Erick Sermon

One-half of the legendary hip-hop duo EPMD, Erick Sermon is known for his cool if unsparing microphone command, and he is also among the genre's most prominent producers, deservedly earning the alias "Funklord" with trademark raw, bass-heavy grooves that date back to 1987, the year he and Parrish Smith debuted with "It's My Thing." EPMD put together a streak of four gold albums before Sermon launched his solo career on Def Jam with No Pressure, a Top 20 entry on the Billboard 200. As he handled an increasing load of outside production work, Sermon continued to chart with his subsequent projects for Def Jam, Dreamworks, J Records, and Universal, from 1995's Double or Nothing through 2004's Chilltown, New York. Although he remained active, it wasn't until 2015 that Sermon issued his next full-length project, E.S.P. (Erick Sermon's Perception). He has gone on to issue Vernia and Dynamic Duos (Volume 1), highly collaborative albums issued respectively in 2019 and 2025.

Born in Bayshore, New York on November 25, 1968, Sermon -- aka E Double, the Green-Eyed Bandit, and MC Grand Royal -- teamed with rapper Parrish Smith in 1986 to form EPMD, an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars." Signed to the independent Sleeping Bag label, they soon released their debut 12", "It's My Thing," which went on to sell an astounding 500,000 copies. In the years to follow, EPMD emerged as one of rap's most vital acts, their hard-edged beats and Sermon's mumbled, monotone delivery becoming a great influence on the burgeoning gangsta movement. In addition to producing their own material, the duo also helmed records for the extended family of performers dubbed the Hit Squad, whose ranks included Redman, K Solo, and Das EFX.

In early 1993, after four gold-selling albums, EPMD disbanded, and Sermon soon resurfaced with his solo debut, No Pressure, a number 16 hit on the Billboard 200. He also became a sought-after producer and remixer, working with everyone from En Vogue to Blackstreet to Shaquille O'Neal. After a second solo effort, 1995's Double or Nothing, he and Smith re-formed EPMD in 1997, releasing the LP Back in Business, another gold album. Soon after Sermon announced he was retiring as an artist in order to make room for up-and-coming talent. Most of his work would then be behind the scenes with Busta Rhymes along with releases from Method Man and Redman, then in 2008 he launched the EP Records label and reunited EPMD for the album We Mean Business. After suffering a heart attack in 2011, he became an advocate for cardiac health awareness. He then returned to his solo career in 2015 with the single "One Shot" and the album E.S.P. His eighth set landed in 2019. Titled Vernia, the album featured appearances by the likes of Big K.R.I.T., David Banner, Keith Murray, and Raekwon.

Also during the latter half of the 2010s, and into the 2020s, Sermon was behind retrospective sets such as Green Eyed Remixes, The Funk Lord Instrumentals, and E Double, the latter two of which had sequels. In 2023, Sermon partnered with Eddie F and Jarren Benton for a five-track EP entitled This Is Hip Hop (50th Annivesary Edition). During 2024 and 2025, he teamed with fellow rap icons Salt-N-Pepa ("Back 2 the Party"), Method Man and Redman ("Look at 'Em"), and D-Nice ("Tonight," also featuring Teddy Riley, Estelle, and Akon), followed by Snoop Dogg ("Like That"). "Back 2 the Party," "Look at 'Em" and "Like That" provided the first previews of Sermon's descriptively-titled Dynamic Duos (Volume 1), on which he also linked with Parrish Smith, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, and Conway the Machine, among others. ~ Jason Ankeny