Showbiz and A.G. (also shortened as Show and AG) is an American hip hop duo from

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, composed of record producer Rodney "Showbiz" Lemay (born July 7, 1969) and rapper Andre "A.G." Barnes (born September 26, 1970). The duo formed soon after their debut on the song "Back to Back Rhyming" from

Lord Finesse Lord Finesse (born Robert Hall Jr., February 19, 1970) is an American rapper and hip-hop record producer from The Bronx, New York best known as the leader of the D.I.T.C. crew. About.com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop Pro ...

's '' Funky Technician'' album and joined the hip hop collective D.I.T.C. along with Lord Finesse, Diamond D,

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

, O.C., Buckwild and Big L.

Career

1990s

The duo's first release was an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

Soul Clap Soul Clap is an American DJ and production duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Active in the club scene since 2001, the group has released a number of mixtapes, EPs, singles, and albums. In 2012 they released their first full-length album, ''EFUNK. ...

'', self-released in late 1991 via their own

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Showbiz Records. The EP included a song "Diggin' in the Crates" with verses from Diamond D and Lord Finesse, which became the name of a bigger group called D.I.T.C. They signed with

Payday A pay day or payday is a specified day of the week or month when one is paid, usually workers collecting wages from their employers. Pay Day, PayDay or Payday may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Pay Day'' (1918 film), a ...

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

and re-released the EP on March 17, 1992 as "Party Groove"/"Soul Clap" (also known as ''Showbiz & A.G.''). On September 22, 1992, the duo released their debut studio album, '' Runaway Slave'', with guest appearances from Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Dres, and the first album appearance of Big L. In 1993, Showbiz became popular for producing

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

's single "

Sound of da Police In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

". In 1994, Showbiz and A.G. had a guest spot on

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

's second album ''

Non-Fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

'', on the track "E.F.F.E.C.T.". Showbiz soon shortened his name to Show, changing the group name to 'Show & A.G.'. 1995 saw the release of their second studio album, '' Goodfellas'', which featured a darker sound than their debut, as well as the absence of Showbiz rapping. It featured contributions from artists who were on ''Runaway Slave'', plus the Ghetto Dwellas (D Flow and Party Arty), Big Cathy,

Roc Raida Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009), better known as Roc Raida or Grandmaster Roc Raida, was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the DJ group the X-Ecutioners. He joined the X-Men in the late 1 ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

, Wali World and DJ Premier. The most successful song from the album was DJ Premier's 'Nyte Time' remix of the track "Next Level", an instrumental version of which was later featured in the 2002 film '' 8 Mile''. Following the release of EP-turned-LP ''Full Scale'' project in 1998, the duo began concentrating on their work with D.I.T.C., as well as solo projects. In 1999, the duo appeared on A.G.'s first solo studio album, '' The Dirty Version'', which also featured contributions from 7 out of 8 D.I.T.C. members (Big L was the only absent member due to being murdered on February 15 later same year), as well as the Ghetto Dwellas, Gang Starr,

and Big Pun. Showbiz was one of the executive producers on D.I.T.C.'s self-titled group album, which was released in 2000 via

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

2000s

After a hiatus between the release of the D.I.T.C.'s 2001 ''Wild Life'' EP and 2005, Show released his first solo album '' D.I.T.C. Presents Street Talk'' in November 2005. The album featured 18 new tracks performed by the likes of O.C., Party Arty, Milano,

, Sean Price, and late Big Pun and Big L over Show's productions. It also saw A.G. and Show reunite as A.G. was featured on 2 of the album's songs, "Chase Game" and "You Ain't a Killer". A.G.'s second solo album titled '' Get Dirty Radio'' was released October 31, 2006 through Look Records, which featured a Show-produced song "The Struggle". In 2007, they released a new EP entitled '' Live Hard'' on D.I.T.C. Records, their first new material in nearly a decade. Showbiz teamed up with fellow producer Eric "E-Blaze" Blaze forming a production duo Born Lords. Following 2008's D.I.T.C.'s compilation album ''

The Movement The Movement may refer to: Politics * The Movement (Iceland), a political party in Iceland * The Movement (Israel), a political party in Israel, led by Tzipi Livni * Civil rights movement, the African-American political movement * The Movemen ...

'', members O.C. and A.G. released a collaborative album called ''

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

'' in 2009, which also featured production from Born Lords.

2010s

Following the deaths of fellow artists Big L (1999), Party Arty (2008) and Roc Raida (2009), A.G. joined his protégé duo 950 Plus to release a mixtape ''The 25th Hour'' in 2010. Later that same year he released an album titled ''Everything's Berri'' and co-founded a small label Red Apples 45 with Ray West. In 2011, Showbiz teamed up with KRS-One for ''

Godsville ''Godsville'' is a collaborative studio album by American record producer Showbiz and rapper KRS-One. It was released digitally on February 15, 2011 via D.I.T.C. Records; although the physical release didn't hit stores until May 8, 2011. Recordin ...

'' album. On September 9, 2012, Show and AG released the album ''Mugshot Music'', and in 2017, they released the EP ''Take It Back''.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

References

External links

Interview with Show (2007)A.G. DITC Myspace siteA.G. on Red Apples Forty-FiveHip Hop Icon Series: A.G.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Showbiz and A.G. African-American musical groups American hip hop record producers American musical duos Diggin' in the Crates Crew members Five percenters Hip hop duos Hip hop groups from New York City Rappers from the Bronx Record producers from New York (state) FFRR Records artists PolyGram artists 1969 births 1970 births Living people