# Out of Business

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1999 studio album by EPMD

Out of Business Studio album by EPMD Released July 20, 1999 (1999-07-20) Recorded 1998–1999 Studio Mirror Image Recordings East (Dix Hills, NY) Mirror Image Recorders (New York, NY) Northshore Soundworks (New York, NY) Ian London (Long Island, NY) Genre Hip hop Length 47:15 Label Def Jam Producer EPMD DJ Scratch Agallah EPMD chronology Back in Business (1997) Out of Business (1999) We Mean Business (2008) Singles from Out of Business "Right Now" Released: June 8, 1999 "Symphony 2000" Released: June 29, 1999 "Pioneers" Released: August 24, 1999

Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [1] Entertainment Weekly A−[2] NME 3/10[3] RapReviews 3.5/10[4] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide [5] The Source [6]

***Out of Business*** is the sixth studio album by American hip hop duo [EPMD](/source/EPMD).[7][8] The album was originally scheduled for a December 1998 release under [Def Jam Recordings](/source/Def_Jam_Recordings), but had been delayed numerous times as a result of a merger between [Seagram](/source/Seagram)'s [PolyGram](/source/PolyGram) (Def Jam's parent company) and [Universal Music Group](/source/Universal_Music_Group)'s [MCA Records](/source/MCA_Records),[9][10] combining Def Jam and [Island Records](/source/Island_Records)' operations together under the [Island Def Jam Music Group](/source/The_Island_Def_Jam_Music_Group). Ultimately, the album was released on July 20, 1999.[11] It is the first official Def Jam album released under the newly-formed Island Def Jam Music Group and the group's last album released under the label as they left the imprint a year later before going inactive for the second time.

The recording sessions took place at Mirror Image Studio East in [Dix Hills](/source/Dix_Hills%2C_New_York), Mirror Image Recorders and Northshore Soundworks in [New York](/source/New_York_City) and Ian London Studios in [Long Island](/source/Long_Island). The album was produced by members [Erick Sermon](/source/Erick_Sermon) and [PMD](/source/PMD_(rapper)), as well as [DJ Scratch](/source/DJ_Scratch), with [8-Off Agallah](/source/Agallah) serving as co-producer. It features guest appearances from 215, 8-Off Agallah, [Busta Rhymes](/source/Busta_Rhymes), [Lady Luck](/source/Lady_Luck_(rapper)), [Method Man](/source/Method_Man), [M.O.P.](/source/M.O.P.), and [Redman](/source/Redman_(rapper)). The album peaked at number 13 on the [*Billboard* 200](/source/Billboard_200) and number 2 on the [Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums](/source/Top_R%26B%2FHip-Hop_Albums) in the United States, with 73,000 units sold in its first week.[12] Its only single, "[Symphony 2000](/source/Symphony_2000)", reached only No. 62 on the [Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs](/source/Hot_R%26B%2FHip-Hop_Songs), No. 28 on the [Hot Rap Songs](/source/Hot_Rap_Songs) and No. 58 on the [R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay](/source/R%26B%2FHip-Hop_Airplay) in the US.

The duo changed its [initialism](/source/Acronym) for the release from 'Erick & Parrish Making Dollars' to 'Erick & Parrish Millennium Ducats'.[13] A limited-edition issue of the album was released with a bonus [greatest hits album](/source/Greatest_hits_album).[11]

