{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Business Never Personal | type = studio | artist = [[EPMD]] | cover = Businessneverpersonal.jpg | alt = | released = {{start date|1992|7|28}} | recorded = 1991–1992 | venue = | studio = | genre = * [[East Coast hip-hop]]<ref>{{cite web|title=50 Greatest East Coast Hip-Hop Albums of the 1990s|url=https://theboombox.com/50-greatest-east-coast-hip-hop-albums-1990s/|website=[[The Boombox]]|date=October 20, 2017|accessdate=September 14, 2024}}</ref> | length = 38:58 | label = {{flatlist| *[[Def Jam Recordings|Def Jam]] *[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]}} | producer = {{hlist|EPMD|Charlie Marotta|[[DJ Scratch]]|Mr. Bozack}} | prev_title = [[Business as Usual (EPMD album)|Business as Usual]] | prev_year = 1990 | next_title = [[Back in Business (EPMD album)|Back in Business]] | next_year = 1997 | misc = {{Singles | name = Business Never Personal | type = studio | single1 = [[Crossover (song)|Crossover]] | single1date = June 23, 1992 | single2 = [[Head Banger (EPMD song)|Head Banger]] | single2date = October 29, 1992 }} }}
'''''Business Never Personal''''' is the fourth [[studio album]] by [[hip-hop]] duo [[EPMD]].<ref name="TP">{{cite web |title=EPMD |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/epmd/ |website=Trouser Press |accessdate=31 July 2020}}</ref> It was released on July 28, 1992, on [[Def Jam Recordings]].<ref name=Album>{{cite book|title=EPMD: Business Never Personal|date=July 1992|publisher=[[Def Jam Records]]}}</ref> Following mixed criticism of their previous studio effort, 1990's ''[[Business as Usual (EPMD album)|Business as Usual]]'', the duo was able to return to their past acclaim on ''Business Never Personal''. The lead single, "Crossover," became its biggest success, nearly reaching the Top 40 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. The song is about keeping it real and not crossing over to the mainstream, but became EPMD's biggest mainstream success.
The duo cut "[[Head Banger (EPMD song)|Head Banger]]" with [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]] and [[K-Solo]], and it was also a hit in 1992. The album was certified [[RIAA Certification|Gold]] in sales by the [[RIAA]] on October 13, 1992.<ref>[https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS RIAA Searchable Database - Search: Business Never Personal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626051113/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS |date=June 26, 2007 }}. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on August 10, 2008.</ref> The single "[[Crossover (song)|Crossover]]" was certified Gold on November 16, 1992. While it has yet to be reissued in the U.S., ''Business Never Personal'' was re-released in 2005 on [[gramophone record|vinyl]] in [[Europe]].
Members Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith began having money troubles during recording, which led to a 1992 robbery of Smith's home. The perpetrators claimed that Erick Sermon paid them to do the deed, causing the group to break up soon after this release. They each released two solo albums between 1993 and 1996, then reunited as a duo in 1997.<ref>[http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/epmd/bio.jhtml EPMD | View the Music Artists Biography Online | VH1.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506031914/http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/epmd/bio.jhtml |date=2009-05-06 }}. MTV Networks. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/business-never-personal-mw0000613743|title=Business Never Personal - EPMD | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}</ref> |rev3=''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' |rev3Score= B+<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908002959/https://ew.com/article/1992/07/31/music-review-business-never-personal/|title=Music Review: 'Business Never Personal'|website=EW.com}}</ref> |rev4=''[[Rolling Stone]]'' |rev4Score= {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/epmd/albums/album/94898/review/5945032/business_never_personal|title=EPMD: Business Never Personal : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=February 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220041926/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/epmd/albums/album/94898/review/5945032/business_never_personal|archive-date=2008-02-20}}</ref> |rev5 =''[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'' |rev5Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite book |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=2004 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |page=281}}</ref> |rev2=[[Robert Christgau]] |rev2Score={{Rating-Christgau|dud}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=EPMD|title=Robert Christgau: CG: EPMD|website=www.robertchristgau.com}}</ref> |rev7=''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]'' |rev7Score= 4.5/5<ref name="TheSource"/> }} The album is considered the duo's third classic by fans and critics. The record was given a rating of 4.5 mics out of 5 in ''[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]]'' in 1992.<ref name="TheSource">{{cite journal |url=http://ifihavent.wordpress.com/2007/03/23/classic-review-business-never-personal-in-the-source/ |title=EPMD: Business Never Personal |journal=[[The Source (magazine)|The Source]] |author=Big Greg Cee |date=August 1992 |issue=35}}</ref>
''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote: "Zapp member Roger Troutman's sampled, synthesized voice is looped with the chorus of the bumping current hit 'Crossover,' EPMD's attack on rappers who 'sell their souls to go gold' while slinking bass propels 'Play the Next Man,' which finds Sermon and Smith slamming manipulative women."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/07/31/new-hip-hops-macho-lip-service/9f1b3f32-3597-40ab-9d21-a6e30987177d/|title=NEW HIP-HOP'S MACHO LIP SERVICE|first=Gil|last=Griffin|date=July 31, 1992|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref>
