"Head Banger", also "Headbanger", is the second single released from

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

's fourth album, ''

Business Never Personal ''Business Never Personal'' is the fourth studio album by hip hop duo EPMD. It was released on July 28, 1992, on Def Jam Recordings. Following mixed criticism of their previous studio effort, 1990's '' Business As Usual'', the duo was able to ret ...

''. The song, which was produced by member

Erick Sermon Erick Sermon (born November 25, 1968) is an American rapper, musician, and record producer. He is best known as one-third—alongside PMD & DJ Scratch—of 1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for his production work. Career Sermon started profe ...

, featured verses from

K-Solo Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo (born April 17, 1968) is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s. Career K-Solo was a member of EPMD's "Hit S ...

and Redman, both members of EPMD's rap collective, the

Hit Squad The Hit Squad is an American hip hop collective of East coast hip hop artists. Originally formed in the 1990s by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith of the rap group EPMD, the group included rap artists such as K-Solo, Redman, Das EFX, Top Quality, ...

. The single became a minor hit on both the R&B and rap charts. peaking at 75 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and 11 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

. The song used three samples,

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

's "One Of Those Funky Thangs",

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

's "Papa Was Too" and

Brand Nubian Brand Nubian is an American hip hop group from New Rochelle, New York, composed of three emcees (Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar), and formerly three DJs (DJ Alamo, DJ Sincere, and DJ Stud Doogie). Their debut studio album, '' One for All'' ...

's "Slow Down", and was later sampled itself by the

Ruff Ryders Ruff Ryders Entertainment is an American hip hop record label and management company founded by siblings and record executives Joaquin "Waah", Darin "Dee" and Chivon Dean. It operated as a subsidiary of Universal, and distributed by Fontana Dist ...

on "Ryde or Die", which served as the opening song on their debut album, '' Ryde or Die Vol. 1''. This was EPMD's final release before disbanding,Vibe - oct. 1997 - Page 101 "It speaks for the huddled hip hop masses— here in Brooklyn and elsewhere— who've been wishing EPMD would, well, make the hell up. .... "It was the day after the 'Head Banger' video shoot," he begins, recalling the day EPMD dissolved." eventually returning five years later in 1997.

Single track listing

A-Side

#"Head Banger" (LP Version)- 4:51 #"Head Banger" (Radio Version)- 4:31

B-Side

#"Head Banger" (Remix Radio Edit)- 4:57 #"Scratch Bring It Back"- 3:04

Charts

References

{{authority control 1992 singles EPMD songs Song recordings produced by Erick Sermon Songs written by Erick Sermon Def Jam Recordings singles Redman (rapper) songs 1992 songs Songs written by PMD (rapper)