page_title: Business as Usual (EPMD album)
section_title: Critical reception
hierarchical_section_title: Business as Usual (EPMD album) / Critical reception
caption_attribution_description: English: The reverse side of a promotional EPMD t-shirt for their album Business as Usual. The photograph was taken with an unknown digital camera and edited using ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5
context_page_description: Business as Usual is the third album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on December 18, 1990, and was their first on Def Jam, after being signed from their former label, Fresh Records. It was also the first release under Def Jam's new Rush subsidiary, which allowed founder Russell Simmons more control and more ownership over its material, as the masters for proper Def Jam releases at that time were primarily owned by Sony Music's Columbia Records.
  Business as Usual was not as acclaimed as the group's first two albums. The album featured the debut of future hip hop star Redman, who appears on the tracks "Hardcore" and "Brothers on My Jock." Three singles were released from the album: "Gold Digger," "Rampage," featuring LL Cool J, and "Give the People." In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.
  The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on May 7, 1991.
context_section_description: The Los Angeles Times wrote that "EPMD could be the most underrated group in hip-hop, pumping direct, honest, simple B-boy rhymes over slow, deadly, bass-heavy beats, pretty much defining the New York rap sound."
caption: Promotional t-shirt for the group's Business as Usual album
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