Back in Business (EPMD album)

Back in Business is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on September 16, 1997,^{[9][10][11][12]} through Def Jam Recordings.^[13] The recording sessions took place at Mirror Image and Soundtrack Studios in New York. The album was produced by members Erick Sermon and PMD, as well as DJ Scratch, with Agallah and Rockwilder serving as co-producers. It features guest appearances from Das EFX, Keith Murray, Nocturnal, and Redman.

Back in Business
Studio album by EPMD
Released	September 16, 1997
Studio	Mirror Image (Long Island, NY) Soundtrack Studios (New York, NY)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	46:08
Label	Def Jam
Producer	EPMD (also exec.) DJ Scratch Agallah (co.) Rockwilder (co.)
EPMD chronology
Business Never Personal (1992) Back in Business (1997) Out of Business (1999)
Singles from Back in Business
"Never Seen Before" Released: July 1997 "Da Joint" Released: September 1997 "Richter Scale" Released: November 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chicago Tribune	[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
The Guardian	[4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
RapReviews	7/10[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
The Source	[8]

In the United States, the album peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200 and number 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 17, 1997 for selling 500,000 copies. It also reached number 100 on the UK Albums Chart and number 14 on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart.

The song "Never Seen Before" was released as a split single with Foxy Brown's "Big Bad Mamma" from Def Jam's How to Be a Player soundtrack. "Da Joint" made it to number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the duo's second most successful single (after "Crossover") in the album era. The final single off of the album, "Richter Scale", only reached number 62 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

The album marks the reunion of the group after five year disbandment, when the pair had broken up due to financial issues.^[5][14]

Critical reception

Vibe wrote that "Sermon's sluggish production makes the duo's paper-thin and finance-driven subject matter that much more irritating".^[15] Rolling Stone declared: "Gone is the Wall of Sound funk that made EPMD famous".^[16] The Austin American-Statesman thought that "jams such as 'Richter Scale' and 'Get With This' show true EPMD style as Erick and Parish sound perfect together over guitar funk".^[17] The Guardian wrote that Back in Business "returns to the breaks and beats that made [EPMD] great: kooky 1970s funk samples mixed with guitar loops and cool-as-ice vocals".^[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Erick Sermon	Erick Sermon	0:13
2.	"Richter Scale"	Sermon Parrish Smith James Stuart Alan Gorrie Owen McIntyre Robbie McIntosh Malcolm Duncan Roger Ball Robert Bell Ronald Bell Donald Boyce George Brown Robert Mickens Claydes Charles Smith Dennis Thomas Richard Westfield	Erick Sermon	3:14
3.	"Da Joint"	Sermon P. Smith Dana Stinson James Brown Adam Yauch Michael Diamond John King Mike Simpson Matt Dike	Erick Sermon Rockwilder (co.)	3:28
4.	"Never Seen Before"	Sermon P. Smith Art Neville Leo Nocentelli Joseph Modeliste George Porter Jr. Carlton Ridenhour James Henry Boxley III	Erick Sermon	2:51
5.	"Skit"	P. Smith Andre Weston William Hines	PMD	0:24
6.	"Intrigued" (featuring Das EFX)	Sermon P. Smith Weston Hines	Erick Sermon	3:37
7.	"Last Man Standing"	Sermon P. Smith Willie Seastrunk Barrence Eugene Carter Albert Johnson Kejuan Muchita	PMD Erick Sermon (co.)	3:35
8.	"Get wit This"	Sermon P. Smith Billy Squier	Erick Sermon	3:42
9.	"Do It Again"	Sermon P. Smith Tom Browne Thomassina Carrollyne Smith	Erick Sermon	2:50
10.	"Apollo Interlude"	Sermon Darryl Trotter	Erick Sermon	1:19
11.	"You Gots 2 Chill '97"	Sermon P. Smith Roger Troutman Rob Bell Ron Bell Boyce G. Brown Mickens C. Smith Thomas Westfield	EPMD	3:26
12.	"Put On"	Sermon P. Smith George Spivey	DJ Scratch	3:54
13.	"K.I.M." (featuring Keith Murray and Redman)	Sermon P. Smith Keith Murray Reginald Noble Fred Scruggs Kirk Jones Marlon Fletcher Tyrone Taylor Chylow Parker	Erick Sermon	4:38
14.	"Dungeon Master" (featuring Nocturnal)	Sermon P. Smith Yasin Muhammedi	PMD Agallah (co.)	3:24
15.	"Jane 5"	P. Smith Rick James	PMD	2:41
16.	"Never Seen Before" (Remix)	Sermon P. Smith Mark Adams Steve Arrington Ray Turner Stephen C. Washington Danny Webster	Erick Sermon	2:52
Total length:				46:08

Sample credits

• Track 2 contains samples from "Person to Person" as recorded by Average White Band and a sample from "Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang.
• Track 3 contains a sample from "Think (About It)" performed by Lyn Collins and excerpts from "Shake Your Rump" performed by Beastie Boys.
• Track 4 contains an interpolation of "Just Kissed My Baby" by the Meters and a sample from "Public Enemy #1" as recorded by Public Enemy.
• Track 7 contains a sample from "Midnight Groove" by Barry White and a sample from "Front Lines (Hell on Earth)" performed by Mobb Deep.
• Track 8 contains excerpts from "Big Beat" written and performed by Billy Squier.
• Track 9 contains a sample from "Funkin' for Jamaica (N.Y.)" performed by Tom Browne.
• Track 11 contains a sample from "More Bounce to the Ounce" as recorded by Zapp and a sample from "Jungle Boogie".
• Track 13 contains a sample of "Da Mad Face Invasion" performed by Onyx and a sample of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by Beastie Boys.
• Track 15 contains a sample from "Mary Jane" written and performed by Rick James.
• Track 16 contains a sample of "Watching You" performed by Slave.

Personnel

• Erick Sermon – vocals, producer (tracks: 1–4, 6, 8–11, 13, 16), co-producer (track 7), executive producer, sleeve notes
• Parrish "PMD" Smith – vocals, producer (tracks: 5, 7, 11, 14, 15), executive producer, sleeve notes
• Andre "Krazy Drayz" Weston – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 6)
• Willie "Skoob" Hines – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 6)
• Yasin "Nocturnal" Muhammedi – additional vocals (track 5), vocals (track 14)
• Darryl "Pop" Trotter – additional vocals (track 10)
• Keith Murray – vocals (track 13)
• Reggie "Redman" Noble – vocals (track 13)
• George "DJ Scratch" Spivey – scratches, producer (track 12)
• Dana "Rockwilder" Stinson – co-producer (track 3)
• Angel "8-Off" Aguilar – co-producer (track 14)
• Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez – recording (tracks: 1, 5, 10, 13–15), mixing (tracks: 1–3, 5–10, 12, 13, 15)
• Tommy Uzzo – recording (tracks: 2–4, 11, 16), mixing (tracks: 4, 11, 16)
• Tom Chianti – recording (tracks: 6–9)
• Mikael Ifversen – recording (track: 12)
• Chris Irish – mixing (track 14)
• Dave Butcher – engineering assistant
• Marc Berto – engineering assistant
• Mike Koch – engineering assistant
• Tony Dawsey – mastering
• Bernard Alexander – co-executive producer, management
• Danny Clinch – photography
• Kevin Liles – A&R
• Irving "Irv Gotti" Lorenzo Jr. – A&R
• The Drawing Board – creative director
• Jasmine "Jazz" Young – marketing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position UK Albums (OCC)[19] 100 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[20] 14 US Billboard 200[21] 16 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[22] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] 72

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[24]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.