this "golden age" brought us legengary hip-hop ensembles like eric b & rakim, public enemy, and nwa, all of which are still hugely influential today. (rapper "the game" wants to be nwa so badly that he has a huge nwa tattoo on his titty.) almost as popular at the time (though not remembered quite as much today) was the seminal duo EPMD. sadly, after a few years, EPMD broke up, with erick "e-double" sermon and parrish "PMD" smith going their separate ways: erick continuing on with a productive career as a producer and occasional rapper, and PMD seemingly disappearing, only to pop up every few years to drop a record before returning to the shadows. in '97 they got back together and cut another album, but it didn't take.
it seems like every successful hip-hop act develops an entourage of aspiring younger rappers, and EPMD was no exception: their crew was called the hit squad. the hit squad consisted of k-solo (who had a hit with "your mom's in my business" and a few more singles before vanishing into obscurity, though apparently he has beef with DMX), das efx (perhaps the most lyrically interesting of the hit squad; "they want efx" is like a magnificently absurd sound poem), and redman (possibly the least interesting in the squad, though he would grow to be the most successful of all: yes, redman eventually hooked up with wu-tang's method man and eventually the two of them went on to make a movie, a sitcom, and multiple commercials for deodorant).
anyway, enough chatter... let's get on with the videos! as always, some videos feature lyrics that might not be safe for work.
EPMD
- strictly business
- strictly business (mantronik remix)
- you gots to chill
- crossover
- so whatcha sayin'
- give the people
- headbanger
- you had too much to drink
- the big payback
- symphony 2000 (featuring method man and redman)
erick sermon
PMD
k-solo
das efx
- they want efx
- mic checka
- straight from the sewer
- bakneffek
- microphone master
- real hip-hop
- freakit
- rap scholar
redman
- blow your mind
- time for some axsion
- tonight's da night
- can't wait
- funkorama
- what evaman
- i'll bee dat
- da rockwilder (feat. method man)
- y.o.u. (feat. method man)
- let's get dirty (feat. dj kool)
- da goodness
- the saga continues
- method & red - how high
- de la soul feat. redman - ooh