Erick Sermon Is Back To Give Rap What It’s Been Missing With His New Song

Erick Sermon sometimes gets more credit for his production than his rhymes. However, for more than 30 years, the double-threat has penned some lyrics that are forever tattooed on the Hip-Hop consciousness. That has been true with EPMD, Def Squad, and alone. The MC who once proclaimed “I wish music would adopt me” has more than proven his dedication.

Now, only two months removed from a freestyle single that saw him pair with DJ Gumba on “CHILL” (embedded below) the Long Island, NY spitter is at it again. Appropriately, “Give It To Em,” a signature Erick Sermon-produced track, bleeds the funk and flair we’ve grown accustomed.

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After warming up his vocals and shouting out his return to form alongside Gumba for the second time in as many months, the legendary talent takes time to address emcees who have lost their way. “Ya time’s up/ you were hot a couple of summers / Yes, the kids used to look up to you / What happened? (that’s not the way to do it) ya singin’ now, you ain’t rappin’,” spits the Green-Eyed Bandit.

Immediately after that, he admits to being a workaholic – a trait that has seen him continue to push the envelope in various musical environments (Fresh, Priority, Dreamworks, Universal, etc.), and collaborations, including his most renowned days with EPMD. More than 30 years removed from his first musical endeavor, work ethic is something The Green-Eyed Bandit’s still respects:

“I love my job, yes, I go to work all the time / I puts in hours with the rhyme / So when I relay it, no need to okay it / They play it when I say it / Any place they’ll pay it / The Rick Rubin of the new school… but who cares, new cars are driven / They ask for more, and more is what I give em.

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Having been away from the game since his 2015 release, E.S.P. (Erick Sermon’s Perception), E Double provides a fitting reminder of his consistency as he cruises through the second and final verse:

I stepped away from the game / I wanted back the fame / I wanted back the name / Holla back, I’m the same with a stack / I’m the same in person when I rap / The same muthaf*cka in the trap / I got money, but no need to waste it / I did buy my girl a new bracelet / But not from Jacob, somebody else laced it.

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“Give It To Em” and “CHILL” are fitting appetizers to the main course that will be his eighth solo album, Vernia, an ode to his grandmother who died two years ago. The record, which he began recording around the same time period, boasts features among the likes of Styles P, AZ, Shaquille O’Neal, David Banner Too Short, Devin The Dude and more. Last month, E-Double released the Big K.R.I.T.-assisted “That Girl.”

If Gumba and Erick Sermon’s working rapport feels just right, expect more. The Long Island-bred DJ is set to combine the aforementioned tracks with other Def Squad efforts to produce an official mixtape featuring the entire crew.

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#BonusBeat: DJ Gumba and Erick Sermon’s “CHILL”: