BY MS. BENZO • NOVEMBER 15, 2018

Def Jam Records had made some of the most iconic Hip-Hop albums of all-time during the 1980s. After some sluggish years in the early 1990s, the label started by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin rebounded in a major way in 1998. That was the same year that the imprint forecast its future with the Def Jam 2000 campaign. A string of albums included #1 releases. DMX’s It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot and same year follow-up, Flesh Of My Flesh Of Blood Of My Blood topped the charts. So did JAY-Z’s Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, Foxy Brown’s Chyna Doll, and Method Man’s Tical 2000: Judgement Day. With the irons hot, Def Jam returned to focus on an act it had been working with for a decade: EPMD.

Released on July 20, 1999, Out Of Business was the sixth album for Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith. Standout single “Symphony 2000” gave the listeners a taste of raw lyrics and futuristic production featuring haunting strings from “Uccellacci Uccellini” by Italian composer Ennio Morricone. A previously recorded version of the song originally called “Symphony” featured M.O.P. and is also present on Out Of Business. Decisions were made at the label to push a version with more of an in-house, Def Jam feel. Erick Sermon protege (and Def Squad band-mate) Redman was recruited, along with Method Man, an artist who the Green-Eyed Bandit also worked closely with. Newer Def Jam act Lady Luck was chosen to spar in the Rap ring in which some would call the grand finale of what would be the last release of an EPMD’s historic Def Jam run.

With direction from Steve Carr, the visual for “Symphony 2000” is based on the theme of Horror movies where all artists are present in a warehouse and also shown in scenes were they are dressed as his or her favorite scary movie character while releasing virulent lines to their victims.

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