EPMD

EPMD is an American ^{United States} hip hop group from Brentwood ^{Brentwood, New York} , 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 ^rappers Erick Sermon ("E") 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.

The word "business" is used in every title of the group's albums. Every album also has a track titled "Jane".

 
Early 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. The group's brand of funk-fueled sample ^{sampling (music)} -heavy hip-hop proved to be a major force in the genre. Unlike old school hip hop, which was originally based on disco hits but eventually became more electronic ^{electro (music)} , EPMD based its music mainly on lifting funk and rock breaks for samples and helped to popularize their usage, along with Marley Marl and Public Enemy ^{Public Enemy (band)} . "You're a Customer" combined snippets of Steve Miller ^{Steve Miller (musician)} 's "Fly Like an Eagle ^{Fly Like an Eagle (song)} ," Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie," and the bass line from ZZ Top’s "Cheap Sunglasses." "Jane," about a romantic rendezvous turned bad, would be revisited on no less than five sequels; a first for hip-hop, and, perhaps, rock and roll as well. "You Gots to Chill" used 1980s funk band Zapp ^{Zapp (band)} 's "More Bounce to the Ounce," which has become one of the most enduring sample sources for hip-hop. "I'm Housin'" was covered some 12 years later by Rage Against the Machine. Managed early on by Russell Simmons' RUSH Management, the group toured with such hip-hop luminaries as Run-DMC, Public Enemy ^{Public Enemy (band)} , and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince., 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 ^{We Mean Business (album)} 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 ^{Redman (rapper)} 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 ^{Redman (rapper)} 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.*Strictly Business (1988)
*Unfinished Business ^{Unfinished Business (EPMD album)} (1989)
*Business as Usual ^{Business as Usual (EPMD album)} (1990)
*Business Never Personal (1992)
*Back in Business ^{Back in Business (album)} (1997)
*Out of Business (1999)
*We Mean Business ^{We Mean Business (album)} (2008)((Reflist))
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