Strictly Business (EPMD album)

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/strictly-business-mw0000652600|title=Strictly Business – EPMD|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=January 8, 2018|last=Bush|first=John}}

| rev2 = Los Angeles Times

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-09-11-ca-2503-story.html|title=The World of Hard Rap|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 11, 1988|access-date=August 29, 2022|last=Gold|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Gold}}

| rev3 = Mojo

| rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=EPMD: Strictly Business|magazine=Mojo|location=London|issue=198|date=May 2010|last=Batey|first=Angus|page=115}}

| rev4 = NME

| rev4score = 9/10{{cite magazine|title=Top Billin'|magazine=NME|location=London|date=August 27, 1988|last=Witter|first=Simon|page=34}}

| rev5 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

| rev5score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news|title=EPMD: Strictly Business (Fresh)|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=July 21, 1988|last=Tucker|first=Ken|author-link=Ken Tucker}}

| rev6 = Record Mirror

| rev6score = 4/5{{cite magazine|title=EPMD: Strictly Business|magazine=Record Mirror|location=London|date=September 17, 1988|last=Halasa|first=Malu|page=32}}

| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|chapter=EPMD|last1=Ryan|first1=Chris|last2=Brackett|first2=Nathan|author2-link=Nathan Brackett|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/281 281]}}

| rev8 = The Source

| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Got Five On It|magazine=The Source|location=New York|issue=150|date=March 2002|pages=174–179}}

| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev9score = 9/10{{cite book|chapter=EPMD|last=Coker|first=Cheo|author-link=Cheo Hodari Coker|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=130–131}}

| rev10 = The Village Voice

| rev10score = A−{{cite news|url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv888-88.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|date=August 30, 1988|access-date=January 8, 2018|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau}}

}}

Strictly Business peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Of its four singles, three landed on the UK Singles Chart and two reached the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Although none of the singles reached the Billboard Hot 100, the album was able to go gold within four months of its release. The Washington Post opined that the album "does have an intriguing edge to it, but its beats are rigid and its raps—especially 'Jane', EPMD's entry in the genre's tiresome 'Boy, am I a stud!' sweepstakes—are often predictable."{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Mark |title=House of Hip-Hop: Boys Gotta Bad Rap |work=The Washington Post |date=July 22, 1988 |page=N19}} The Orange County Register called it "a masterful, minimalist mix of rhythms".{{cite news |last1=Darling |first1=Cary |title=Critic's Choice: Pop |work=Orange County Register |date=August 26, 1988 |page=P35}} Strictly Business was featured on various 1988 best-of lists. The Face ranked it as the third best album of the year, and ranked its title track as the 25th best single of the year.{{cite web | url = http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/theface.htm | title = The Face Lists | publisher = RockListMusic.co.uk | access-date =December 30, 2008}} Sounds judged it to be the 50th best album of the year,{{cite web | url = http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/sounds.html | title = Sounds Lists | publisher = RockListMusic.co.uk | access-date =December 30, 2008}} while Spex ranked it as the 8th best.{{cite web | url = http://www.poplist.de/poplist.php?m=4&y=1988 | title = SPEX – Popular Music Best-Of-List – 1988 | publisher = Home.Rhein-Zeitung.de | access-date =December 30, 2008}}

Years after its release, Strictly Business has continued to attract critical success. AllMusic called the album "simply amazing". The Source assigned the album a five-mic rating, making it one of 43 albums to ever receive this rating.{{cite web | url = http://www.listsofbests.com/list/12875 | title = The Source's 5 Mic Albums | publisher = ListofBests.com | access-date = December 30, 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090111161641/http://www.listsofbests.com/list/12875 | archive-date = January 11, 2009 | df = mdy-all }} In 1994, Pop selected it a complement to Eric B. & Rakim's Paid in Full on its list of The World's 100 Best Albums + 300 Complements. In 1998, The Source placed Strictly Business on its 100 Best Rap Albums list and included two of its singles on its 100 Best Rap Singles list.{{cite web | url = http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm | title = The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums + 100 Best Rap Singles | publisher = Rocklistmusic.co.uk | access-date =December 30, 2008}} In 1999, it was judged to be the 4th-best hip hop album of 1988 by ego trip.{{cite book|title=Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists|author=Sacha Jenkins, Elliot Wilson|year=1999|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin/Macmillan USA|isbn=0-312-24298-0|display-authors=etal|url=https://archive.org/details/egotripsbookofra00jenk}} In 2001, Dance de Lux ranked Strictly Business as the 11th-best hip hop record of all time.{{CN|date=December 2023}} In 2003, the album was placed on Blender's 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die list{{CN|date=December 2023}} and ranked number 459 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,{{CN|date=December 2023}} and was moved up to 453 in a 2012 revised list. Additionally, the Rolling Stone Album Guide, which initially rated the album as three and a half stars out of five, awarded the album with a five-star rating in 2004. Retrospective reviews by Spin (1995),{{CN|date=December 2023}} The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002),{{cite book |editor1-last=Larkin |editor1-first=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus |page=499 |edition=5th concise |ol=11913831M}} and Sputnikmusic (2006){{cite web | last = de Sylvia | first = Dave | url = http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=6877 | title = EPMD – Strictly Business Review | publisher = Sputnikmusic | access-date =December 30, 2008}} have respectively allotted the album a nine-out-of-10 rating, a four-star rating, and a seven-out-of-10 rating. Strictly Business is now widely considered to be a classic release{{cite web | last = Bush | first = John | url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p36/biography|pure_url=yes}} | title = EPMD > Biography | publisher = Allmusic | access-date =December 30, 2008}} and a seminal hip hop album.

The Mario Winans, Enya, and P. Diddy song "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004) and its Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, and 21 Savage remake "Creepin'" (2022) both heavily incorporate the drum outro of the album track "You're a Customer" from Strictly Business. Another Diddy/Winans collaboration, "Through the Pain (She Told Me)" (2007), while not sampling it directly, features a similar drum beat to the "You're a Customer" outro.

• Erick Sermon – vocals, producer, writer
• Parish Smith – vocals, producer, writer
• DJ K La Boss – DJ (scratching)
• Jim Foley – engineer
• Charlie Marotta – engineer
• John Poppo – engineer
• Al Watts – engineer/mixing
• Gordon Davies – assistant engineer
• Rich Rahner – assistant engineer
• Herb Powers Jr. – mastering engineer
• Janette Beckman – photographer
• Eric Haze – artist (EPMD logo art)
• Susan Huyser – designer (album artwork)

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{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=EPMD|title=Strictly Business|award=Gold|relyear=1988|certyear=1988|refname=riaa}}

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{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• [http://www.discogs.com/artist/EPMD Release history: EPMD] at Discogs
• [http://www.litkicks.com/StrictlyBusiness/ Literary Kicks: Album Analysis] – by Levi Asher

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1988 (U.S.)

{{EPMD}}

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Category:1988 debut albums

Category:EPMD albums

Category:Fresh Records (US) albums

Category:Priority Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Erick Sermon

Category:Albums produced by Parrish Smith