hip hop collective
Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collective Souls" '' This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is distinct from that o ...
of
East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip-hop is a regional subgenre of hip-hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip-hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx borough of New York City.
In contrast to other styles, East Co ...
artists. Originally formed in the 1990s by
Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper and producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work.
Early life
Erick Sermon was born on November ...
and
Parrish Smith
Parrish J. Smith (born May 13, 1968), better known as PMD ('Parrish Mic Doc' or 'Parrish Making Dollars'), is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York, a member of EPMD and Hit Squad.
Career
He attended Brentwood High School, and has rel ...
of the rap group
EPMD
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...
, the group included rap artists such as
K-Solo
Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) 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.
Career
K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hi ...
Das EFX
Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray (also known as Krazy Drayz, born Andre Weston, September 9, 1970) and Skoob (also known as Books and Boogie Bang, born William "Willie" Hines, November 27, 1970). They named them ...
Knucklehedz
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 ...
. When EPMD broke up for the first time in 1993, the collective separated, with Sermon forming
Def Squad
Def Squad is an American rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray, Hurricane G, and Jamal
Jamaal ( ''/'') is an Arabic given name and surname meaning "beauty."Strictly Business'', EPMD sought to
mentor
Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
new artists. The first artist to make a guest appearance on an EPMD album was
K-Solo
Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) 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.
Career
K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hi ...
. Solo was featured on their second album '' Unfinished Business'' on the song "Knick Knack Patty Wack". The first mention of "Hit Squad" appeared on EPMD's third album '' Business as Usual'' on the track "Hit Squad Heist". The lyrics mention Redman, K-Solo and Tom J of Knucklehedz. Redman is also featured on two tracks of that album.
In 1993, EPMD released the single "Headbanger" from their fourth album ''
Business Never Personal
''Business Never Personal'' is the fourth studio album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on July 28, 1992, on Def Jam Recordings. Following mixed criticism of their previous studio effort, 1990's '' Business as Usual'', the duo was able to ret ...
''. The single featured K-Solo and Redman and the
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
features appearances by most of the Hit Squad. The single reached #11 on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s
Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
chart. The single's success made "Headbanger" the Squad's "
signature song
A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
". The album also features
Das EFX
Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray (also known as Krazy Drayz, born Andre Weston, September 9, 1970) and Skoob (also known as Books and Boogie Bang, born William "Willie" Hines, November 27, 1970). They named them ...
on the track "Cummin' At Cha".
Breakup
In late 1992, tensions grew within the Hit Squad. According to an article in ''
The Source The Source may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford
* ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation
* ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
'', squad members alleged financial impropriety by Smith, who owned their management company. Smith's home was invaded by armed intruders believed to have been hired by squad members. While Smith declined to publicly give details on who was behind the invasion, Sermon was arrested and briefly detained for questioning, but no charges were filed. EPMD officially broke up in January 1993. Redman and Hurricane G continued to collaborate with Sermon, while Das EFX and DJ Scratch remained under Smith's management. K-Solo pursued separate endeavors. The debut album by Knucklehedz became lost in the shuffle in the midst of the breakup and was shelved.
The original Hit Squad splintered into two different groups. Sermon formed
Def Squad
Def Squad is an American rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman, Keith Murray, Hurricane G, and Jamal
Jamaal ( ''/'') is an Arabic given name and surname meaning "beauty."Jamal aka Mally G and another
protégé
Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
Keith Murray
Keith Omar Murray (born May 29, 1972) is an American rapper from New York. He is best known for being a member of the hip hop group Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and fellow Long Island native Erick Sermon. The group releas ...
while PMD retained the Hit Squad name with K-Solo, Das EFX, DJ Scratch and Top Quality. In this new incarnation, the PMD led Hit Squad would appear on PMD's solo albums and on the Das EFX albums '' Hold It Down'' and '' Generation EFX''. Hit Squad would also appear on the single and video for the song "Beef" from
Chubb Rock
Richard Anthony Simpson (born May 28, 1968), also known as Chubb Rock, is a Jamaican-American rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out of Brown Un ...
's 1997 album ''The Mind''. On the album ''
The Mix Tape, Vol. II
''The Mix Tape, Volume II: 60 Minutes of Funk'' is a mixtape by American DJ Funkmaster Flex. It was released on February 11, 1997 via Loud Records, Loud/RCA Records, serving as a sequel to his 1995 ''The Mix Tape, Vol. 1, The Mix Tape Volume 1 (6 ...
'' by Funkmaster Flex, a freestyle by PMD, Nocturnal & Das EFX was featured on the album. Smith appeared alongside rap unknowns Blast, Poogi and L The Pro on the classic 1997
Tony Touch
Joseph Anthony Hernandez (born July 2, 1969), professionally known as Tony Touch, is an American hip hop break dancer, rapper, record producer and DJ of Puerto Rican descent.
Career
Tony Touch began as a B-boy during the rap music renaissance e ...
mixtape
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
''Power Cypha 2'', credited as "PMD & The Hit Squad".
On EPMD's 1997 reunion album '' Back in Business'', Smith's Hit Squad and Sermon's Def Squad came together and were billed as The Squadron. Both groups are featured in the video for the single "
Da Joint
"Da Joint" (sometimes spelt "The Joint") is the first single from EPMD's fifth album, '' Back in Business''. Produced by Erick Sermon and Rockwilder, "Da Joint" became EPMD's second and final single to make it to the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking ...
".
In 2004, Smith released an album titled ''Hit Squad: Zero Tolerance'' using previously unreleased verses by the original members combined with his latest new artists.
As of the 2006 EPMD reunion, most of the former Hit Squad members also reunited, along with Def Squad rapper Keith Murray. A new album for the Hit Squad/Def Squad is planned.
Another reunion was staged in 2012.
On PMD's 2013 EP release ''New Business'', he introduced a group under the Hit Squad umbrella called Team Takeover made up of rappers Nymrod, Comatose, Nam Nitty, and Michael Nixx. The group is featured in the music video for the track "Symphony 2013".
Myspace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...