EPMD - Strictly Business (June 7, 1988)

Finally. I get to start with a run I've been craving to do ever since I started two years ago. That of the extended Hit Squad family, infamously headed by one Erick Sermon aka the Green Eyed Bandit aka Grand Royal aka the Funk Lord and one Parish Smith (not Parrish. The man himself spells it with ONE 'R', thank you very much.) aka the Microphone Doctor aka Slow Flow aka MC Cold Killa, cka Erick & Parish Making Dollars aka Erick & Parish Millenium Ducats. EPMD.

Where do I even start with this entry? Should I begin by highlighting the climate it was released in? 1988? The most influential year in hip hop history? Or should I mention the fact that it singlehandedly jumpstarted an entire school of sampling? One that would make these two one of the most sampled rap acts in history?

I'm thinking, no. I'm starting with the very interesting tidbit that this group was my introduction to 80s hip hop. Yep. I never heard a single 80s rap record until these two entered my life. Their work made me notice just how much the scene valued your lines. Every bar HAD to be a timeless quotable, or else you were not getting recognized. At all. If one would notice, that is precisely the reason why 90s hip hop was chock full of audio samples from 80s hip hop. Now you know the cloth you're dealing with when talking about these two.

Also of importance, the 80s was an era where you were required to excel at not one, but as many elements of hip hop as you could. Being that this genre has transcended every barrier placed in front of it, its nature of being hip hop music has overshadowed the fact that rhyming and DJing are only two elements. The rest are breaking, graffiti and beatboxing. Some would even add the five percenter inspired knowledge of self, which I now consider to be the most vital of all, as that very notion means so much more today than what Clarence Edward Smith intended for it back in the mid-60s. Anyways, back to EPMD. Both members had an integral connection with music during their childhoods, which was reflected by the fact that Parish became a DJ in his teens while Erick was notorious within his family for his impressions of Soul legends as a kid.

Little did they know that by the time these two became a legitimate rap act signed to Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records, their beatmaking choices would forever more change the landscape of hip hop music, as they were the first rap act to introduce funk music onto a hip hop record. Starting with their debut single It's My Thing/You're A Customer (on which the group's name was embarrassingly spelled EPEEMD). I distinctly remember the EPMD episode of Unsung where you can see DMC of Run-DMC, EPMD's idols, talk about his initial reaction to hearing It's My Thing while driving. It was an open mouth and intimidation of these two's revolutionary production choices.

Or rather one's production choices. Although I can't really find the exact details, apparently the first three EPMD albums were produced by Parish Smith alone. Excluding the two tracks featuring one Reggie Noble bka the mighty Redman off the third, which were E-Dub's work. I even heard that P and veteran sound engineer Charlie Marotta were E's production mentors. Now I'm not sure if their work was that divided, but I'd like to believe that they were more collaborative than all this individualist talk being shoveled around (That, and the production on all four pre-breakup albums was credited to both them cats). Plus, I've heard both of their solo work behind the boards, and while I'm still a big fan of both, something was different during their initial 87-92 run.

Full disclosure: When I first wanted to listen to EPMD's material, I had no idea where to start as I was too damn sensitive to the late 80s style of basic rhyming. So I decided to listen to their pre-breakup material (more on the breakup in later reviews) in reverse chronological order. The first song I heard by these two was Headbanger, and I was blown away. Just how long were these two this good? That question convinced me to abandon my trajectory into their discography and start properly from the beginning with this. Strictly Business.

The making-of story of this album is a fucking doozy, so you'll want to watch that Unsung episode right the fuck now. I'll wait.

I know, right?! So the commercial result of said efforts were immortalized by Parish on So Wat Cha Sayin', lead single of EPMD's sophomore album: 'Dropped the album Strictly Business and you thought we would fold/Thirty days later, the LP went gold!'

Seeing as Strictly Business dropped in a time where debut singles were a pretty big deal, I'm starting this review with the singles, then I'll go down from there to the rest of the tracklisting. Also, to show you just how much people were influenced by these two's production choices, I'll be mentioning songs by various hip hop artists that borrowed from our duo alongside the EPMD song that inspired them in every EPMD review I write from now on.

IT'S MY THING
Yep, the beat to, ugh, Jay-Z's horrid Ain't No N**** came from here. Guess which song I prefer? I also prefer Deathtrap by the Gravediggaz, as it’s an infinitely more respectable take than him and then-underage whore Foxy Brown’s sex rants. Anyways, this is where everything started. It is also future Def Squad member Keith Murray's favorite hip hop song. Ever. Can't say I blame him, really. After a very famous helicopter sample, our duo lay out their modus operandi chauffeured by Seven Minutes of Funk sprinkled with a myriad of vocal samples. From the jump, you see how natural the chemistry between them really is, which shouldn't be surprising as they are best friends from middle school. Of note also is the fact that you'll find it hard to choose who bested who in lyrical combat here, as their skill level is again very similar. This is the debut single of a legendary career for a fucking reason.