==Track listing== <!--this section is for album credits only--> {| class="wikitable" |- !align="center" width="20"|# !align="center" width="250"|Title !align="center" width="190"|Producer(s) !align="center" width="190"|Performer (s) !align="center" width="30"|Length |- |1 |"Boon Dox" |EPMD |EPMD |2:48 |- |2 |"Nobody's Safe Chump" |EPMD |EPMD |2:12 |- |3 |"Can't Hear Nothing but the Music" |EPMD, Charlie Marotta |EPMD |3:37 |- |4 |"Chill" |EPMD |EPMD |2:57 |- |5 |"[[Head Banger (EPMD song)|Head Banger]]" |EPMD |EPMD, [[K-Solo]], [[Redman (rapper)|Redman]] |4:52 |- |6 |"Scratch Bring It Back, Pt. 2 [Mic Doc]" |[[DJ Scratch]], Mr. Bozack |EPMD |3:04 |- |7 |"[[Crossover (song)|Crossover]]" |EPMD |EPMD |3:49 |- |8 |"Cummin' at Cha" |EPMD |EPMD, [[Das EFX]] |4:03 |- |9 |"Play the Next Man" |EPMD |EPMD |3:36 |- |10 |"It's Going Down" |EPMD |EPMD |4:12 |- |11 |"Who Killed Jane?" |EPMD |EPMD |3:47 |}
==Samples==
'''Boon Dox''' *"[[The Need of Love|I Can Feel It in My Bones]]" by [[Earth, Wind & Fire]] *"The Assembly Line" by [[Commodores]] *"Slow Down" by [[Brand Nubian]] *"If It Don't Turn You on (You Oughta Leave It Alone)" by [[B.T. Express]] *"The Payback" by [[James Brown]]
'''Nobody's Safe Chump''' *"Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out" by [[Bobby Womack]] *"Wah Wah Man" by [[Young-Holt Unlimited]] *"The Message" by [[Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five]] *"The New Style" by [[Beastie Boys]]
'''Can't Hear Nothing but the Music''' *"Give Me Your Love" by [[Barbara Mason]] *"It's a New Day" by [[Skull Snaps]] *"School Boy Crush" by [[Average White Band]] *"Jungle Boogie" by [[Kool and the Gang]]
'''Chill''' *"Street Thunder" by [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]] *"Atomic Dog" by [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]] *"UFO" by [[ESG (band)|ESG]] *"It's Funky Enough" by [[the D.O.C.]] *"My Melody" by [[Eric B. & Rakim]]
'''Head Banger''' *"Impeach the President" by [[The Honey Drippers (soul band)|the Honey Drippers]] *"Papa Was Too" by [[Joe Tex]] *"One of Those Funky Things" by [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]] *"Slow Down" by [[Brand Nubian]] *"Surprises" by [[the Last Poets]]
'''Scratch Bring It Back, Pt. 2 [Mic Doc]''' *"Duck Down" by [[Boogie Down Productions]] *"I Like It" by [[the Emotions]] *"Scenario" by [[A Tribe Called Quest]] *"Synthetic Substitution" by [[Melvin Bliss]] *"UFO" by [[ESG (band)|ESG]] *"Rampage" and "I'm Mad" by [[EPMD]]
'''Crossover''' *"You Should Be Mine" by [[Roger Troutman|Roger]] *"Say What" by [[Idris Muhammad]] *"Bring the Noise" by [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]]
'''Cummin' at Cha''' *"Straight Outta Compton" by [[N.W.A]] *"Smokin Cheeba-Cheeba" by Harlem Underground Band *"How I Could Just Kill a Man" by [[Cypress Hill]] *"25 ta Life" by [[D-Nice]] *"Teddy's Jam" by [[Guy (band)|Guy]] *"They Want EFX" by [[Das EFX]] *"Breath Control II" by [[Boogie Down Productions]] *"Underground" by [[EPMD]] *"Hot Pants" by [[James Brown]]
'''Play the Next Man''' *"Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk [Pay Attention - B3M]" by [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]] *"Raw" by [[Big Daddy Kane]] *"Can't Truss It" by [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]] *"Jingling Baby" by [[LL Cool J]]
'''It's Going Down''' *"Paul Revere" by [[Beastie Boys]] *"I Want You" by [[Marvin Gaye]] *"You’re Getting a Little Too Smart" by [[the Detroit Emeralds]] *"Long Red" by [[Mountain (band)|Mountain]] *"The Big Beat" by [[Billy Squier]]
'''Who Killed Jane?''' *"Stone Junkie" by [[Curtis Mayfield]] *"Mary Jane" by [[Rick James]] *"Papa Was Too" by [[Joe Tex]]
==Charts== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1992) ! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position |- ! scope="row"| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/search?artistname=EPMD&charttitle=&label=&chartcode=TLP|title=EPMD, TLP|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=January 15, 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref> | 14 |- ! scope="row"| US [[Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/search?artistname=EPMD&charttitle=&label=&chartcode=BLP|title=EPMD, BLP|work=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=January 15, 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref> | 5 |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1992) ! scope="col"| Position |- ! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1992/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1992|work=Billboard|accessdate=January 15, 2021}}</ref> | 44 |} {{col-end}}
==Singles Chart Positions== {| class="wikitable" |rowspan="2"| '''Year''' |rowspan="2"| '''Song''' |colspan="3"| '''Chart positions''' |- | [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] | [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks]] | Hot Rap Singles | [[Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales]] |- | 1992 | "Crossover" | 42 | 14 | 1 | 12 |- | 1992 | "Head Banger" | - | 75 | 11 | - |}
==Certifications== {{certification Table Top}} {{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=EPMD|title=Business Never Personal|award=Gold|certyear=1992|relyear=1992|accessdate=January 15, 2021}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Discogs master|97457|EPMD – Business Never Personal}}
{{EPMD}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1992 albums]] [[Category:Columbia Records albums]] [[Category:EPMD albums]] [[Category:Def Jam Recordings albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by DJ Scratch]] [[Category:Albums produced by Erick Sermon]]