 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15] 4 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[16] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 42