Ace the Masta-mind of eMC crew

Masta Ace knows the importance of belonging to a tight rap crew.
The Brooklyn MC landed on planet hip-hop in the mid-1980s as a member of Queens producer Marley Marl’s legendary Juice Crew. With powerhouse MCs such as Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap and Biz Markie by his side, Ace began his career near the top of the rap game.
His new outfit, eMC, has only four members. It hardly rolls as deep as the Juice Crew. But when Ace brings his eMC cohorts Punchline, Wordsworth and Stricklin’ to Harpers Ferry Friday, fans will see that quartet is more of an all-star posse than a standard rhyme syndicate.



“Everyone here is an accomplished artist in their own regard,” Ace said from New York, “so what I provide is leadership and guidance for the other members. A lot of times with something like this you wind up going in four different directions. But with these guys taking my lead on things, we’re able to get on the same page.”
EMC came together on the road: All three of Ace’s sidekicks have toured with him in the past five years. At a Toronto show in 2005, the foursome convened for the first time and decided to collaborate on more than just some stray tracks.
For Punchline and Wordsworth, best known previously for their work in the New York underground scene, and Milwaukee MC Stricklin’, whom rap fans knew from his cameos on the last two Ace albums, eMC offered a once-in-a-life-rhyme opportunity.
“I think hip-hop has a big ego problem,” Punchline said in a separate conversation. “That’s why we did the group thing. We want to do solo projects, too, but this is a better way to get our names out there.”
While his eMC mates are on the first leg of their individual careers, Ace is done dropping solo discs. Following five years with no full-length releases, he returned with “Disposable Arts” in 2001. After that critically admired effort and his subsequent “A Long Hot Summer” in 2004, Ace decided to share his spotlight.
“I want to leave the Masta Ace franchise right where it is,” Ace said. “I think ‘A Long Hot Summer’ was the right way to end it off, but retiring from solo albums is not the same thing as putting the mike down. I just want to do new and different things.”
Next up for Ace is a duet disc with Boston legend Edo G, who will host Friday’s Harpers Ferry show. But first up is a world tour with eMC. The group’s debut, “The Show,” is one of the most buzzed about rap releases of the year, even earning the title of “First Great Rap Disc of 2008” from L.A. Weekly.
“This album came out the way it did because it made sense,” said Wordsworth, calling from New York. “It wasn’t like I ran into someone yesterday and was like, your stuff is kind of hot, do you want to be in a group? This is us saying to other rappers, if you’re going to do a group, then make sure it’s worth doing.”
EMC, at Harpers Ferry, Allston, Friday. Tickets: $15 in advance, $17 day of show; 800-594-8499.