Erick Sermon, also known as Erick Onassis or EMD (Erick Making Dollars),
(born November 25, 1968), in Bay Shore, New York[1] is an American
rapper, musician, and producer.
Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD[2]
and for production work. He currently resides in Hauppauge, New York.[citation
needed]
"The Green Eyed Bandit" has also made multiple solo recordings
and albums. He began recording solo albums for Def Jam in 1993; in
1997, he rejoined EPMD. The following year, Sermon, Murray and Redman
recorded a cover version of "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill
Gang, the first hit hip hop record. EPMD disbanded a second time
in 1999.
In 2000, Sermon moved over to J Records, and released the album
Music the following year. The title track (a Top 40 pop hit that
also made it to #2 on the R&B music charts), featured guest vocals
from late soul music legend Marvin Gaye, culled from unreleased recordings
which Sermon reportedly found in a small record shop in London.
Erick continued working on an album. React was released in 2002.
The title track became a major hit song, though the album still had
disappointing sales. In 2003, J Records dropped Erick Sermon due
to poor record sales. However, he still went on to establish his
Def Squad imprint with Motown Records. At this time, he recorded
an album, Chilltown, N.Y., which was released a year later in 2004.
The album was powered by the single "Feel It" (which contained
a sample of reggae/R&B singer Sean Paul), a song which became
a success in the United States.
In an interview, he stated that he was going to step aside and try
to get upcoming artists in the spotlight. However, Sermon hasn't
stopped doing music altogether, as he produced the song "Goldmine" on
Busta Rhymes' album, The Big Bang in 2006. Very soon after, Sermon
has recorded "Don't Make No Sense" with Def Squad. He also
collaborated with Redman and produced a few songs on the album Red
Gone Wild while also making an appearance with Def Squad member Keith
Murray.
Sermon was also heavily involved in Method Man's critically acclaimed
2006 album 4:21... The Day After as well as the 1999 platinum Blackout!
album by Method Man & Redman.
In early 2008, Erick Sermon and EPMD started their own record label
called EP Records, distributed by RBS/Universal Music Group. The
seventh EPMD album, We Mean Business, came out in December 2008.
Sermon was featured in the final episode of Yo! MTV Raps in a freestyle
session featuring artists such as Rakim, KRS-One, Chubb Rock, and
MC Serch.