## Track listing

Out Of Business No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length 1. "Intro" Erick Sermon Parrish Smith George Spivey William Conti DJ Scratch 2:18 2. "Pioneers" Sermon P. Smith Erick Sermon 3:14 3. "Right Now" Sermon P. Smith Erick Sermon 3:51 4. "Check 1, 2" Sermon P. Smith Angel Aguilar PMD 8-Off Agallah (co.) 3:16 5. "Symphony" (featuring M.O.P.) Sermon P. Smith Eric Murray Jamal Grinnage Erick Sermon 3:01 6. "Hold Me Down" Sermon P. Smith Erick Sermon 3:34 7. "Rap Is Still Outta Control" (featuring Busta Rhymes) Sermon P. Smith Trevor Smith PMD Erick Sermon (co.) 3:33 8. "The Fan" Sermon P. Smith Erick Sermon 3:03 9. "Draw" Sermon P. Smith Dominic Frontiere Erick Sermon 3:22 10. "U Got Shot" (featuring 215 and 8-Off Agallah) Sermon P. Smith Alec Nathaniel Aguilar Russell Jones Derek Harris Dennis Coles Robert Diggs Erick Sermon 3:38 11. "House Party" Sermon P. Smith PMD 3:52 12. "The Funk" Sermon P. Smith Norman Whitfield Dwight Turner PMD 2:08 13. "Symphony 2000" (featuring Redman, Method Man and Lady Luck) Sermon P. Smith Reggie Noble Clifford Smith Chanelle Jones Erick Sermon 4:03 14. "Jane 6" Sermon P. Smith Rick James PMD 4:22 Total length: 47:15

**Sample credits**

- Track 1 contains a sample from "Fanfare for Rocky" written and performed by [Bill Conti](/source/Bill_Conti).

- Track 9 contains a sample from "[Hang 'Em High](/source/Hang_'Em_High_(composition))" written and performed by [Dominic Frontiere](/source/Dominic_Frontiere).

- Track 10 contains a sample from "[Brooklyn Zoo](/source/Brooklyn_Zoo_(song))" written by [Russell Jones](/source/Ol'_Dirty_Bastard), [Dennis Coles](/source/Ghostface_Killah), [Robert Diggs](/source/RZA) and [Derrick Harris](/source/True_Master) as performed by [Ol' Dirty Bastard](/source/Ol'_Dirty_Bastard).

- Track 12 contains a sample from "Do Your Dance" written by [Norman Whitfield](/source/Norman_Whitfield) and Dwight Turner as performed by [Rose Royce](/source/Rose_Royce).

- Track 14 contains a sample from "[Mary Jane](/source/Mary_Jane_(Rick_James_song))" written and performed by [Rick James](/source/Rick_James).

## Personnel

- [Erick Sermon](/source/Erick_Sermon) — vocals, producer (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8–10, 13), co-producer (track 7), mixing (tracks: 2, 5–14), executive producer, sleeve notes

- Parrish "[PMD](/source/PMD_(rapper))" Smith — vocals, producer (tracks: 4, 7, 11, 12, 14), mixing (tracks: 2, 5–8, 10), executive producer, sleeve notes

- Eric "[Billy Danze](/source/Billy_Danze)" Murray — vocals (track 5)

- Jamal "[Lil' Fame](/source/Lil'_Fame)" Grinnage — vocals (track 5)

- Trevor "[Busta Rhymes](/source/Busta_Rhymes)" Smith — vocals (track 7)

- Alec "215" Nathaniel — vocals (track 10)

- Angel "[8-Off Agallah](/source/Agallah)" Aguilar — vocals (track 10)

- Reginald "[Redman](/source/Redman_(rapper))" Noble — vocals (track 13)

- Clifford "[Method Man](/source/Method_Man)" Smith — vocals (track 13)

- Chanelle "[Lady Luck](/source/Lady_Luck_(rapper))" Jones — vocals (track 13)

- George "[DJ Scratch](/source/DJ_Scratch)" Spivey — producer (track 1)

- Marc Berto — recording (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 8, 12), mix engineer assistant (track 5), recording engineer assistant (tracks: 7, 9–11, 13, 14)

- Charlie Marotta — recording & mixing (track 3)

- John Decatur — recording (tracks: 5, 7)

- Tommy Uzzo — recording (tracks: 9–11, 13, 14), mixing (tracks: 2, 4–14)

