producers: dj scratch, erick sermon, pmd

guests: busta rhymes, 8 off agallah, mop, redman, method man, lady luck, ll cool j. k-solo, others.

They reached legendary status with every one of their albums at least going gold. And that starting with "Strictly Business", their first one in 1988. After a much talked about break up, a rather not talked about comeback album "Back In Business", the EPMD industry is now declared "Out Of Business". Or not? Well, as it seems it only closed for now and will reopen in the next millennium. Will it be worth it?

Considering the stellar number of dope tracks on this only 41 minutes long album, one could say so. While mastering the art of jacking beats, but not being dissed like Puffy, they faded away from the funk ridden beats, just like on their last release, to a bounceafied field of thumping bass, and kicking stomps, heard on every and any Erick Sermon blessed track of late (listen to Redman, Keith Murray, etc.). That does have it’s charm, especially if you wanna pump it on a loud system or wanna get your groove on, on the dancefloor.

But for the rest of the times, you will catch yourself asking: 'didn’t I hear that somewhere before?'. Like "Hold Me Down" that shamefully sounds just like Kombo’s "Pop Shit", or "Right Now" that is far too similar to "The Fan". But you can find proof that E-Double and Pee MD haven’t lost it on "Pioneers" or "U Got Shot". What is quite tragic though, that the two best moments are a revamped version of "Rap Is Still Outta Control" (original on "Business As Usual"), that shows how dope they used to be, and DJ Scratch’s beat for the "Intro", that raises his credo a notch, and let’s his EPMD comrades vanish in his shadow.

Now with the lyrics, both Pee MD and the green eyed bandit stepped up their game. Still battling like there is no tomorrow, they have lines to remember throughout the album. So does E-Dub say on "Pioneers": "my squad gets Dumb and Jim Carrey you ought the building". And it’s also E that spits "ay yo this here's procedure, rock Emcees during my leisure / time I spend to do ‘em in / the sound pumps hard, and runs right through ya / when it hits, it reacts like a airbag to ya" ("The Fan"). Add to this guest appearances by M.O.P., 8-Off, Method Man, Redman & Lady Luck and you know what the album has to offer.

Concluding: if you cop the double limited edition, with many of their classic past tracks on the second CD (or extra vinyl), then you are more likely to play the old stuff, than the new one.