EPMD: We Mean Business

A few weeks ago, the 2 hour event, 24: Redemption, graced television screens all over the world. The return of Jack Bauer was watched by over 12 million that one night and the end result was excitement, exhilaration, and intensity; familiar emotions felt from the past 6 seasons of 24. In retrospect, the return was quite disappointing and the plot, dialogue, and overall execution of the 2 hour special was nothing special. The consensus? Who cares! Jack is back and really, who cares what the hell is going on. The same bittersweet feeling applies for the latest and long awaited EPMD return, We Mean Business.

With their first album in almost a decade, Erick and Parish Millennium Ducats are back to their old tricks (minus DJ Scratch) and delivering what should be a return to true form with an updated twist. Instead, we get a 13 track album with only 4 of those being E & P without assistance, a beat from 9th Wonder that pales E Double‘s work on the album, a boring and monotonous Parrish, and hungry guest spots from Keith Murray and Skyzoo that make the Brentwood duo look too well fed. While all of this seems harsh, the always consistent duo simply doesn’t exceed any expectations. Nevertheless, We Mean Business is full of bright spots and flashes of the Kangol wearing, dap giving, striped shirt wearing brothers from another mother.

The duo known for delivering some of their best works on the album’s opener are joined by Raekwon on “Puttin’ Work In.” While Raekwon is welcomed as a guest on most tracks, he simply is the third wheel that stops any momentum of a comeback that Erick and Parrish were giving over the dark-string driven track. “Blow” is EPMD at their finest; Sermon‘s hard hitting beat draped with horns and a soulful sample for the duo to utilize their laid back, yet fierce, style on. It’s how this entire album, ideally, should’ve been.

“Left 4 Dead,” the aforementioned 9th Wonder track, presents the best of both worlds: the classic styles of Erick and Parrish on the microphone, speaking on the literal and figurative deaths of hip hop, with a necessary adjustment of a modern throwback in the form of a beat by Mr. Douthit. “Jane” and “Roc-Da-Spot” should’ve been classic EPMD, and while the former still provides plenty of entertainment value as the 7th in the series, both miss the mark on maintaining interest. Much of this has to do with Parrish failing to tighten his mic-game up in the last 9 years.

E‘s production just doesn’t hit as hard any more, unlike counterparts DJ Premier and Marley Marl, E‘s late 80′s to late 90′s boom bap is inconsistent and lost in the electric-synth fueled hip hop present. This album exposes more of Erick- the solo producer- as opposed to the Erick and Parrish production that some may have expected. Still, the Teddy Riley featured “Listen Up,” shows flashes of a Strictly Business thump to it and “Yo!” although quite forgettable, still has the necessary Redman feature. Lyrically, EPMD were never ones to write home about, but they were generally consistent and in your face. “Bac Stabbers” and “What You Talkin’” (featuring Havoc) exemplify that their writing hasn’t changed much. This is a good thing.

Granted, the reactionary listen inspired comments of “Album of the Year” and “Their Best Yet” and other ridiculous claims of that kind, but after frequent listens, it is far from that. On the other hand, it is far from a bad album. In fact, this album has plenty of replay value and the necessary tools to reassert their position as one of the best duos in hip hop, just like they were their entire career. They have yet to make a bad album, and they don’t start here; they keep necks snapping while they keep mean mugging.

74.5/100

Standout Tracks:

“Blow”

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“Left 4 Dead”

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“Bac Stabbers”

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