by Andy Kellman
After EPMD's early-'90s split, Parrish Smith went solo and simply dropped the "e" from the duo's name -- which stood for Erick, as in Erick Sermon -- to record as PMD (as in "Parrish Making Dollars"). In 1994, he released Shade Business (featuring guest spots from Das EFX and Top Quality), and 1996 saw the release of a better follow-up, Business Is Business (with another Das EFX appearance). Smith joined back up with Sermon (and Def Jam) for 1997's Back in Business, EPMD's fifth album, and a sixth album with his partner -- Out of Business -- came in 1999.