EPMD Prove They’re as Sharp As Ever in London

EPMD :: 2016.06.09 :: Brooklyn Bowl London

Iconic New York rap duo EPMD (Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith) took to the stage at Brooklyn Bowl London last Thursday night and transported fans back to a golden era, a time when hip-hop music was more about lyrical content and hard knocking beats. With DJ Diamond “the Artist” on the ones and twos, Sermon and Smith went to work running through their extensive back catalogue. From the word go, the duo’s loyal fan base surrounded the stage from all angles, eager to get rowdy to some of EPMD’s most memorable anthems. Setting the stage on fire with earlier hits “You Gots to Chill” and “So Wat Cha Sayin’,” Smith then pointed out that Kanye West wasn’t the first rapper to make a song called “Gold Digger.” Following a cheer and a little crowd laughter, EPMD went into their 1990 No. 1 hit of the same name and shut things down. Fast-forwarding a few years, Sermon and Smith revisited their comeback album — and arguably their best — 1997’s Back in Business, and the energy levels in the Bowl kicked up a notch, as did the crowd participation. Firing off relentless bars over the unmistakable Erick Sermon production, hits like the Meters–sampled “Never Seen Before,” “Richter Scale,” and “Da Joint” rang out over the venue’s incredible sound system, something they both commented on during their performance, stating it was one of the best sound systems they’d ever heard. Slotting some of their solo records into the set, Smith stepped up first, performing his Das EFX–assisted track, “Rugged N Raw,” which Sermon said he wished he had been on. The energetic crowd chanted the hook back to Smith, but it was Sermon’s “React” and the Marvin Gaye–sampled “Music” that well and truly had everyone losing their minds. People tend to forget how big Sermon was as a solo artist, but then they hear the records for the first time in a while and are reminded pretty quickly. [gallery ids="|"]Photos courtesy of Chazz Gets Money http://www.chazzgetsmoney.com/ With some turntable tricks on display courtesy of DJ Diamond, this particular night felt like a real hip-hop show. It seemed like Sermon and Smith hadn’t lost a single step, they were as sharp as ever. This was solidified when they closed out the show with probably one of the greatest posse cuts in hip-hop history, “Symphony 2000.” It was just a shame Method Man, Redman, and Lady Luck weren’t around to add their verses to the revamped Juice Crew anthem. —Ill Will | @officialillwill