EPMD - Business as Usual

EPMD's 14-cut third album, Business As Usual, is their bumpingest and most influential. By 1990 the Long Island duo of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith had perfected their beatmaking formula. They didn't have to raid vocoder guru Roger Troutman's vaults for the funk. On "Gold Digger," an austere commentary on materialistic female groupies, and the battle-rhyme cut "Manslaughter," the duo flex their unusual ability to meld danceable rhythm tracks with hardcore rhymes, a strength which helped EPMD appeal to rap fans of all persuasions. "Rampage" resurrected a burnt-out LL Cool J. "Hardcore" and "Brothers on My Jock" marked the introduction of Redman to the MC game, further proving that the boondocks can produce something other than strip malls. --Dalton Higgins Amazon.com

Next time you see me, holla like you know me

I was a huge fan of rap videos back in the day because of the infamous Video Jukebox and because of BET. I remebered watching videos one day when I heard the track "You Gots To Chill" from a group called EPMD. I definitely wanted to hear more music from the group because the production and scratching was on point and they displayed nice lyrical chemistry as a group. Weeks later, I saw another video from EPMD entitled "Strictly Business". This track was on point just like "You Gots To Chill" was, so I was anxiously waiting for the cassette to be released. One of my friends heard me talking about music one day and he told me that the cassette had already been released. Strictly Business remained in heavy rotation for a long time. My favorite tracks were "You Gots To Chill", "Strictly Business", "It's My Thing", "You're A Customer" and "Jane". A year later, I saw the video for "So Wat Cha Sayin'", which is one of my favorite EPMD tracks of all time, and their 2nd cassette Unfinished Business was released. Along with "So Wat Cha Sayin'", "Get The Bozack", "Please Listen To My Demo", "The Big Payback" and "Knick Knack Patty Wack" were my favorite tracks.

With 2 classics under their belt, EPMD was in good shape. I wouldn't hear anything new from them until I heard the track "Gold Digger" on the radio. Erick and Parrish created the perfect scenario where they met a woman who simply got with them because of the money that they were making. I bought the cassette maxi single of "Gold Digger" and the single also contained the track "Rap Is Outta Control", which for me ended up being just a humorous freestyle between the 2 artists. "Business As Usual" was EPMD's 3rd CD, but the 1st CD that they released with Def Jam. Things get off to a nice start with "I'm Mad" as Erick and Parrish flow nicely over one of the best produced tracks on the CD. "Hardcore" introduces us to Reggie "Redman" Noble, who ripped the track on the 1st verse that I ever heard from him. Redman was also featured on "Brothers On My Jock". The 2nd single, "Rampage", features LL Cool J and is my 2nd favorite track on "Business As Usual". For some reason, for the entire video there is an image of LL behind a curtain with a Kangol on. Usually, that only happens when a label didn't clear their artist to appear on a song or in a video, like for some reason Big Daddy Kane wasn't cleared to rap on "Self Destruction". Now that's really mass confusion..lol However, since EPMD and LL were both on Def Jam, I didn't understand that at all. "Manslaughter" is a warning to anyone that wants to think that EPMD is soft. IF you want to test them, they let you know what could happen. "Jane 3" continues the trend of the infamous Jane trilogy. This one is probably the funniest of them all especially once you find out what happens in the end. "For My People" gets your attention immediatelly once you hear the beat. "Give The People" was remixed as the 3rd single. The original version is decent but the remix, which I regret not owning 'til this day is definitely better. The beat for "Underground" was made famous once Black Moon used it for the track "How Many MC's" but the infamous vocal sample from "Underground" was used as part of the chorus for DAS EFX's 1st track "They Want EFX". "Hit Squad Heist" has always been one of my favorite tracks as the concept of the track is obvious. EPMD performs the majority of the track with a little bit of help from K Solo. Redman is mentioned on the track as well. "Business As Usual" ends with "Funky Piano", which is a dedication to their DJ, DJ Scratch.

Overall, EPMD made this 3 for 3 when it came to classic CDs. "Business As Usual" was just as good as "Strictly Business" and "Unfinished Business". Their 4th CD, Business Never Personal, would round out their 4 classic CDs, as "Back In Business" and "Out Of Business", while they were decent releases, couldn't match up with the 4 classic CDs that they had released previously. EPMD is clearly one of the best rap groups of all time.

James' Top 5

1) Gold Digger
2) Rampage w/LL Cool J
3) I'm Mad
4) Hardcore w/Redman
5) Rap Is Outta Control

Honorable Mention:

Manslaughter
For My People
Hit Squad Heist
Brothers On My Jock w/Redman
Funky Piano
Give The People February 20, 2008

Maybe my favorite EPMD album

This release is off the chain. I have been bumping it once again for the last week in my car. We all know how dope EPMD is and the production the album is exceptional. What really did it for me besides the superior lyrical flow of Erick and Parrish are the guest appearances. The album has LL on here before he became the sugar side of the shredded wheat and gave birth to one of my favorite artists REDMAN!!! Every time I hear Hardcore, it takes me back to when I first heard the song and gets me just as hyped as the first time I heard it. This album is a classic along with the first two, but to me it is the best one out of the first three. January 29, 2008

"All Non Believers Can Get The Bolzack" (Rating: 9 out of 10- -4.5 stars) {400th Review!!}

You have to hand it to Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. This duo has been putting out consistant album after consistant album since '88. My first taste of them was back in '99 when they released their final album Out of Business, but I remember those days when I used to watch BET years ago, and one day I saw the video for the song "Rampage" featuring LL Cool J (why was he behind the curtain in the video???). That song there reminded me of some hardcore east coast hip hop.

Business As Usual has many classic tracks on here. Redman gets his first appearance on the song "Hardcore" and "Brothers On My Jock" both excellent tracks. Another excellent track on here is "Manslaughter" where Erick and Parrish rhyme over a dope beat. Before Kanye West went popular with the song "Gold Digger", Erick and Parish had a song with the exact title and the same subject matter. I also like the beat to that song here as well. I personally believe that is the best track on this LP.

And the production here is done by Erick and Parish as well, with the exception of "Funky Piano" which was by George Spivey. The production here has that EPMD flavor that everyone loves so much. "Jane 3" has a nice beat as well and was produced nicely (with the samples and etc.). "Rap Is Outta Control" has a boom bap, neck snapping beat to it (I swear they are freestyling on this track).

There aren't really too much complaints about the album. EPMD's "Business As Usual" is definately worth owning. Also it wasn't easy to make, seeing that this came out in 1990, and the fact that Strictly Business & Unfinished Business were both made in '88 and '89 respectively. So making three albums in three years wasn't easy to do, not to mention that they are constistant year after year. Erick and Parrish are still running on this album. "Business As Usual" isn't their best LP, but it was definately one of the best in '90. Fans of 90's rap will love this album. They would go on to release Business Never Personal in '92 (which is out of print, why?) and break up into their solo careers for five years. In fact, I recommend the first four albums, because all of them are classic or near classic LPs. Peace!

Lyrics: A-
Production: A+
Guest Appearances: A
Musical Vibes: A

My Top 5 Tracks:
1. Gold Digger
2. Rampage (featuring LL Cool J)
3. Manslaughter
4. Hardcore (featuring Red Man)
5. Jane 3

Honorable Mention Tracks
1. Rap Is Outta Control
2. Hit Squad Heist (with Redman and K Solo) June 22, 2007

My favorite by EPMD, topten list over best hip-hop records ever. Straight up

Business As Usual (Def Jam 1990)

Long Island have raised a couple of rap legends up through the years. Rakim and the whole Public Enemy are originally from that area. The buddies Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith from Brentwood should also make huge success, and in the wake of the singles "It's My Thing" and "Strictly Business", their debutalbum sold to gold in just three weeks. This was impressive salenumbers in 1988, and since that EMPD have become one of hip-hops most famous duos. Their third album, which was their first for Def Jam, are in my opinion their highlight in their impressive long careers.

On Business As Usual, EPMD appears rougher than before, and even though a hardcore image ain't quite them, it was at least very timeright. Erick and Parrish have never sounded better than here. Check out "Hardcore" and "Brothers On My Jock", and the man himself LL Cool J are guest on the sovereign hitsingle, "Rampage". DJ Scratch have an insane hook on this song, where his scratching sound genius. It sounds very energetic, and it's hard to explain, but the whole record basically has an unique energy and mood feel which make you never get tired of it. When it comes to production, EPMD had dug deeper after funk-samples this time. They moved away from Roget Troutman and George Clinton to advantage for names like Bob James and O'Jays. The production was also more dynamic. You needed more than just loop now. You needed more layers with samples, and E Double and PMD accepted the challenge successfully. They perfectionized their formula for beatmakin', on the same time they sat a new standard for 90's hip-hop.


Their flawless debutalbum, Strictly Business, introduced us to a new type of funk which was about to affect a whole generation of producers. The follow-up, Unfinished Business, became a more coarse affair. On their third try everything matched. In fact this is so good I have it in my top 10-list, and it's actually Just Blaze's favorite record. He got his inspiration from this one, listen to The Game "No More Fun And Games", where Just used the same sample as the EPMD song "For My People".

You need this in your collection. Buy "Strictly Business" too, more classic material from EPMD.
June 16, 2006

The Ancient Art of Neck Snapping

Classic. Hard from start to finish. No nonsense from the brothers from Brentwood, Long Island. Erick and Parrish spend this album pretty much doing what they do best: harassing bitin' emcees,gettin' stupid amounts of paper and grabbing their d! like real men! EPMD had a swagger about them that was all their own. This album is a microcosm of what it meant to be "flossin'" or more appropriately "livin' large" in the 90's. The production on this album is funkier than an African n!$ underarms after a Parliament concert. Many of the beats are tight by today's standards. Erick and Parrish beat up the booth, especially Parrish with lines like "I'm top gun/pullin b!%@#es like Tom Cruise" and "I clock gees while you clock zees/and I don't smoke crack I smoke emcees".Combustible. Parrish Smith is the Elton Brand of late eighties/early nineties hip hop. "Business As Usual" is arguably EPMD's best work to date. Everything clicked on this album. Even the G.O.A.T., Todd Smith himself came in and murdered his verse on "Rampage", one of the album's strongest cuts. Peep the album's other co- star, a young Red Man spittin' imflammably (new word) on "Hardcore" and "Brothers on my Jock". Get this album immediately and don't be surprised if you find yourself defiantly grabbing your bozack as you warn all suckas to get off of it. April 27, 2006

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