![]() ![]() The high-energy instrumental simulates EPMD being chased down (by cops, bill collectors, religious zealots, Jane, aggressive Girl Scouts, whatever fits), and it works like a motherfucker. ![]() With that particular title, I can only assume that, like myself, Erick and Parrish were also mad at how Unfinished Business turned out, and deliberately attempted to make actual good music their third time around the track. Time is the ultimate judge, however (with me as a close second), so let's see how well Business As Usual (a) stacks up to its obvious competition, Strictly Business, and (b) held up over the past twenty years. The Source even named it one of the top one hundred rap albums ever released. I'm also speaking specifically of one James Todd Smith, better known as LL Cool J: after drinking the Def Jam Kool-Aid, EPMD found themselves sharing a label with Ladies Love and invited the man to spit a verse on "Rampage", an offer I'm sure they wish he had refused, since nobody gave a damn about Parrish's comically anti-aggressive verse.īusiness As Usual was seen (at the time) as a return to form for Erick and Parrish, abandoning the bullshit posturing of Unfinished Business and getting back on the horse. Because of this bit of trivia, Business As Usual is typically referred to as the album that featured the birth of Reggie, and with his one verse, the man manages to overshadow all of the lyrical contributions of his hosts. Before becoming one of the best and most consistently entertaining emcees in the game, he had to start off somewhere, and he made his debut alongside his mentors Erick and Parrish on "Hardcore". I'm speaking specifically of one Reggie Noble, better known as Redman. Which probably would have worked, had it not been for those meddling kids. They reintroduced their formula, which hadn't been tinkered with since 1988: funky samples all mashed together to create a coherent musical environment for Erick and Parrish to destroy with their aggressive braggadocio. They were aided in their quest by the unlikeliest of frenemies: their record label, Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records, allowed Def Jam Records to buy out the duo's contract, so Business As Usual ended up being their second debut album. So with Business As Usual, their third album, Erick and Parrish aimed to start things over fresh. While it moved a good number of units, the majority of the album was described as not living up to the gold standard set by the duo's debut album, Strictly Business. In 1989, Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith, performing under the group name EPMD, released their sophomore effort, Unfinished Business.
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