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Strictly Business

 
Album Review: Strictly Business
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Strictly Business

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  • Artist: EPMD
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1988
  • Genre: Electronica

Review

EPMD's blueprint for East Coast rap wasn't startlingly different from many others in rap's golden age, but the results were simply amazing, a killer blend of good groove and laid-back flow, plus a populist sense of sampling that had heads nodding from the first listen (and revealed tastes that, like Prince Paul's, tended toward AOR as much as classic soul and funk). A pair from Long Island, EPMD weren't real-life hardcore rappers -- it's hard to believe the same voice who talks of spraying a crowd on one track could be name-checking the Hardy Boys later on -- but their no-nonsense, monotoned delivery brooked no arguments. With their album debut, Strictly Business, Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith really turned rapping on its head; instead of simple lyrics delivered with a hyped, theatrical tone, they dropped the dopest rhymes as though they spoke them all the time. Their debut single, "You Gots to Chill," was a perfect example of the EPMD revolution; two obvious samples, Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce" and Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie," doing battle over a high-rolling beat, with the fluid, collaborative raps of Sermon and Smith tying everything together with a mastery that made it all seem deceptively simple. There was really only one theme at work here -- the brilliancy of EPMD, or the worthlessness of sucker MCs -- but every note of Strictly Business proved their claims. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Strictly Business (Lyrics) EPMD EPMD (4:47)
I'm Housin' EPMD EPMD (4:01)
Let the Funk Flow Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith EPMD (4:16)
You Gots to Chill (Lyrics) Erick Sermon, Parrish Smith, Roger Troutman EPMD (4:26)
It's My Thang A. Moon EPMD (5:45)
You're a Customer EPMD EPMD (5:28)
The Steve Martin EPMD (4:44)
Get off the Bandwagon EPMD (4:25)
D.J. K la Boss EPMD (4:31)
Jane (Lyrics) Erick Sermon, P. Smith EPMD (2:59)

Credits

EPMD (Producer), Eric Haze (Artwork), John Poppo (Engineer), Charlie Marotta (Engineer), Jim Foley (Engineer), Al Watts (Engineer), Gordon Davies (Assistant Engineer), Janette Beckman (Photography), Susan Huyser (Design), Herb Powers (Mastering)
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Wikipedia: Strictly Business
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the album. For the film, see Strictly Business (film).
Strictly Business
Studio album by EPMD
Released June 7, 1988[1]
July 1, 1991 (second pressing)
Recorded 1987–1988
North Shore Soundworks
Island Media Studios
(West Babylon, New York)
Genre Golden age hip hop
Length 45:22
Label Fresh Records
Sleeping Bag Records
Priority Records
Producer EPMD
Professional reviews
EPMD chronology
Strictly Business
(1988)		 Unfinished Business
(1989)
Singles from Strictly Business
  1. "It's My Thing / You're a Customer"
    Released: 1987
  2. "I'm Housin' / Get off the Bandwagon"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Strictly Business"
    Released: August 27, 1988
  4. "You Gots to Chill"
    Released: 1988

Strictly Business is the debut album by golden age hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on July 7, 1988 by Sleeping Bag Records in the UK, Fresh Records in the US and BCM Records in Germany. It peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 soon after release,[2] yet it earned an RIAA gold album certification within four months of its release.[3] In addition, it has received much positive critical attention since its release.

The album is known for its lighthearted party raps and funky sample-reliant production. The album features no guest rappers or producers except DJ K La Boss. The album is broken down track-by-track by EPMD in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[4]

Contents

Reception

Initial

Strictly Business peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart.[2] Of its four singles, three landed on the UK Singles Chart and two reached the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Although none of the singles reached the Billboard Hot 100, the album was able to go gold within four months of its release.[3] Initial reviews of the album were strong: Allmusic gave the album a five star rating calling the album "simply amazing".[5] The Source assigned the album a 5-mic rating making it one of 43 albums to ever receive this rating.[6] Robert Christgau also gave it an A- rating soon after its release.[7] Strictly Business was also featured on various "best of 1988" lists. The Face ranked it as the third best album of the year, and ranked its title track as the 25th best single of the year.[8] Sounds judged it to be the 50th best album of the year,[9] while Spex ranked it as the 8th best.[10]

