Title: The Big PaybackLabel: Mr. BongoCat.#: MRB7197 Format: 7" Vinyl, ReissueCountry: UKReleased: 2021Genre: Hip HopTrack Listing: By the time of their second album, 1989’s ‘Unfinished Business’,EPMD were firmly cemented in the rap stratosphere. With onecertified classic album under their belts, they proved they were noone-hit wonders, with the sequel possibly even better. A concise 12tracker once again produced by the artists themselves, it saw themadhering to the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ maxim, while goingsomewhat ‘bigger’.In other words, guests started to appear – not just on the records,but in the videos – and marketing budgets were higher. None ofwhich watered down their sound. In fact, this is the ultimate EPMDrecord: a beat that’s simple but perfect, and two top-of-their-gameMC’s going back and forth. But the appearance of NWA in the videofor ‘The Big Payback’ hints at their reputation at the time – and at thecordial relations between coasts before the deadly beef that was tocome.‘Payback’ takes both its title and core sample from James Brown’s‘The Payback’ from 1973, and then weaves two more JB elementswith it, including the addictive stabs from ‘Baby, Here I Come’. It’s agolden track from the golden age.The B-side is another gem from the same album, and only releasedbefore on 7” in a very rare, limited pressing. ‘So Wat Cha Sayin’ wasthe album’s lead single, and shows EPMD’s wide sampling palette.There’s bits of BT Express, a whole lot of Funkadelic and,brilliantly, some drums lifted from Soul II Soul’s gem from just theyear before, ‘Fairplay’. Lyrically, it’s just all about threats to sucker’sMC’s – what else do you want from EPMD?* A certified Hip Hop classic.* Samples James Brown’s ‘The Payback’ from 1973.