- Richard A. LaSalvia — recording engineer assistant

- Camilio Rodriguez — recording engineer assistant

- Dave O'Donnell — recording engineer assistant

- [Tony Dawsey](/source/Tony_Dawsey) — mastering

- [Kevin Liles](/source/Kevin_Liles) — executive producer

- The Drawing Board — art direction, design

- Wayne Van Acker — design

- [Danny Clinch](/source/Danny_Clinch) — photography

- Gerard Gaskin — photography

- Richard Iohr — photography

- Alvin Toney — sleeve notes

## Greatest Hits bonus disc

Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [14] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide [5]

Greatest Hits No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length 1. "It's My Thang" Erick Sermon Parrish Smith August Moon EPMD 5:37 2. "You Gots 2 Chill" Sermon P. Smith Roger Troutman EPMD 3:27 3. "Strictly Business" Sermon P. Smith EPMD 4:39 4. "So What Cha Sayin'" Sermon P. Smith Allen Williams EPMD 4:28 5. "Big Payback" Sermon P. Smith EPMD 4:04 6. "Get the Bozack" Sermon P. Smith EPMD 4:33 7. "Please Listen to My Demo" Sermon P. Smith EPMD 2:49 8. "Gold Digger" Sermon P. Smith George Clinton Ronald Miller EPMD Mr. Bozack (co.) 5:02 9. "Rampage" Sermon P. Smith EPMD Mr. Bozack (co.) 3:49 10. "Crossover" Sermon P. Smith Troutman David Gamson EPMD 3:48 11. "Headbanger" Sermon P. Smith Clinton Ed Greene EPMD Mr. Bozack (co.) 4:51 12. "Never Seen Before" Sermon P. Smith Joseph Modeliste Leo Nocentelli Erick Sermon 2:50 13. "Da Joint" Sermon P. Smith Dana Stinson James Brown Michael Diamond Adam Yauch Matt Dike John King Michael Simpson Erick Sermon Rockwilder 3:26 Total length: 1:40:38

**Notes**

- Track 1 is a re-recording of "It's My Thing" from 1988 *[Strictly Business](/source/Strictly_Business_(EPMD_album))*.

- Track 2 is a re-recording of "[You Gots to Chill](/source/You_Gots_to_Chill)" from 1988 *Strictly Business*, which previously appeared in 1997 *[Back in Business](/source/Back_in_Business_(EPMD_album))* as "You Gots 2 Chill '97".

- Track 3 is a re-recording of the song of the same from 1988 *Strictly Business*.

- Track 4 is a re-recording of "[So Wat Cha Sayin'](/source/So_Wat_Cha_Sayin')" from 1989 *[Unfinished Business](/source/Unfinished_Business_(EPMD_album))*.

- Track 5 is a re-recording of "The Big Payback" from 1989 *Unfinished Business*.

- Tracks 6 and 7 are re-recordings of the songs of the same names from 1989 *Unfinished Business*.

- Tracks 8 and 9 are taken from 1990 *[Business as Usual](/source/Business_as_Usual_(EPMD_album))*.

- Tracks 10 and 11 are taken from 1992 *[Business Never Personal](/source/Business_Never_Personal)*.

- Tracks 12 and 13 are taken from 1997 *Back in Business*.

### Personnel

- Erick Sermon — vocals, producer

- Parrish "PMD" Smith — vocals, producer (tracks: 1–11)

- Mr. Bozack — co-producer (tracks: 8, 9, 11)

- Charlie Marotta — mixing (tracks: 1, 3–7)

- Tommy Uzzo — mixing (tracks: 2, 10, 12, 13)

- Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez — mixing (tracks: 8, 9, 11, 13)

- Dave Greenberg — mixing (track 11)

## Charts

Chart (1999) Peak position UK R&B Albums (OCC)[15] 18 US Billboard 200[16] 13 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] 2

