Erick Sermon – Dynamic Duos [Album Stream]
Erick Sermon just turned the producer hat all the way backwards and hit record.
“Dynamic Duos Vol. 1” is his ninth solo album and a full-on celebration of chemistry – 15 tracks, 34 minutes of nothing but legendary pairings, out now via Def Squad / DNA Music / Hitmaker Distro.
Concept-wise, Sermon mostly falls back from the mic and plays ringmaster/architect, curating a wild lineup of rap institutions: Method Man & Redman, M.O.P., Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg, Conway The Machine & The Game, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, Tha Dogg Pound, Heltah Skeltah, 38 Spesh, Salt-N-Pepa and – for the first time in over a decade – a brand new EPMD record called “Test Me.”
The sequencing feels like flipping channels through rap history:
After the intro, “Look At ’Em” throws Meth & Red over a ghostly knock while they talk entire crews wilding out.
“Sidewalk Executives” with M.O.P. is pure concrete soul, all bark and grimy horns.
“Like That” lets Snoop slide into a funkier, flirty lane before a quick “Maya Crockett” skit resets the scene.
“God Mode” with Conway & The Game is the chest-out moment – dusty bassline, eerie pianos, them rapping like their verses are scripture.
“How Do You Know?” finds Cypress Hill warning you not to test their smoke over straight boom bap, while Public Enemy’s “How Long?” shifts into funk and political fire like only they can.
The new EPMD cut “Test Me” reminds you how dangerous that two-man weave still is in 2025, before a “Pimp Gators” skit slides into Tha Dogg Pound repping for the West on “The City.”
Late in the tracklist, Heltah Skeltah’s “Spectacle” blends soul and funk while promising to shake the whole music world, “No Gimmicks” with 38 Spesh doubles down on authenticity, and Salt-N-Pepa close things out in style with “Back 2 the Party,” a smooth throwback to block-party days.
Sermon’s production is the glue: dusty drums, rubbery baselines, soul and funk samples, little eerie textures that give the entire thing that hazy, late-night Def Squad feel while still sounding fresh. It plays less like a random posse cut compilation and more like a proper producer album with a concept – one long salute to the power of rap duos, made by a guy who built his name as one of the greatest of all time.
Hit play on Dynamic Duos Vol. 1 and let it run front to back – from “Look At ’Em” to “Back 2 the Party”, it’s basically a guided tour through three decades of hip-hop chemistry, all running through Erick Sermon’s board.
