Strictly Business (EPMD album)
Strictly Business | ||||
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West Babylon, New York) | ||||
Genre | Golden age hip hop | |||
Length | 45:22 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | EPMD | |||
EPMD chronology | ||||
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Singles from Strictly Business | ||||
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Strictly Business is the debut album by
The album is known for its lighthearted party raps and funky sample-reliant production. The album has no guest emcees or producers except DJ K La Boss. The album is broken down track-by-track by the group in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[4]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Los Angeles Times | [6] |
Mojo | [7] |
NME | 9/10[8] |
The Philadelphia Inquirer | [9] |
Record Mirror | 4/5[10] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
The Source | 5/5[12] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[13] |
The Village Voice | A−[14] |
Initial
Strictly Business peaked at No. 80 on the
Retrospect
Years after its release, Strictly Business has continued to attract critical success.
Legacy
The Mario Winans, Enya, and P. Diddy song "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004) and its Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, and 21 Savage remake "Creepin'" (2022) both heavily incorporate the drum outro of the album track "You're a Customer" from Strictly Business. Another Diddy/Winans collaboration, "Through the Pain (She Told Me)" (2007), while not sampling it directly, features a similar drum beat to the "You're a Customer" outro.
Track listing
# | Title | Performer(s) | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Strictly Business" | EPMD | 4:47 |
2 | "I'm Housin" | EPMD | 4:01 |
3 | "Let the Funk Flow" | EPMD | 4:16 |
4 | "You Gots to Chill" | EPMD | 4:26 |
5 | "It's My Thing" | EPMD | 5:45 |
6 | "You're a Customer" | EPMD | 5:28 |
7 | "The Steve Martin" | EPMD | 4:44 |
8 | "Get off the Bandwagon" | EPMD | 4:25 |
9 | "D.J. K La Boss" | DJ K La Boss (Scratches) | 4:31 |
10 | "Jane" | EPMD | 2:59 |
Personnel
- vocals, producer, writer
- Parish Smith – vocals, producer, writer
- DJ K La Boss – DJ (scratching)
- Jim Foley – engineer
- Charlie Marotta – engineer
- John Poppo – engineer
- Al Watts – engineer/mixing
- Gordon Davies – assistant engineer
- Rich Rahner – assistant engineer
- Herb Powers Jr. – mastering engineer
- Janette Beckman – photographer
- Eric Haze – artist (EPMD logo art)
- Susan Huyser – designer (album artwork)
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 | LP
|
SBUKLP 1 |
United States | June 7, 1988 | Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records | Vinyl LP | LPRE-6 |
United States | June 7, 1988 | Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records | Cassette
|
CSRE-6 |
United States | June 7, 1988 | Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records | CD | CDRE-6 |
United States | July 1, 1991 | Priority/EMI Records | CD | 0499 2 57135 2 7/P2-57135 |
United States | July 1, 1991 | Priority/EMI Records | Cassette | 0499 2 57135 4 1/P4-57135 |
Worldwide (Snoop Dogg-approved remastered Priority Records’ 25th-anniversary edition) | February 23, 2010 | Priority/EMI Records | CD | 50999 6 26869 2 1/P2-26869 |
Worldwide (25th-anniversary edition) | September 3, 2013 | Priority/UMe/Universal Records | CD | 374 986 |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Singles
Song | Chart (1987)[26] | 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 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[27] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
- ^ a b "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
- ^ a b "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- Check The Technique: Liner Notes For Hip-Hop Junkies. New York: Villard/Random House, 2007.
- ^ a b Bush, John. "Strictly Business – EPMD". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ Gold, Jonathan (September 11, 1988). "The World of Hard Rap". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ Batey, Angus (May 2010). "EPMD: Strictly Business". Mojo. No. 198. London. p. 115.
- ^ Witter, Simon (August 27, 1988). "Top Billin'". NME. London. p. 34.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (July 21, 1988). "EPMD: Strictly Business (Fresh)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- ^ Halasa, Malu (September 17, 1988). "EPMD: Strictly Business". Record Mirror. London. p. 32.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "EPMD: Strictly Business". The Source. No. 150. New York. March 2002.
- ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (August 30, 1988). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ^ "The Face Lists". RockListMusic.co.uk. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "Sounds Lists". RockListMusic.co.uk. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "SPEX – Popular Music Best-Of-List – 1988". Home.Rhein-Zeitung.de. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "The Source's 5 Mic Albums". ListofBests.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums + 100 Best Rap Singles". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ISBN 0-312-24298-0.
- ^ de Sylvia, Dave. "EPMD – Strictly Business Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- Allmusic. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- ^ "EPMD, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "EPMD, BLP". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- Allmusic. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
- ^ "American album certifications – EPMD – Strictly Business". Recording Industry Association of America.
External links
- Release history: EPMD at Discogs
- Literary Kicks: Album Analysis – by Levi Asher
See also
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1988 (U.S.)