EPMD

Business Never Personal

Rating: 4 1/2 mics

Thumpin' fat, no-bullshit hardcore funk is the best description for this LP.  Erick and Parrish are back, catchin' mad wreck and solidifying their position as one of the premier groups in hardcore hip-hop.

The trademark EPMD slow-flow rhyme style and no-nonsense lyrics combined with their no-nonsense delivery hit you like a Tek-9 slug.  And with an abundance of funky hard beats, this one promises to have systems and Walkmen pumpin' all over the country.

There is a lot here to keep your neck jerkin'.  "Crossover" deals with the sellout mentality in rap.  "Cummin' At Ya" is a duet with the diggedy-Das EFX that has all four MC's flippin' shit over a fat slow beat.  And "Boon Dox," with it's exploding bass, is simplt the Long Island anthem.  Don't forget to check for "Play The Next Man," warning of scandalous females, and "Headbanger," the Hit Squad posse cut that features MVP performances by K-Solo and Redman.

Business Never Personal is EPMD at their best.  With 12 cuts of pure slammin' funk, there's not going to be much fast-forwarding on this one.  Chalk up another gold dish for the Hit Squad in '92.  Swayze kids.

- reviewed by Big Greg Cee, originally appearing in The Source, August 1992.