The Hit Squad was a 1990s hip hop collective of East coast hip hop artists formed by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith better known as EPMD. The collective separated when EPMD broke up for the first time in 1993, later reforming as Def Squad. The collective later reintroduced itself in 2006 as "Hit squad" with a sub division of new up and coming artists titled "Team Takeover" featuring artists such as Nymrod, Comatose, Nam Nitty, and the recent youngest member Michael Nixx.