#18: EPMD — Unfinished Business (1989)
New York, NY — Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records
For today’s review we have Long Island duo EPMD, composed of E Double, “E”, and Parrish Mic Doc, “PMD” (or also “Eric and Parrish Making Dollars”), with their second album, Unfinished Business. After the success of their 1988 release Strictly Business, the group followed it up with this here release, which cemented their position and paved the way for their later projects such as Business as Usual, Business Never Personal, Back In Business, Out Of Business, We Mean Business and many other. So, without further ado, let’s get down to business.
Now, I gotta say this album is pretty impressive in many aspects. If I had to define it in one term, it would be laid-back: everything about it is easy-going, mellow almost, from the flows to the beats and even the lyricism itself, most of all when it comes to E (PMD is somewhat more direct and aggressive). The main theme, as it often is, consists of bragging and talking about oneself. However, they do it in a creative way, letting their rhymes flow free and unobstructed, like they’re not afraid of straying off path in exchange for a little extra groove here and there. Their style of rapping values the sonority of hard, regular rhymes, giving them special emphasis in the upbeat of each bar, but the flows have a considerable swagger to them, sounding almost sleazy at times (partly, I’d wager, due to their vewy stwong Nu Yoawk accent, as well as E’s slight lisp maybe?); a significant change upon the quite regular and straight flows that still were the norm in rap (it seems like they even got in some trouble with Rakim due to this style of theirs, which led to beef over biting during a couple of years there). However, it never really seems improper or out of place: any hip-hop fan worth their weight will tell you how much of a skill it is to be able to sound sloppy and offbeat, yet not be offbeat, effectively; and these guys sure can do it like nobody’s business.
And speaking of beats, there’s something to be said about this album’s very high SCD score, and the instrumentals are hands down the biggest responsibles for it. As in Slick Rick’s Great Adventures, each beat has got its signature sound of sorts, its characteristic sample or riff or stab; differently from Great Adventures, however, in here they are almost always put together in a tasteful manner, not too obnoxious nor too retracted. And I’m absolutely not joking about the SCD: the production here is incredibly varied and original, and no track sounds too much like another at all.
The sampling in Total Kaos, track two, sounds somewhat modern for its time; Get The Bozack is creatively structured and features all sorts of unexpected little breakdowns and rolls; Please Listen To My Demo is a proto-drumless beat, which is something I would have absolutely, never ever in my wildest dreams, imagined I would come across on a rap album from the 80s; It’s Time 2 Party is unexpectedly electro-y but at the same time features some of the most luscious and juicy sampling we’ve seen so far, as well as some nasty slick flows; Strictly Snappin’ Necks is at a noticeably slower tempo and the rapping is disgustingly sleazy; Knick Knack Patty Wack is deliciously silly and fun, even with the somewhat subpar K-Solo guest verse; You Had Too Much To Drink features this annoying, very new wave beat for whatever reason, and this crazy story about, guess what, a guy who drinks too much. I could go on and on, but you get the idea, right? Every track has its own “identity”, not really a gimmick per se in most cases, but a set of fairly recognizable characteristics.
One thing that’s consistent all throughout, however, is how much it sounds like, at the end of the day, these two dudes are simply shooting the shit and having a grand ol’ time at the studio. You can hear how much fun they’re having, they never seem to be overperforming or trying too hard, it all just comes very naturally, and they got great chemistry going on to boot — more often than not the songs are rapped in a back-to-back fashion, with E and PMD’s parts weaving in and out of each other’s with ease and fluency. The only somewhat displeasant thing about this album is how it, like most of what we’ve seen so far, lacks a certain general structure to it and instead sounds more like a collection of tracks — however, most if not all said tracks are pretty good, which mostly makes that problem irrelevant.
Favorite tracks:
Total Kaos — Very laid-back in general, great beat, great rhyming, great flow. I love pretty much about this. “Yo, whassup moneygrip, it’s the E on the trip/ Not to Georgia, but Gladys Knight and the Pips/ It’s a one way ticket, to the highest plateau/ For a smooth rapper, and for those that flow/ So blow like the wind my friend and take flight/ And “Fly, Like An Eagle” — yeah right/ You can’t rock a party and make hands clap-a/ ’Cause you an N.R.er (that means a Non-Rapper)”
Please Listen To My Demo — Almost west coast-y vibe here with the intriguing beat and mellowed-out rapping, and I love the quite emotionally-invested little story about signing their first record deal.
It’s Time 2 Party — Simply put this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. Tastefully dancey drum machine beat, hypnotic sampling, great house-y breakdowns here and there, and a way of rapping that is fast and precise, but also sounds like they don’t really give a fuck (the platonic definition of cool as far as I’m concerned)
Strictly Snappin’ Necks — The very sleazy rapping compliments the braggy lyrics very well, and so does the creative sampling and scratching. Yet more slight west coast flavoring here, which is not always my favourite but adds a lot to this one.
Least favourite track:
It Wasn’t Me, It Was The Fame — The David Bowie sample is a cool novelty but gets old kind of quick, the flow in general is stiffer and more dull, and it overall just overstays its welcome by a long shot. It might be the case that, due to this being the last track, I’m already a bit “tired” after going through the whole album, but it really does sound just uninspired.