YOU'RE A CUSTOMER
This beat was just used for the BET Cypher everyone's raving about. Whatever.  This also happens to be, far and wide, the most sampled EPMD song ever. The reason why every legend you know adores this song, despite the beat being the most minimalist on the entire album, is because both members black the fuck out here. Seriously, this song alone had enough quotables to fuel a sizeable chunk of the 90s hip hop scene, especially that East Coast boom bap shit you came here to read about. Props to the beat, too, as it's an adoringly simple mashup of ZZ Top, Steve Miller & Kool & The Gang. More importantly, it was tooled to get the hell outta the way as the two MCs went in. Also, a minor tidbit is that one of Parish’s lines here was misunderstood by fellow Long Islander and hip hop grandmaster Rakim to be a potshot, which started a brief but nasty lyrical feud between the two legendary acts. I love this song.

STRICTLY BUSINESS
The first single to actually chart for our duo. Built around Eric Clapton's famous interpolation of Bob Marley's classic and essentially the very first of many songs to sample Erick Sermon, this is a perfect encapsulation of what an 80s hip hop banger sounds like. Of course, our duo utilize their beat effectively and bombard the fuck outta you with quotables. This song is my shit!

I'M HOUSIN'
Now we come to not the best, but the most underrated song of the whole heap. Good to know that Souls Of Mischief and Rage Against The Machine really like this song, right? E and P wreck shop over a deft as fuck Aretha Franklin loop. Another smash off the bat. I especially dug their introductory verses where they display a taste of storytelling finesse. Oh, don't worry. You'll get to that soon enough.

LET THE FUNK FLOW
The reviled title track to Nastradamus, one of Nas' worst albums jacked this beat wholesale. Yep, attempted to tarnish the legacy of this infinitely-better song. You hear a classic opening Otis Redding riff, following which you are submerged against your will in the funkiest of JBs loops sprinkled with some Beastie Boys schratches here n there, as our duo swarm around your ears and take turns devouring the ever-living shit outta them with three blistering verses apiece. Very nice!

YOU GOTS TO CHILL
So, I guess Vanilla Ice covered this song in '08. Yep. All bullshit aside: To this day, whenever EPMD perform this live, the crowd enters a blood-crazed frenzy. The reason? That beat. That Zapp loop marinated in that Kool & the Gang flavor. Although it certainly helps that both Erick and Parish deliver the BNB business, as well. This track is essential listening.

GET OFF THE BANDWAGON
Here we arrive at my least favorite instrumental, as it's sample-less. Which translates today to dated as fuck. However, I still love this song because EPMD get busy on this shit. Erick and Parish kick the quotables up a crazy notch and you'll believe in 80s rap for damn certain after this.

THE STEVE MARTIN
From the most dated sounding song to the goofiest: EPMD rap about coming up with a dance that will forever retire the Pee Wee Herman dance with one named after one of my favorite comedians. Fuck you, I loved his Pink Panther movies. You can see where the popularity attempt went, but the amount of fun these two are having with this song is infectious as all hell. And that Otis Redding loop backed by that Patty Duke bass interpolation only sweetens the audio recipe that much more. This was bafflingly awesome.

DJ K LA BOSS
If you know anything about 80s hip hop, you'd know how common it was to have a track comprised entirely of the act's DJ flexing his skills. Now, I've always been kinda ambivalent to this practice but I appreciate its magnitude for what it was and given such, this was pretty good.

JANE
Told you we'd come back to their storytelling! And thus begins a tale of the morally conspicuous female who follows these two their whole career. Yep. that's 30 years and counting. If nothing, the commitment alone has to be appreciated, right? As if you need me to convince you of this song's worth, as the Rick James- heavy beat will do that for me. The detailed verses are masterfully written by both our hosts, who've really performed neck and neck throughout the entire record, which is yet another achievement that escapes most group-based rap acts. Trust me, people anticipate every chapter in this Jane series for a damn reason.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Once again, this is the album that made me acquire a taste for 80s hip hop. The reason why I adapted to this then-foreign sound so easily is because these two blazed a new path in production and added sampling sources unheard of back then. Also of note is the fact that both members of the duo were sharp as fuck behind the mic, dropping quotables and telling stories about the music itself. Something that's never done anymore. Never. Besides, this album established an entire school of production based on funk into the industry, and believe me, that's a BIG ASS school.

WORTH IT? This album had better be in your collection. You'll see hip hop in an entirely new light when you finally appreciate where it comes from. Trust me, that is an essential hip hop experience.

If you're looking for more from EPMD, here. For more on this Hit Squad thing, you better click on this shit.