After
on stage this past weekend in New York, EPMD and DJ Scratch will head overseas
next month to embark on a 10-date international outing. The
pair and their DJ will travel to Belgium on Nov. 22 and finish up in Italy on
Dec. 2. "We
are bringing it back to the good old shows without the pyro and big video screens,"
DJ Scratch told AllHipHop.com. "Hip-Hop cats breaking a sweat on the stage
and a DJ tearing it down, the way it’s supposed to be. Where Hip-Hop is right
now, we need the golden era cats to come back and do their thing. We are bringing
it back to square one, where it started."Serving
as an unofficial kick-off to the tour, the duo’s Oct. 14 concert at New York’s
B.B. King’s was their first high-profile performance together in eight years.
The
show was held as part of VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors Week. "The
crowd was lovely," said Parrish Smith (a.k.a. PMD) of the legions of fans
that packed B.B. King’s to see the Brentwood, Long Island, rap team perform.
"Hip-Hop Honors–they jumped on it. They recognized what time it was,"
said Erick Sermon. "People heard that me and Parish [PMD] played Detroit
and did Philadelphia . They saw it was real. They could have did two shows because
it was over-packed for the venue. Nobody could really believe it."Das
EFX, Keith Murray, Redman and other EPMD affiliates also appeared at the concert
in a show of support.With
their performance being part of VH1’s week of events, EPMD took a moment to reflect
on this year’s Hip-Hop Honors awards. The pair’s crew, the Hit Squad, is widely
considered a prototype for the New York-based Wu-Tang Clan, who was honored at
this year’s show."Method
Man didn’t even want to go," said Sermon. "We weren’t mad. VH1 has to
make their show exciting with whatever comes up to make it look good. The order
was kind of ill this time, but MC Lyte — can’t be mad at that. You [are] mad
because it was Rakim without Eric B. Who [honors] Ice Cube without NWA? They didn’t
have an Ol’ Dirty Bastard dedication either."Sermon
added, however, that EPMD felt VH1’s intentions were genuine and that it showed
through the network’s efforts with Hip-Hop Honors, as well as the week of programming
throughout New York City.P
echoed, "It’s the right direction, considering people thought Hip-Hop was
going to be a fad. They trying to work with it." Both E and P felt strongly
that they would be likely contenders for 2007 Hip-Hop Honors. The
duo also hasn’t ruled out another EPMD project. "We’ll see what spawns out,"
said Sermon. "Rest in peace to Jam Master Jay — we’re taking the Run-D.M.C.
slot. People are calling for Hip-Hop music. We make classic material."Dates
are still being booked. Listed below are all confirmed dates as of press time:Nov.
22 – BelgiumNov. 23 – EindhovenNov. 27 – NetherlandsNov. 29 – CopehagenDec.
1 – SwedenDec. 2 – Italy
