The duo had always projected a stone-like cool on their earlier efforts, but there’s a layer of cold fury that rumbles beneath their verses this time out. They move with optimum precision on this effort, as Erick and Parrish (particular the latter) rap with determination and purpose.
Personally, I’d place it ahead of all but a scant few.ĮPMD doesn’t deviate from their past approach throughout Business As Usual, instead finding ways to get better at what they were already great at doing. Albumism recently did a whole poll where readers voted for the best third albums in hip-hop history, and Business As Usual came in at #14. It also ranks among the greatest third albums released afterwards, such as A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders (1993) and OutKast’s Aquemini (1998).
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But Business As Usual demonstrates that the group knew how to continually and incrementally raise their game, and for me, the album kicked off an era of greatness for hip-hop music as a whole.īusiness As Usual stands up well with the superior third albums released up to that point, such as Run-DMC’s Raising Hell (1986), Boogie Down Productions’ Ghetto Music: The Blueprint (1989), Public Enemy’s Fear Of A Black Planet (1990), and Eric B. In the tribute I wrote for Unfinished Business, I noted how the album was part of a slew of amazing sophomore releases that helped define the golden era. Fronted by emcees Erick “E-Double” Sermon & Parrish “PMD” Smith and backed by turntable master George “DJ Scratch” Spivey, EPMD had already released a pair of astounding releases: Strictly Business (1988) and Unfinished Business (1989). But for some of the greats, a third album is where its creator takes everything to the next level.ĮPMD’s Business As Usual, released 30 years ago, is an all-time great third album. Some of the time, it’s the artist or group learning from their mistakes and either recalibrating or going back to their roots after a disappointing sophomore effort. But I’ve always believed that the third album is where the real work is done. Then there’s all the baggage that’s associated with the sophomore release.
In the, say, post-1968 conception of the long player, the debut is where you make your initial and often greatest impact. Releasing a great third album is an overlooked art. Happy 30th Anniversary to EPMD’s third studio album Business As Usual, originally released December 18, 1990.
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