It’s My Thang

Recorded in 1987 by EPMD on Long Island, with Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith handling the performance and production themselves. The debut single was cut quickly and introduced the duo’s stripped-down, sample-driven approach. It served as EPMD’s debut single and announced the duo’s identity with a raw, minimalist sound built for hip-hop radio and club play. Its success helped establish Strictly Business-era EPMD as one of the defining late-1980s rap acts. The track remains one of EPMD’s signature records and a reference point for East Coast duo rap. Its central riffing and call-and-response style have kept it in circulation through reissues, live sets, and later retrospectives on classic hip-hop.