“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no deserving band of MCs and DJs is neglected. The 2018 contest consists of seven rounds, NCAA basketball-tournament style, leading to a Top 32, then the Sweet 16 and so on, until one winner is determined. For each battle, two groups are pitted against one another with a ballot to decide which one advances to the next round. Though there will be an enormous amount of debate in comments, on social media, in barbershops and text messages, which we encourage, only votes cast in the official ballot (below) count.

Next is another classic match-up between Queens and Brooklyn, as Mobb Deep squares off against collaborators, Black Moon. Both extremely influential over 25 years, they’re each known for bringing that raw, rugged sound to their respective boroughs. Your vote will decide survival of the fittest, in reaching Round 2.

Mobb Deep

With a legacy that goes back over 25 years, Havoc and Prodigy are Queens, New York kings. The duo is responsible for some of the most iconic sounds in ’90s Hip-Hop, bringing the grimy, rugged feel of the Big Apple streets to life through their beats and rhymes. First getting widespread acclaim with their 1995 sophomore album, The Infamous, Mobb Deep went on to release a string of classics, surviving feuds with legends like Tupac, JAY-Z, and Nas, and coming out with a legacy that almost all Heads seem to respect. The pair spent the 2000s going for more mainstream appeal with a stint on G-Unit Records, splitting up in pursuit of solo careers, and reuniting for one last album together before the untimely passing of Prodigy in 2017. Possibly with more music in the cannon, Mobb Deep will forever be synonymous with Queens Hip-Hop.

Black Moon

Buckshot Shorty, DJ Evil Dee, and 5ft bridged the gap between so-called “backpack Hip-Hop” and Gangsta Rap with Brooklyn-based rhymes and beats about getting high, refusing to be bullied, and making cutting-edge music. Black Moon stayed true to that formula over three albums between 1993 and 2003. The foundation of the Boot Camp Clik and Duck Down blended chippy lyrics with dusty samples rooted in Soul and Jazz. The trio filtered its benchmark Enta Da Stage debut from reels back to cassettes, keeping that feel of gritty, mixtape-driven Rap, which would be a hallmark for the eventual Underground movement. Throughout the decade, reports have lingered that the Moon is coming back into the horizon, with a fourth album fully-produced by Evil Dee and Mr. Walt’s Beatminerz after some out-sourcing on the last two LPs. Black Moon shines bright with a consistent catalog and street wisdom over captivating beats.

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So who is the better Hip-Hop group? Make sure you vote above.