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Bush, John. ["EPMD Out of Business"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/out-of-business-mw0000043770). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Diehl, Matt (July 23, 1999). ["Out of Business"](https://ew.com/article/1999/07/23/out-business/). *[Entertainment Weekly](/source/Entertainment_Weekly)*. p. 68. Retrieved April 23, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Cigarettes, Johnny (July 29, 1999). ["EPMD – Out Of Business"](https://web.archive.org/web/20000817211551/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19990629103440reviews.html). *[NME](/source/NME)*. Archived from [the original](http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19990629103440reviews.html) on August 17, 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Juon, Steve 'Flash' (July 20, 1999). ["EPMD Out of Business"](https://www.rapreviews.com/1999/07/epmd-out-of-business/). *RapReviews*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RSAG_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RSAG_5-1) [Brackett, Nathan](/source/Nathan_Brackett); [Hoard, Christian David](/source/Christian_Hoard) (2004). [*(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&q=EPMD+Out+of+Business&pg=PA281). [Simon and Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster). pp. [281](https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/281). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7432-0169-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7432-0169-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Morales, Riggs](/source/Rigo_Morales) (August 1999). "EPMD – Out Of Business". Record Report. *[The Source](/source/The_Source_(magazine))*. No. 119. New York. p. 221.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** McIntosh, Daryl (July 17, 2019). ["Revisiting EPMD's 'Out Of Business' (1999) | Retrospective Tribute"](https://albumism.com/features/epmd-out-of-business-turns-20-anniversary-retrospective). *Albumism*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Rabin, Nathan](/source/Nathan_Rabin) (March 29, 2002). ["EPMD: Out Of Business"](https://www.avclub.com/epmd-out-of-business-1798194442). *[The A.V. Club](/source/The_A.V._Club)*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Seagrams completes PolyGram acquisition - Dec. 10, 1998"](https://web.archive.org/web/20020206174343/http://money.cnn.com/1998/12/10/companies/seagram/). *money.cnn.com*. Archived from [the original](https://money.cnn.com/1998/12/10/companies/seagram/) on February 6, 2002. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Special Report: PolyGram-Universal Merger Bad News For Artists?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220818200905/https://www.mtv.com/news/8zt5hd/special-report-polygram-universal-merger-bad-news-for-artists). *MTV*. Archived from [the original](https://www.mtv.com/news/8zt5hd/special-report-polygram-universal-merger-bad-news-for-artists) on August 18, 2022. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Oumano_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Oumano_11-1) Oumano, Elena (July 24, 1999). ["EPMD's Latest Gets Down To 'Business'"](https://books.google.com/books?id=kggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA35). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Vol. 111, no. 30. [Nielsen Business Media, Inc.](/source/Nielsen_Business_Media%2C_Inc.) pp. 35, 38. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0006-2510](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0006-2510). Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Skanse, Richard (July 28, 1999). ["EPMD Scores Week's Highest Debut"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/epmd-scores-weeks-highest-debut-87138/). *[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Cowie, Del F. (September 1, 1999). ["EPMD Out of Business | Exclaim!"](https://exclaim.ca/music/article/epmd-out_of_business). *[Exclaim!](/source/Exclaim!)*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Huey, Steve. ["EPMD - Greatest Hits Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic"](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000946015). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_UKR&B_15-0)** "[Official R&B Albums Chart on 25/7/1999 – Top 40](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/r-and-b-albums-chart/19990725/115/)". [Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company). Retrieved October 28, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_Billboard200_EPMD_16-0)** "[EPMD Chart History (*Billboard* 200)](https://www.billboard.com/artist/EPMD/chart-history/TLP)". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved April 18, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_EPMD_17-0)** "[EPMD Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)](https://www.billboard.com/artist/EPMD/chart-history/BLP)". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved April 18, 2022.

## External links

- *[EPMD – Out Of Business](https://www.discogs.com/master/156421)* at [Discogs](/source/Discogs) (list of releases)

v t e EPMD Erick Sermon PMD Studio albums Strictly Business Unfinished Business Business as Usual Business Never Personal Back in Business Out of Business We Mean Business Singles "Strictly Business" "You Gots to Chill" "I'm Housin" "So Wat Cha Sayin'" "Gold Digger" "Rampage" "Give the People" "Crossover" "Head Banger" "The Joint" "Symphony 2000" Related articles Discography Hit Squad

Authority control databases MusicBrainz release group

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Out of Business](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Business) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_Business?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.