GROUP FOR A WEEK: EPMD

There is no better "fresh discovery" to begin your week with than the tasteless irony of a group that have been around longer than most of our neo-philistine hip hop fan's lives.

The monotone sounds of classic hip hop became the voluptuous ingredient by which the original duo known as EPMD based their whole career around. It was a time when the instrumental side of rap had no airs or graces about it, allowing for the individual talent of a group's members to take full effect.

 EPMD joined an entourage of emerging hip hop artists such as Redman (whom they frequently collaborated with) in the late 80's early 90's that began the transition from safe hip hop to underground, explicit rap that would flourish and grow throughout the latter years of the decade.


 Founding members Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith made their presence known immediately with the release of their bold debut album entitled Strictly Business. The track of the same name off the album became their first big hit, drawing on a never before heard poetic harmony, with similes and metaphors amalgamated within lyrics.

They became one of the first groups to openly discuss gang life and it's close association with narcotics, something which for maestros such as Run Dmc was very much the ghost at the feast. The group came back again in 1991 with Unfinished Business. Chic white sneakers, gold chains and fashionable sports cars were displayed on an album cover no less lubricious than any Snoop Dogg track.
Nevertheless the album dispelled any ideas of the group suffering the turmoil of "second album syndrome". If anything the album went over much better than their debut drop, with notable tracks including Get The Bozack, Please Listen to my Demo and So What Ya Sayin'. Evidence of the albums success and more notably the group's rapid rise to fame was clear as a priest's conscience when their third and most accessible album became laced with collaborations.

In the golden year of '99, artists including Method Man, Redman and Busta Rhymes rushed to become apart of the veracious rap album Out of Business . All that made EPMD famous historically was laid bare from the Intro track to the close of Jane 6. The album also brought the best out of it's collaborating artists, in particular Symphony 2000 feat Redman, who replaced his usual colloquial attempts at cheap thrills for the more intellectual approach we all know him to be capable of. In a year synonymous with the fastidious production of a certain Operation: Doomsday album, Out of Business kept true to form with simplistic beats that allow the listener to explore the rugged lyrics with the attention they deserve.

It was very much the "sit up and listen" attitude that held EPMD in such high regard. They brought a unique realism that rap was lacking at the time or had not seen since the early days of Public Enemy or GrandMaster Flash. In many ways it was that very realism that justifies their position amongst such high echelons of hip hop.