I wanted to take it back to the late '80's for this 3rd installment of L4TPB. If you’ve been reading other posts, you know by now I’m a fan of the unconventional. Anything, unique that goes against the grain is more my preference. For that reason, today’s song choice comes from an East coast Hip Hop duo with a West coast sound-EPMD’s You Gots to Chill. It was their first video and single off of their debut Strictly Business LP that was released in 1988. (Who else is in the picture above-leave responses in the comments.)
EPMD stands for Erick and Parrish Making Dollars, based off of the band members names Erick Sermon & Parrish Smith. The East Coast sound was mainly rooted in Jazz and James Brown sample based grooves. Most East coast Hip Hop hadn’t really ventured into the funk created by Parliament-Funakdelic, & Bootsy Collins' protégé band Zapp (Featuring Roger Troutman). That was more of a ‘West Coast’ sound. EPMD was one of the first bands to bridge the gap between East & West Coast music by using samples from tracks that were heavily rooted in the post James Brown era (P-Funk).
You Gots to Chill is based off a sample written & produced by Zapp’s infamous front man, Roger Troutman’s More Bounce to the Ounce. The vocoder expert definitely created a certified roller-skating rink, backyard BBQ, Hitting Corners classic! EPMD freaked it properly for Hip Hop too. The original groove was good enough as is. Erick didn’t have to add much, if anything, aside from some drums, scratches and an occasional 808 kick.
Roger Troutman is a Native of Ohio where James Brown originally recorded on King Records and a plethora of Funk bands spawned: Faze-O, Ohio Players, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, Slave, Dayton, and Sun-keeping with the tradition of the Ohio Valley Funk sound. The funk music from Ohio based bands has been heavily sampled by hip hop and urban music producers.