 |  | Didn't like it then....... |  |
and I don't like it now. It is painful for me to say this because I am a huge EPMD fan but this album is horrible. This came out in 94'?!?!?!?! Look at the other albums that came out that year. Nas' Illmatic, Snoop's first joint, Outkast's first joint, etc. The point is some hot albums came out this year and PMD coming from his background should have fallen right in line with the hotness of that year. The lyrics are weak along with the beats. I thought maybe it was my mental state back then on why I didn't like this release. But I got the same feeling when I listened to it today. This album has no replay value what so ever. Amazingly, the second solo release from PMD is DOPE!!!!!
February 8, 2008definitely a overlooked piece of work, really dark from beginning to end and should be picked up by all mid 90's Hip-Hop lovers.
November 11, 2007 | | Wow, actually not as bad as I remember | |
This is not a great album, but it is way better than I remember. My 2007 ears are different than my 1994 ears. This album definitely got lost in the sauce in that classic rap era, but it sounds pretty good today.
August 7, 2007 | | overlooked, good solo effort from one-half of EPMD | |
When Erick Sermon's first solo LP came out on Def Jam in late summer 19 93, ex-partner Parrish Smith made some dismissive comments to the hip-hop press, said he was retired from the mic and was now concentrating on a new production deal with RCA to bring out new hip-hop artists. By the fall of 1994, Smith acquiesced to fan demand and came out with his first solo album, `Shade' Business". A largely self-produced effort, on this album he is assisted with occasional guest vocals from Das EFX and then-new protégé's Top Quality & Third Eye. DJ Scratch chose to roll with Smith, and he gets to show his skills on "Ph*ck It Up Scratch". On this album, Smith's mood in the aftermath of the EPMD breakup is clearly dark, as the musical backdrops here are almost universally down-tempo, with slow-rolling, dirge-like basslines. Among the few uptempo numbers is "Swing Your Own Thing", which samples the popular 80's record "Bounce, Rock, Skate". Lyrically, Smith sticks to his common subjects of sucker MC's, getting paid and lecturing would-be rappers about `the business'.
When this came out, it was overlooked. West Coast rap was at a peak level, thanks in part to the Death Row stable of artists (Dr. Dre', Snoop Dogg) and others like Coolio, 2Pac and Cypress Hill. The next-generation of East Coast rap stars had just begun to shine: Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and of course, Bad Boy Records (Craig Mack, Notorious BIG). Between these superstars, the original `golden era' rap icons began to falter in sales and public recognition. Not to mention the fact that RCA was hardly known as a label for breaking rap acts (it had served as the distributor of Jive for several years, and briefly Loud Records; but had not directly signed any rap acts).
As this is out of print, EPMD completists probably won't be disappointed, but newcomers to the Sermon/Smith catalog should seek out their first four group albums first.
October 31, 2006 | | I'm sorry I missed it originally. | |
When this dropped it got uber dissed. At that time The Source and a lot of the Hip-Hop media was on the side of Eric Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray etc. ...so when Parish went for dolo, he got booed. I was one of the many that went the way of Def Squad and didn't even try listening to PMD's record. The only track I heard was "I Saw it Coming" which I dismissed at the time; because everybody had used the Ohio Player's "Funky Worm" to death.
When his 2nd solo effort was released, I heard a few joints and was presently suprised how dope it was, but still didn't check the LP. Only in the last year and a half I picked up these albums and regret not picking them up when they first came out. The beats are dope, rugged, Timberland and hoodie type ish! Them ol'school joints that you'd jam in the jeep or rock on the headphones when riding the bus or train. DOPE!!!
Yeah, it was sad when EPMD broke up, but BOTH emcees were doing dope music, not just Eric.
May 18, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
(9 reviews)