''Master of Ceremonies'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss. ...

. The album was released on October 4, 2011, by

D-Block Records The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally signed to Puff Daddy's Bad Boy R ...

and

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had b ...

. The album features guest appearances from

Lloyd Banks Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After the ...

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He is known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhy ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

and Styles' group

The L.O.X. The Lox (stylized The LOX or The L.O.X.) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group from Yonkers, New York, formed in 1994. The group is composed of East Coast hip hop, East Coast rappers Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss. They had originally ...

Producers on the album include

Pete Rock Peter O. Phillips (born June 21, 1970), better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapping, rapper. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time, and is often mentioned alongs ...

Statik Selektah Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States *Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and N ...

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

AraabMuzik, and more. The lead single from ''Master of Ceremonies'', is "Harsh", which features Rick Ross and Busta Rhymes. A second single has also been released. The song is called "It's OK", which features Jadakiss.

Critical response

''Master of Ceremonies'' was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Big money names like Pharrell, Busta Rhymes, and Rick Ross himself fill the guest list, but Styles is as uncompromising and hard as always, filling the middle of this effort with dark, stark, and dirty reminders of life in the ghetto and/or life as a gangster." Alex Thornton of

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Styles is doing his best to represent the collective properly with his latest solo. While it feels like ''Master of Ceremonies'' could have been more, it's a solid effort worth checking out both for fans of Styles specifically and New York rap in general." Ralph Bristout of '' XXL'' gave the album an XL rating, saying "Despite a loaded list of features and the underwhelming Avery Storm-assisted "How I Fly," ''Master of Ceremonies'' exhibits more wins than duds. Holiday certainly lives up to the album's title."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 11,300 copies in its first week.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2011 albums Styles P albums Albums produced by AraabMuzik Albums produced by Pete Rock Albums produced by Warren G Albums produced by Statik Selektah