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EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars" (later "Erick and Parrish Millennium Ducats"), referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith ("PMD"). The group has been active for more than 20 years (1986–present), and is one of the most prominent acts in East coast hip hop. Diamond J, DJ K La Boss, and DJ Scratch were DJs for the group. [Allmusic Biography]
The word "business" is used in every title of the group's albums. Every album also has a track titled "Jane".
HistoryEarly years: 1987–1993 EPMD's first album, Strictly Business, appeared in 1988, which featured the underground hit "Strictly Business," based on a sample of Eric Clapton's version of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." Many critics cite this first album as the group's most influential.
Promotional EPMD t-shirt for their 1990 Business As Usual album
EPMD signed with Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records, which eventually released its debut album, Strictly Business, by electro funk pioneer Kurtis Mantronik. Propelled by several strong singles ("You Gots to Chill" and the album’s title track), the album was eventually certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies
In 1992, EPMD had a hit with its song "Crossover," which lamented rappers making blatant concessions to pop sensibilities in order to get mainstream attention from music audiences.[Allmusic Biography] Ironically, the song became a crossover hit itself peaking at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in doing so becoming their biggest hit to date.
The duo split in January 1993, under controversial circumstances
. According to interviews in The Source and Rap Pages, in late 1991, Smith's house was burgled by armed intruders. According to Smith, in the ensuing police investigation, one of the apprehended culprits supposedly gave up Sermon's name as having allegedly paid them to do it. Sermon was arrested and briefly detained for questioning, but no charges were filed. Still, it led to lingering tensions, and by the time of the break-up, Sermon alleged financial impropriety on Smith's part. The duo found itself as solo artists by default: Sermon debuted in 1993 with No Pressure, followed by Double or Nothing (1995), Def Squad Presents Erick Onasis (2000), Music (2001), and React (2002). Smith made his statements on 1994's Shade Business, followed by Business is Business in 1996.[Allmusic Biography]
Reunion and solo: 1997–Present The duo reunited in 1997, recording a comeback LP, Back in Business. In 1998, a remix of the song "Strictly Business" appeared by the A&R man who signed the duo while at Fresh/Sleeping Bag, Kurtis Mantronik. Sermon released an album with Redman and Keith Murray as the Def Squad in 1998: El Niño was certified gold
A reunited EPMD with DJ Scratch performed live at the Rock the Bells Tour in New York on October 14, 2006 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, their first NYC show in eight years. The tour also featured former Hit Squad members Keith Murray, Das EFX, and Redman. YouTube currently hosts a number of videos of the EPMD reunion concert.
Two months later, EPMD and Keith Murray released a new song, titled "The
On June 27, 2007, the group appeared on BET's Rap City to freestyle. EPMD's new single, "Blow", was released on vinyl from Unique Distribution during August 2007 as a prelude to a new album that is to be released in 2008. The song instantly became a regular feature on the Funkmaster Flex show. The same month, the duo made a number of surprise live appearances, including the Rock the Bells tour with Rage Against The Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, Mos Def and others.
In June 2008, during an interview with HipHopGame, Erick and Parrish confirmed that We Mean Business would be released on September 9. The album eventually emerged in December 2008, and featured guest appearances from the likes of KRS-One and Redman amongst others. In the end of the interview, they mentioned the possibility of a Hit Squad/Def Squad double disc album, but that they had problems with K-Solo.
On August 3, 2008, EPMD joined Method Man and Redman on stage at the Rock The Bells concert at Jones Beach, New York.
The following month, EPMD took the stage as part of AllHipHop.com's Breeding Ground event at S.O.B.'s in New York City. The duo performed many of their early hits and featured Keith Murray as a guest.
DiscographyAlbumsGuest appearancesNote: Only tracks that feature both members are listed.
- Das EFX—"Generation EFX" (Album: Generation EFX)
- Redman—"Hardcore" (Album: Whut? Thee Album)
- Run-DMC—"Can I Get It, Yo?" (Album: Down with the King)
Copyright Citations
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