PMD

Following the breakup of New York hip-hop pioneers EPMD in the early 1990s, Parrish Smith launched a solo career by omitting the “e” from the group’s name—originally referencing Erick Sermon—to perform as PMD, shorthand for Parrish Making Dollars. His individual recordings maintained the same unadulterated hardcore rap approach that had defined EPMD, emphasizing dense rhymes atop heavy beats while maintaining a staunchly independent stance. Smith issued his debut solo project, Shadé Business, in 1994, which included appearances by Das EFX and Top Quality. Two years later came the stronger sophomore effort Business Is Business, again featuring multiple contributions from Das EFX.

Smith rejoined Sermon and Def Jam to record EPMD’s fifth album, Back in Business, in 1997; their sixth joint release, Out of Business, followed in 1999. After the pair separated once more, Smith worked with Japan’s DJ Honda on several singles and the 2002 album Underground Connection, issued exclusively in Asia. His third solo album, The Awakening, surfaced on Boondox Records in 2003. That same year Smith served as executive producer for Zero Tolerance, a reunion project by the long-standing Hit Squad collective affiliated with EPMD, which appeared in 2004. EPMD reconvened in 2006 and delivered We Mean Business in 2008.

Following a period of inactivity, Smith returned in 2013 with Welcome to the Goondox, a collaboration alongside German crew Snowgoons and Queens-based rapper Sean Strange. In 2017 he released Business Mentality, co-produced with Snowgoons and Agallah.