We Mean Business [PA]

Performer: EPMD
Artist: Raekwon; Havoc; KRS-One; Redman; Teddy Riley; Method Man; Skyzoo; Keith Murray; Vic D; Tre
Producer: Marco Berto; Erick Sermon; Parrish Smith; Ty Fyffe
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Recording information: Adidas Studios; Hit Squad Studio; Lite Studio; Music Factory Recording. Photographer: Teddy Lee. Often cited as the greatest one-two combo in hip-hop history, EPMD have been lacing speakers with their unique funk-heavy, low-drum sounds for over 20 years. On their seventh LP together (the first in nine years and first ever away from Def Jam), Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith return with their tried-and-true formula--updated though it may be--reworking many of their most memorable lines and production tendencies into new but familiar incarnations. The computerized funk track of "Roc da Spot" sounds like an interpolation of their classic "You Gots to Chill." Still, the EPMD one-liners are infectious as ever and numerous heavyweight guests (only four cuts are strictly Erick and Parrish) make WE MEAN BUSINESS a 14-track lyrical slugfest. Raekwon, Havoc of Mobb Deep, KRS-One, Teddy Riley, Keith Murray, and Redman are featured. Nine years after they went Out of Business, veteran hip-hop duo EPMD (Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith) return with a new album, and you'd think it was only nine months. Save the appearance of young buck Skyzoo plus some street slang that's very 2008, We Mean Business is right in line with the cold, hard, and funky sound of EPMD in the '90s. Considering the time off, the loyal fan base, and the simple addictiveness of the crew's music, this is hardly a bad thing and -- just like the fans like it -- almost all the productions come from in-house, with Sermon handling twice the amount of tracks headed by Smith. The few guest producers include 9th Wonder, who contributes to the Skyzoo feature "Left 4 Dead," plus DJ Honda, who puts an infectious spy guitar riff underneath the great "Never Defeat 'Em" with Method Man. The old vocoder and golden age scratching from DJ 4our 5ive make the crooked "Roc-Da-Spot" the big throwback track but it's the following "Blow" that really shines, with its tightly cut loops and classic bravado boasts like "You a queen with drama/Don't make me get mad and Barack O-Bomb-Ya." As far as guest rappers, old friends like Teddy Riley, Keith Murray, Redman, Havoc, plus an especially on fire KRS-One are here, making this album short on new developments but greatly appealing to those who long for the way it used to be. ~ David Jeffries

XXL (Magazine) (p.106) - "EPMD manage to keep it funky with their dusty beats and fresh rhymes on WE MEAN BUSINESS. It's apparent that, even after two decades, the rap veterans still have something left to offer." Mojo (Publisher) (p.109) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hey still have a winning way with their slouching, filthy funk..." Clash (magazine) (p.108) - "They have been through a lot in their career but have proved they are as relevant and vital as on their debut. The title says it all."

Long Island-born rappers Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith formed the underground hip-hop duo EPMD in the late 1980s. Creating a sound and stance so self-assured as to seem effortless, they were among very few rap artists with the talent to pull it off without sounding lazy. EPMD did much to revitalize a flagging rap scene with UNFINISHED BUSINESS, an early outburst of controlled creative energy that sampled rock sources as well as underground dance music, working up a healthy, funk-fueled groove.

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