Lamont Jody Hawkins, better known by his stage name U-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth.
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. During an interview on college radio station WHOV in 1987, Parrish Smith stated that the name evolved from the original: "We were originally known as "EEPMD", but chose to go with EPMD because it was easier to say." He also stated that they dropped the two "E's" because N.W.A.'s Eric Wright was already using "Eazy-E" as his stage name. The group has been active for 36 years.
Babygrande Records is an American independent record label based in New York City, founded by Chuck Wilson. Babygrande is distributed by The Orchard and represented by the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood.
Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray and Skoob. They named themselves "DAS" standing for "Dray and Skoob" and "EFX" meaning "effects". They rose to popularity in the early 1990s due to the duo's stream of consciousness lyrical delivery, which became one of the most influential lyrical styles in rap music at the time; as well as their affiliation with EPMD's Hit Squad. Their style combined intricate rhymes, sometimes mixed with made up words, delivered with a fast-paced flow and numerous pop culture and hip hop culture references.
Purple City Productions is a Harlem-based rap crew. The original members include Shiest Bub, Agallah, Un Kasa & E-Norm. In more recent years the roster has extended to include artists such as Smoke DZA, A-Mafia, Topher, Ben Bostaph, Streets da Block, Den10, Tommy Tsunami, Smoke & Numbers, OMC, Lyrical Stress and Doe Boy Choch.
Lawless Element is an underground hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The duo is composed of cousins Griot as emcee and Magnif as DJ, producer and emcee. The duo of Magnif and Griot became engulfed in hip hop culture at the ages of 6 and 9, and spent their teenage years honing their skills on the production boards and on the microphone. At the ages of 16 and 19, the duo released their first single, titled "Mic Check", in 2003 on Running Man Records. The next year, the duo hooked up with fellow Detroit native, producer J Dilla, to release the single "The Shining". In early 2005, LE worked with Dilla's Jaylib partner Madlib on the single "High", which landed them a deal with popular independent rap label Babygrande Records. Their debut album, Soundvision: In Stereo, was released in September 2005 to generally positive reviews. Soundvision featured production from Magnif, J Dilla and Madlib and guest appearances from Dilla, Melanie Rutherford, Phat Kat, Big Tone, P.Dot, SelfSays and Diverse. "Rules Pt. 2" was the album's lead single, and also became the duo's first music video. URB magazine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and stated that it was "Heavily influenced by the golden age of De La Soul, Pete Rock and DJ Premier" and that it featured "12 top-shelf tracks" The album also earned the duo Featured Artist status on the Okayplayer website. Magnif has continued production work for a number of other underground acts, and released a mixtape titled SupaBeatMaker in late 2005. The duo has announced plans for their second album, tentatively titled Evil, scheduled for released in 2008 on Babygrande Records. Magnif is also planning the release of a full-length production and solo album.
Generation EFX is the fourth studio album by American hip hop duo Das EFX. It was released on March 24, 1998 via EastWest Records America. Production was handled by Agallah, Solid Scheme, Rashad Smith, Mike Lowe, Tony L, and PMD, who also served as executive producer. Unlike the first three Das EFX albums, it features a number of guest appearances from Redman, Agallah, EPMD, Miss Jones, M.O.P., Nocturnal and Teflon. The album debuted and peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200, selling 22,000 copies in its first week. In its second week of release, the album dropped to number 89 on the Billboard 200, selling 14,000 copies bringing the two week total to 36,000 copies.
You Already Know is the debut solo studio album by American Brooklyn-based rapper and record producer "The Don Bishop" Agallah p.k.a. 8-Off the Assassin. It was released on August 8, 2006 through Babygrande Records. Recording sessions took place at the Work Room in New York. Production was handled primarily by Agallah himself, along with The Alchemist, Big Zik, DJ Premier, Grimy Kid and Sid Roams, with Shiest Bubz serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Ike Eyes, Big V, Carl Anthony, Clutch, Dead Prez, Kool G Rap, The Alchemist, Umi and Prodigy. The album was supported by the two singles: "Club Hoppin'" and "New York Ryder Music".
Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s.
Algernod Lanier Washington, better known by his stage name Plies, is an American rapper. Born in Fort Myers, Florida, Plies was a wide receiver on the Miami Redskins football team of Miami University in Ohio in 1996 and 1997 before beginning his musical career. After dropping out of college, he was signed to Slip-n-Slide Records, he released four studio albums from 2007 until 2010. Plies debuted in 2007 with The Real Testament with successful singles "Shawty" and "Hypnotized". Plies also released two albums in 2008, Definition of Real and Da REAList, and later released Goon Affiliated in 2010.
The Hit Squad is an American hip hop collective of East coast hip hop artists. Originally formed in the 1990s by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith of the rap group EPMD, the group included rap artists such as K-Solo, Redman, Das EFX, Top Quality, and Knucklehedz. When EPMD broke up for the first time in 1993, the collective separated, with Sermon forming Def Squad and Smith retaining the Hit Squad name.
DJ Honda is a Japanese record producer and DJ best known for his 1995 self-titled eponymous debut, DJ Honda.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence after his self-released debut single "Crank That " peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks in 2007. He then released his debut album, Souljaboytellem.com (2007), which also included the single "Soulja Girl".
Business Is Business is the second solo studio album by the American rapper PMD. It was released on October 22, 1996, through Relativity Records. The production was handled by Agallah, Charlie Marotta, DJ Scratch, Solid Scheme and Fabian Hamilton with PMD serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Das EFX, M.O.P. and Nocturnal.
The Awakening is the third solo studio album by American rapper PMD. It was released on June 17, 2003 via Solid Records. Production was handled by EPMD, DJ Honda, Track Addicts, 7L, Alchemist, DJ Lyve, DJ Muggs, Dre Meezy, the Ghetto Professionals, Ground Work, KutMasta Kurt, Pete Rock and Raheem Solo. It features guest appearances from Don Fu-Quan, 275, Cypress Hill, Fat Joe, Feever, J Boogie, Krazy Drayz, K-Solo, Rah, Rob Jackson, and Erick Sermon, who appeared on the EPMD reunion track "Look At U Now".
Santiago Leyva, known by his stage name Fashawn, is an American hip hop recording artist from Fresno, California. He first gained major attention after releasing his debut album Boy Meets World in 2009, which was produced entirely by Exile. The album received critical acclaim and landed him on the cover of XXL Magazine's Top 10 Freshmen issue in 2010. Since then, Fashawn has collaborated with other artists and producers such as Nas, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, Evidence, Murs, Aloe Blacc, Blu, Big Mike, Brother Ali, The Alchemist, and 9th Wonder. In 2014, Fashawn performed the entrance theme to WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley's rematch against Manny Pacquiao.
This is the discography of American rap duo, EPMD.
Road to the Riches: The Best of the Purple City Mixtape is the first compilation album by American hip-hop group Purple City, released on March 22, 2005 through Babygrande Records. The album has the singles "Purple City Byrdgang" and "It Ain't Easy".
Rory William Quigley, known professionally as Harry Fraud, is an American record producer. Primarily a hip hop producer, Fraud began producing at an early age and began interning at a recording studio after graduating high school. First discovered by French Montana during a recording session in Chinatown in early 2009, Fraud has gone on to become a fixture in the New York underground and mixtape scene. He gained mainstream attention when his song with French Montana "Shot Caller" became one of the most added tracks on urban contemporary radio during 2011–2012.
Kazarion Fowler, known professionally as Skooly, is a founding member of Atlanta-based rap group Rich Kidz. Branching off from Rich Kidz to pursue a solo career in 2015, Skooly has since released several solo projects. Skooly's recent releases have been under 2 Chainz' label T.R.U., starting with Skooly's label-debut album Baccwardfeelings in 2017.
