EPMD - Unfinished Business [LP]

When the Long Island duo of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith hit the scene in the mid-'80s, they sounded unlike anybody else. While most of the era's rappers were still yelling Run-D.M.C.-style, they came with decidedly mellowed-out, casual flows. While many of their peers were still using minimalist drum machine beats, they had thick two-inch tape loops sampling a wide variety of genres. EPMD's 1987 debut album, Strictly Business, was a huge hit, and the stakes were high for this 1989 follow-up. If anything this is even better, with sharper production and a gang of devastating tag-team rhymes. From the lead single, "So Wat Cha Sayin'," to the moody, before-we-were-famous reflection "Please Listen to My Demo" and the explosive James Brown–jacking "The Big Payback," this is arguably EPMD's best album to date.

TRACK LISTING:
W1. So What Cha Sayin
W2. Total Kaos
W3. Get the Bozack
X.1 Jane II
X2. Please Listen to My Demo
X3. It's Time to Party
X4. Who's Booty
Y1. The Big Payback
Y2. Strictly Snappin' Necks
Y3. Knick Knack Patty Wack feat. K-Solo
Z1. You Had Too Much to Drink
Z2. It Wasn't Me, It Was the Fame