No Pressure is the debut solo studio album by the American rapper and record producer Erick Sermon. It was released on October 19, 1993, via Def Jam Recordings. The album was produced mainly by Sermon, who also served as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Ice Cube, Joe Sinistr, Kam, Keith Murray, Redman, and Shadz of Lingo. The album made it to No. 16 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
The album spawned two singles: "Hittin' Switches" and "Stay Real".
Critical reception
The Baltimore Sun wrote that "as much as Sermon maintains the old flavor, these jams never quite come across as deja-funk; not only are the loops heavier than they used to be, but there's a layer of dissonance in there that pushes these tracks away from the usual bass-driven grooves and toward something harder and funkier."
Track listing
Sample credits "Stay Real" and "Safe Sex" contain samples from "Dance Floor" by Zapp, written by Roger Troutman and Larry Troutman. "Safe Sex" contains elements from "The Payback" by James Brown, written by Brown, Fred Wesley, and John Starks. "Erick Sermon" contains elements from "We Write the Songs" by Biz Markie & Heavy D, written by Dwight Myers, Marcel Hall, and Marlon Williams. "The Hype" contains samples from "Square Biz" by Teena Marie, written by Teena Marie Brockert and Allen McGrier. "The Ill Shit" contains samples from "I Can Make You Dance" by Zapp, written by Roger Troutman and Larry Troutman.
Personnel Erick Sermon – main artist, producer (tracks: 2–8, 10–16), co-producer (track 17), executive producer Joe Sinistr – featured artist (track 2) Jeffrey Stewart – featured artist & arranger (track 5) Keith Omar Murray – featured artist (tracks: 5, 14) Shadz of Lingo – featured artist (track 12) Craig A. Miller – featured artist (track 13) O'Shea Jackson Sr. – featured artist (track 13) Reginald Noble – featured artist (track 14) Debra Killings – vocals (track 7) Derrick Culbreath – vocals (track 11) Michael J. Morgan "Soup" – vocals (track 16) Brent Tucker – producer (track 17) Colin Wolfe – co-producer (track 16) Robert David Greenberg – engineering (tracks: 2, 5, 14, 15) George "Catfish" Pappas – engineering (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 16), mixing (tracks: 7, 10) Darin Prindle – engineering (tracks: 7, 8, 10–12, 17) Tony Dawsey – mastering Danny Clinch – photography
Charts Chart (1993)Peak position
References
External links No Pressure on Bandcamp