Retrospect

Years after its release, Strictly Business has continued to attract critical success. In 1994, Pop selected it a compliment to Eric B. & Rakim's Paid in Full on their list of "The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements".In 1998, The Source placed Strictly Business on its "100 Best Rap Albums" list and included two of its singles on their "100 Best Rap Singles" list.[11] In 1999, it was judged to be the 4th best hip hop album of 1988 by ego trip.[12] In 2001, Dance de Lux ranked Strictly Business as the 11th best hip hop record of all time.[13] In 2003, the album was placed on Blender's "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die" list and ranked number 459 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[13] Additionally, the Rolling Stone Album Guide, who initially rated the album as three and a half stars out of five, awarded the album with a five star rating in 2004.[13] Retrospective reviews by Spin (1995), the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002), Martin C. Strong (2004) and Sputnikmusic (2006) have respectively alloted the album a nine out of 10 rating, a four star rating, a five star rating and a seven out of 10 rating.[13][14] Strictly Business is now widely considered to be a "classic" release[15] and a seminal hip hop album.

Track listing

All tracks written and produced by EPMD.

  1. "Strictly Business" – 4:47
  2. "I'm Housin" – 4:01
  3. "Let the Funk Flow" – 4:16
    • Sample: "Nobody Knows You (When You're Down and Out)" by Otis Redding
    • Sample: "(It's Not the Express) It's the J.B.'s Monaurail" by The J.B.'s
    • Sample: "Slow & Low" by Beastie Boys
  4. "You Gots to Chill" – 4:26
  5. "It's My Thing" – 5:45
    • Sample: "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
    • Sample: "Seven Minutes of Funk" by Tyrone Thomas and the Whole Darn Family
    • Sample: "It's My Thing" by Marva Whitney
    • Sample: "Long Red" by Mountain
    • Sample: "The Wall" by Pink Floyd
  6. "You're a Customer" – 5:28
  7. "The Steve Martin" – 4:44
    • Sample: "Let Me Come on Home" by Otis Redding
    • Sample: "Pee-Wee's Dance" by Joeski Love
  8. "Get off the Bandwagon" – 4:25
    • Sample: "Fly Like an Eagle" by Steve Miller Band
  9. "D.J. K La Boss" – 4:31
  10. "Jane" – 2:59

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Germany 1988 BCM Records Vinyl LP B.C. 33-2125-43
Germany 1988 BCM Records CD CD 076-555722
Germany 1988 BCM Records CD B.C. 50-2125-46
United Kingdom 1988 Sleeping Bag Records Vinyl LP SBUKLP 1
United States 1988 Fresh Records Vinyl LP LPRE-82006
United States 1988 Priority Records CD CDL 57135
United States 1988 Fresh Records Cassette CSRE-82006
United States July 1, 1991 Priority Records CD CDL 57135

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1988)[2] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 80
U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 1

Singles

Song Chart (1987)[16] Peak
position
"It's My Thing" UK Singles Chart 97
Song Chart (1988) Peak
position
"Strictly Business" U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 29
UK Singles Chart 90
"You Gots to Chill" U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 22
Song Chart (1989) Peak
position
"I'm Housin'" UK Singles Chart 89

References

  1. ^ "Hip-Hop's Greatest Year: Fifteen Albums That Made Rap Explode", RollingStone.com, February 12, 2008. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "EPMD > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifexq95ld6e~T5. Retrieved December 28, 2008. 
  3. ^ a b "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - Searchable Database". RIAA. http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved December 29, 2008. 
  4. ^ Coleman, Brian. Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007.
  5. ^ Bush, John. "Strictly Business Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:kpfqxqy5ldfe. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  6. ^ "The Source's 5 Mic Albums". ListofBests.com. http://www.listsofbests.com/list/12875. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  7. ^ Robert, Christgau. "EPMD Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=EPMD. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  8. ^ "The Face Lists". RockListMusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/theface.htm. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  9. ^ "Sounds Lists". RockListMusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/sounds.html. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  10. ^ "SPEX - Popular Music Best-Of-List - 1988". Home.Rhein-Zeitung.de. http://home.rhein-zeitung.de/~tommi.s/spex87.htm#1988. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  11. ^ "The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums + 100 Best Rap Singles". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  12. ^ Sacha Jenkins, Elliot Wilson, et al. (1999). Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24298-0. 
  13. ^ a b c d "Acclaimed Music - Strictly Business". AcclaimedMusic.net. http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A749.htm. Retrieved December 28, 2008. 
  14. ^ de Sylvia, Dave. "EPMD - Strictly Business Review". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=6877. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  15. ^ Bush, John. "EPMD > Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifexq95ld6e~T1. Retrieved December 30, 2008. 
  16. ^ "EPMD > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kifexq95ld6e~T51. Retrieved December 28, 2008. 

External links


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