August 30th marked 25 years since the release of EPMDs' "Strictly Business" on Sleeping Bag/ Fresh Records- an independent label based in New york City. "Strictly Business" was released in 1988, during what some people refer to as the best year of full-length album releases in rap music. 1988 was also the height of what is considered the golden age of rap music. It was an era that didn't over glorify materialism and didn't promote excessive violence- that would come years later. Big Daddy Kane, Stetsasonic and Public Enemy all had classic album releases in 1988, in August of that year EPMD would join the fray with "Strictly Business".
The sample heavy "Strictly Business" drew from different musical sources. At the time finding an unused James Brown loop was the thing to do. EPMD took a different route by sampling music from Zapp, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Sly Stone and even Eric Clapton. This eclectic blend of music set EPMD apart from the rest of raps' biggest luminaries of the time.
Since 1988 EPMD has released seven albums in total, and have done a fair amount of successful solo projects as well. Now, PMD is back with another solo release, this one is an EP called "New Business" and is due to drop on September 24th.