EPMD is a hip-hop fan’s hip-hop group. Casual radio listeners may or may not know who they are, but those that are or were really into hip-hop? They know. EPMD is your favorite rap group’s favorite rap group. Now, neither Erick nor Parrish was a top-level lyricist, but together, they represented. The real draw to EPMD was the production, though. Back then, people thought Parrish was the one behind the boards, but now we know it was Erick. Neither of their solo projects came anywhere near their teamed-up efforts. Now some friends of mine and I have a running debate over who was the better emcee, but on tracks when they had a guest, it’s usually the guest who outshines them both. Nevertheless, EPMD is one of those groups I could listen to all day. Coming up with a top 15 for them is probably harder in terms of what to keep out instead of what to let in.
Honorable Mention. You Had Too Much To Drink – I put this joint on there solely because it’s so wack it actually turns the corner to being good. The “friend’s” Tony Montana impression of a voice is entertaining, but what really does it is the chorus. “You overdid it, holmes. You had too much tooooo drink.” And yes, we did sing the chorus to each other at the appropriate time.
15. Get The Bozack – One of the great things about listening to EPMD is hearing tracks they unearthed that would back up more popular tunes years later. Of course, the other great thing about this song is the word “bozack.” I don’t know about other people, but bozack has never left the active vocabulary.
14. K.I.M. – The classical loop here is good, but the best thing about Erick and Parrish with Redman, and Keith Murray, is good business. My favorite line comes courtesy of Keith, when he says, “Flippin more big ole words than Jesse Jackson.”
13. Never Seen Before – Flipping the “Just Kissed My Baby” sample that Public Enemy had used years before, EPMD represented well by including some of Chuck’s lines from the PE classic, “Timebomb.” Their first song back after their initial breakup, Never Seen Before was a brief moment of excitement. But Parrish had clearly slipped a little.
12. Rap Is Outta Control- Crazy, crazy, track. Crazy because of the lyrics that approach Greg Nice levels of nonsense, and crazy because of the bouncy track. And yes, I could probably name all the samples on all the songs, but sometimes that’s not the point. This is one of those times. It’s like, ‘Super-ma-aaa-aann, flyyyyy high waaay up in the skyyyyy-yyy.’
11. Who Killed Jane – The beat on this joint is just disgusting. I’m personally very fond of that muddy bassline, and this song is all about this. In reality, it’s not built for speakers, it’s built for headphones. I’m tryina told you. The bassline on this joint is sickening.
10. Gold Digger – Kanye’s version might have been more popular, but it ain’t comin close to this joint. Everything about this song rocks. Erick was rappin clear, the track is tight (the 808 is severe), and DJ Scratch could be challenging Jeff for a belt.
9. Crossover – Even way back in 1992, there was a concern over the direction hip-hop was taking. Back then, the idea of “keeping it real” meant something a little different than the cartoonish idea it eventually morphed into. In some ways, one could argue that “keeping it real” has been a means of selling out. But this is one of the first songs I’d play for people who claim that there’s no difference between rap and hip-hop, or more specifically, for people who claim that there has never been any self-policing of hip-hop in terms of quality and content.
8. Brothers On My Jock – Nautilus is one of my favorite songs, and Scratch scratching on top of it works for me. As does Redman leading off on the song. Back when I made running tapes, this was one of my good up-tempo tracks.
7. Total Kaos – This is one of my favorite songs for PMD’s rapping. I’ve always been a sucker for those moments when they drop out the track and leave the beat and leave the drum and the rapper. Adding in the 808 as Parrish raps, “A microphone doctor, an emcee physician / an all-around scholar, a rappin technician.” (And there’s that DJ Scratch fella again.)
6. Strictly Business – Yup. Back when they first came out, I wasn’t necessarily crazy about these dudes, but this track was the truth.
5. You Gots To Chill – “More Bounce To The Ounce” + “Jungle Boogie” = near-perfection.
4. Rampage – One of my favorite verses ever is on this song, and it belongs to neither Erick nor Parrish. Nope. LL Cool J steals the show on this one, although I don’t know if you could really say that he’d hafta steal the show from E or P. LL was just better. But still, this was during his zenith, during 90-91. He crushes this verse, from intro to dismount.
3. Hardcore – One of my other favorite verses ever, E and P are again outshined, this time by a newcomer named Redman. I remember the first time I heard this joint, I was listening to the Thunderstorm and I had no idea who was rapping, but I knew he was cold.
2. So Wat Cha Sayin – My second-favorite EPMD beat, but probably my entry in an all-time beat contest. This joint is just riDICulous. As I said about another track, this beat is for either a system with some fat house speakers (c) Q-Tip, or some good headphones.
1. Give The People (Erick and Parrish Remix) – This is that joint. Probably not the best EPMD song, but definitely my favorite. What does it is probably the contrast between the remix and the original. The lyrics are basically identical, but the O’Jays sample they pick, combined with the scratching and the tracks that play during the verses is crazy. Just crazy. The video was hittin too. But this is my joint.
!! I forgot Headbanger! I knew I was gonna forget somethin!
Entries (RSS)
Erick and Parrish Making Dollarz don’t get anywhere near enough retrospective cred. Thx.
Did you hear the new record, We Mean Business? It has that classic EPMD sound.
i would definitely have to add Headbanger in there and probably You’re a Customer too. All the tracks in your 15 were tight though.
j, i haven’t heard it yet, but i’ll be checking for it soon.
e, yeah, i was actually compiling the playlist and i couldn’t figure out why the playlist had more songs than the list i had typed out. then it came to me. but yeah, headbanger’s gotta be, like, somewhere between 2.5-3.5.