Hit Squad
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- This article is about the hip hop collective. For the wrestling team, see Da Hit Squad.
| Hit Squad | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Years active | 1990 – 1993 | |
| Former members | ||
| EPMD DJ Scratch (the group's DJ) K-Solo Redman DJ Twinz (Redman's DJs) Das EFX Knucklehedz Hurricane G |
||
The Hit Squad was a 1990s hip hop collective of East coast hip hop artists formed by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith better known as EPMD. The collective separated when EPMD broke up in 1993.
[edit] Origins
After the success of their debut album Strictly Business, EPMD sought to mentor new artists. The first artist to make a guest appearance on an EPMD album was K-Solo. Solo was featured on their second album Unfinished Business on the song "Knick Knack Patty Wack". The first mention of "Hit Squad" appeared on EPMD's third album Business as Usual on the track "Hit Squad Heist". The lyrics mention Redman, K-Solo and Tom J of Knucklehedz.[1] Redman is also featured on two tracks of that album.
In 1993, EPMD released the single "Headbanger" from their fourth album Business Never Personal. The single featured K-Solo and Redman and the music video features appearances by most of the Hit Squad.[2] The single reached #11 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks chart.[3] The single's success made "Head Banger" the Squad's "signature song".[4] The album also features Das EFX on the track "Cummin' At Cha".
[edit] Breakup
In late-1992, tensions grew between Sermon and Smith. According to articles in The Source, Sermon alleged financial impropriety on Smith’s part while Smith alleged that Sermon hired intruders to burglarize his home at gunpoint. Sermon was arrested and briefly detained for questioning, but no charges were filed. This resulted in a heated altercation on the set of the "Head Banger" video. EPMD officially broke up in January 1993. Redman, Twinz and Hurricane G continued to collaborate with Sermon while Das EFX and DJ Scratch remained under Smith's management. K-Solo pursued separate endeavors. The debut album by Knucklehedz became lost in the shuffle in the midst of the breakup and was shelved.[5]
Sermon later formed the Def Squad with Redman and another protege Keith Murray. Smith continued to mention the name "Hit Squad" on his subsequent solo albums and on EPMD's reunion albums. But it remained unclear who the members the new Squad were. In 2004, Smith released an album titled Hit Squad: Zero Tolerance using previously unreleased verses by the original members combined with his latest new artists.
