Out of Business

1.  No longer carrying on commercial transactions, as in He's decided to go out of business when he turns sixty-five, or The supermarkets are putting the small grocers out of business.
2.  Not in working order, inoperative, as in It looks as though the merry-go-round is out of business tonight. Also see out of commission; go out, def. 5.

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• Artist: EPMD
• Rating:
• Release Date: June 29, 1999
• Type: Contains explicit content
• Genre: Rap

Review

After the popular, praised 1997 comeback album Back in Business, Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith returned with another solid effort that proved they remained one of the best combos in hip-hop, as relevant and tight in 1999 as they were ten years earlier. Most of the tracks are in-house productions (either Sermon or Smith), a true rarity in the '90s hip-hop world, and they lend the album a continuity sorely lacking considering the legion of rap albums that feature a different producer for each track. And as the duo has done for ages, EPMD does more than just trade in familiar riffs to drive the tracks on Out of Business. The only familiar sample is on the "Intro," and even there, Sermon and Smith turn "Fanfare for Rocky" into something over and above the original. The pair's raps have definitely progressed in the past ten years, as "Pioneers," "U Got Shot," "Right Now," and "Hold Me Down" more than prove. One of the album highlights is the anti-crossover diatribe "Rap Is Still Outta Control," featuring Busta Rhymes (another rapper who's been around long enough to know) and including great lines like, "They took our music and our beat and tried to make it street/And then got in the magazine to try to sound all sweet." Still, EPMD occasionally falls prey to current trends, with obligatory string-sample productions on "Symphony" and "Symphony 2000" (the latter with Redman, Method Man, and Lady Luck) that serve only to obscure the great guest raps. Despite the title, in the liner notes EPMD dispels any rumors that this could be the duo's last album. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Intro	Bill Conti, Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith, George Spivey	EPMD	(2:18)
Pioneers	Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith	EPMD	(3:14)
Right Now	Erick Sermon, P. Smith	EPMD	(3:51)
Check 1, 2	Erick Sermon, P. Smith	EPMD	(3:16)
Symphony	Erick Sermon, P. Smith	EPMD, M.O.P.	(3:01)
Hold Me Down	Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith	EPMD	(3:34)
Rap Is Still Outta Control	Erick Sermon, P. Smith	EPMD, Busta Rhymes	(3:33)
The Fan	Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith	EPMD	(3:03)
Draw	Dominic Frontiere, Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith	EPMD	(3:22)
U Got Shot	Erick Sermon, P. Smith, Angel Aguilar, R. Jones	EPMD	(3:38)
House Party	Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith	EPMD	(3:52)
The Funk	Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith, Norman Whitfield, D. Turner	EPMD	(2:08)
Symphony 2000	Erick Sermon, P. Smith	EPMD, Redman, Method Man, Lady Luck	(4:03)
Jane 6	Erick Sermon, P. Smith, R. James	EPMD	(4:22)

Credits

EPMD (Main Performer), Redman (Performer), Busta Rhymes (Performer), Dave O'Donnell (Assistant Engineer), Erick Sermon (Producer), Erick Sermon (Executive Producer), Erick Sermon (Mixing), Parrish Smith (Producer), Parrish Smith (Executive Producer), Parrish Smith (Mixing), Tommy Uzzo (Mixing), Method Man (Performer), Charlie Marotta (Engineer), Charlie Marotta (Mixing), DJ Scratch (Producer), Tony Dawsey (Mastering), Lady Luck (Performer), Danny Clinch (Photography), Angel Aguilar (Producer), Kevin Liles (Executive Producer), Wayne Van Acker (Design), John Decatur (Engineer), Rich La Salvia (Assistant Engineer), Gerard Gaskin (Photography)

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