EPMD
Thick, funk-heavy loops paired with a cool, deadpan delivery. This is the blueprint for East Coast boom bap, built for subwoofers and concrete streets.
Thick, funk-heavy loops paired with a cool, deadpan delivery. This is the blueprint for East Coast boom bap, built for subwoofers and concrete streets.
EPMD (Erick and Parrish Making Dollars) is a foundational East Coast hip-hop duo consisting of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. Emerging from Brentwood, Long Island in 1987, they revolutionized hip-hop production by moving away from the then-standard James Brown samples toward deeper, more obscure P-Funk and rock loops.
Their debut, 'Strictly Business', is a landmark of the Golden Era, establishing the 'business' branding that would define their entire discography. Sermon's production style - characterized by heavy bass and a 'muddy' but warm analog sound - became highly influential, eventually leading to his success as a solo producer for the Hit Squad collective. Despite multiple breakups and a notorious internal rift in the early 90s, their legacy as the architects of the 'funk-rap' aesthetic remains untouched. They bridged the gap between the lyrical complexity of Rakim and the rugged hardcore rap of the mid-90s, influencing everyone from Redman to Jay-Z.
Shares sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style); boom bap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres)
Shares confident, defiant, energetic (moods); sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style)
Shares sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style); boom bap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres); sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres); sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres); sample_based, lo_fi, analog_warmth (production style)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres); urban_night, dive_bar, basement_show (atmosphere)
Shares boom bap, conscious hip-hop (subgenres); sample_based, analog_warmth, lo_fi (production style)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop, sample_based (signature)
Shares boom bap, gangsta rap, conscious hip-hop, sample_based (signature)
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