Sickapedia: EPMD

by Ran

Parrish Smith, the fourth of James and Lorraine Smith's eight children, was born in 1968 in Brooklyn, New York. The Smiths, who worked at Entemann's, moved their music-loving family to Brentwood, Long Island during Parrish's youth. He was introduced to DJing, and by extension, the music of Zapp and Roger Troutman, by a friend of his father's at the age of 14.

Erick Sermon, also born in 1968, grew up in Brentwood as well. Sermon was introduced to hip hop, via his mother's "Rapper's Delight" record, around the age of 11.

After meeting as teens, the two eighth-graders traveled from Long Island to Manhattan to purchase copies of the newly-released Run-DMC debut single "Sucker M.C.'s". They later routinely performed freestyles together in a Brentwood High School hallway. Smith, a star quarterback for the school, and Sermon eventually decided to call themselves Erick and Parrish Making Dollars -- EPMD, for short. The newly-christened duo began recording demos financed by Smith and eventually secured a deal to record a single with independent label Sleeping Bag Records. Sleeping Bag released EPMD's first song "It's My Thing", which samples The Whole Darn Family's "Seven Minutes of Funk". "It's My Thing", featuring the pair's distinctive slow flow, unique at the time, sold 80,000 copies, prompting the label to encourage the two to record an entire album.

The ensuing release, Strictly Business, debuted in 1988 and features the classics "You Gots to Chill" and the title song. The album's popularity attracted the attention of Def Jam Recordings co-founder, Russell Simmons, who began working as the group's manager. Simmons quickly added EPMD to Run-DMC's, who Smith and Sermon patterned themselves after, Run's House tour. The tour also included: Public Enemy; DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince; and Stetsasonic. During the tour, Run-DMC's DJ, Jason "Jam Master Jay" Mizell, realizing that EPMD lacked a DJ themselves, introduced the duo to his protege, George "DJ Scratch" Spivey. Spivey hailed from the Albany Houses projects in Smith's native Brooklyn. Strictly Business achieved a rare 5-mic rating in The Source magazine and went gold within four months.

One song on the album, "You're a Customer", instigated tensions between EPMD and fellow-Long Island rapper Rakim when he misinterpreted Smith's line, "It's like a Dig'em smack. Smack me and I'll smack you back..." as a response to his line "You could get a smack for this, I ain't no joke..." from the 1987 Eric B. and Rakim song "I Ain't No Joke". Rakim, in turn, responded with the line, "A brother said, 'Dig him?' I never dug him. He couldn't follow the leader long enough so I drug him..." from the title track of the duo's 1988 album Follow the Leader.

Smith addressed rampant rumors that Strictly Business' success was a fluke and that he and Sermon had stolen Rakim's style on 1989's "So Wat Cha Sayin'", which appears on the EPMD's follow-up album Unfinished Business. The sophomore album went gold in half the time -- two months -- that it took Strictly Business to do the same.

Following the success of Unfinished Business, Smith and Sermon's recording contract with Sleeping Bag was acquired by Def Jam and the two recruited aspiring rappers: fellow-Long Islander Kevin "K-Solo" Madison, who appears on Unfinished's "Knick Knack Patty Wack"; Reginald "Redman" Noble; Das EFX; and the Knucklehedz. Collectively, the group of rappers were known as the Hit Squad. While Smith focused on the group's business, including managing the members of the Hit Squad, Sermon concentrated on EPMD's production.

EPMD's third album in three years, Business as Usual, was released in 1990 and features the classics "Golddigger" and "Rampage". It's worth noting that rapper James Todd "LL Cool J" Smith, who'd developed a reputation for verbally attacking other rappers on songs, even made a thinly-veiled threat aimed at EPMD during his "Rampage" guest verse. Smith chided the duo and their rap collective with the line, "You and your squad better praise the real G-d". The group's protege, Redman, appears on the tracks "Hardcore" and "Brothers on My Jock".

In December of 1991, Smith interrupted a robbery-in-progress at his home and later reported the license number of the perpetrators' getaway vehicle to police.

In 1992, both Sermon and Smith made cameo appearances in the film Juice. That same year, EPMD released their fourth album, the gold-selling Business Never Personal. The album features the classic "posse-cut" "Head Banger", featuring K-Solo and Redman. The song would later be heavily sampled by the Ruff Ryders on their song "Ryde or Die". Personal also features the classic track "Crossover", which is, ironically, the group's biggest-selling single, despite its theme of denouncing the practice of rappers crossing over to the pop charts.

Smith was also contacted by police that year, who informed him that a suspects in the robbery of his home had signed statements asserting that he was paid $5,000 by Sermon to commit the robbery. The news served to fuel mounting tensions between Smith and Sermon due to an apparent discrepancy between the two's earnings. Smith, receiving financial advice from his father, had generated income not only from his music industry activities, but through rental properties as well, had accrued more assets than Sermon. Hostilities between the duo peaked on the set of the music video for "Head Banger" in late 1992, nearly resulting in a physical altercation. Smith and Sermon decided to dissolve EPMD at the close of their tour to support Business Never Personal.

Shortly after the break-up of EPMD, Sermon relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, releasing his debut solo album, No Pressure, in 1993. The album features the classic track "Hostile", which showcases Sermon's then-protege, Keith Murray. Redman, who'd left the Hit Squad following Sermon's split with Smith, became the third member of Murray and Sermon's group Def Squad. Sermon would go on to release 1995's Double or Nothing, 2000's Erick Onasis, 2001's Music, 2002's React and 2004's Chilltown, New York. He also went on to become a renown producer, composing music for: Boss, Run-DMC, Illegal, Shaquille O'Neal, Jodeci, Heavy D, Blackstreet, Keith Murray, Redman, Method Man, Super Cat, AZ, Questionmark Asylum, D'Angelo, Bahamadia, Alfonzo Hunter, SWV, George Clinton, Bounty Killer, MC Breed, Warren G, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Angie Stone, Dave Hollister, Ja Rule, Too Short, Chico DeBarge, 50 Cent, Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Scarface, Xzibit, Beyonce', Ludacris, D12, The Black Eyed Peas, Lost Boyz, Boyz n da Hood, Busta Rhymes, Raekwon the Chef and Bell Biv Devoe. The majority of EPMD's production was overseen by both Sermon and Smith.

Smith embarked on a solo career as well, releasing the albums Shade Business in 1994 and Business Is Business in 1996, each featuring Das EFX.

Sermon would eventually be accused of being the infamous "Gay Rapper" by then-radio personality Wendy Williams following the dissolution of their relationship.

Following four years without any contact, Smith and Sermon reunited in 1997, releasing the gold-selling album Back in Business with DJ Scratch. Back features Das EFX, Murray and Redman and includes EPMD's comeback hits "Richter Scale" and "Da Joint".

In July of 1999, EPMD released the album Out of Business, which features Method Man and Redman on the track "Symphony 2000". In December of 2008, the pair released their seventh album We Mean Business.

Sermon was stricken by a mild heart-attack in 2011, from which he made a full recovery.