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KRS-One & Smif-n-Wessun Are Back With Some New Boom Bap

KRS-One & Smif-n-Wessun Are Back With Some New Boom Bap

Thirty years ago, Da Beatminerz helped lead a charge with Black Moon's Enta Da Stage. The Nervous Records LP was produced by Evil Dee (also a Black Moon co-founder) and his brother Mr. Walt. The album help launch several movements—for the Boot Camp Clik, for underground/independent Hip-Hop, and for a... Read more
December 16, 2023 Audio, Trending Stories
Rawkus Records’ Rise & Fall Is Detailed In A New Video

Rawkus Records’ Rise & Fall Is Detailed In A New Video

It was 15 years ago this fall that Rawkus Records stopped releasing albums. The "Rawkus 50" campaign allowed a new generation of MCs and producers to digitally release product with the same label that introduced many Hip-Hop Heads to names like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Company Flow, High & Mighty,... Read more
August 28, 2022 Video
Black Moon Describe The Personal Process Of Making Their First Album In 16 Years (Video)

Black Moon Describe The Personal Process Of Making Their First Album In 16 Years (Video)

There are not many Hip-Hop crews who could sustain a career that has spanned a quarter of a century, while only releasing four albums, but Black Moon is not just any crew. The highly-influential Brooklyn trio, comprised of Buckshot, 5ft, and DJ Evil Dee, first arrived on the scene back... Read more
October 23, 2019 Exclusive, Video
Black Moon Make Their Return And Bring Method Man With Them (Audio)

Black Moon Make Their Return And Bring Method Man With Them (Audio)

Black Moon has just released its first album in more than 16 years. Buckshot, DJ Evil Dee, and 5ft made Rise Of da Moon, produced entirely by Da Beatminerz (Evil and his brother, Mr. Walt). The 15 songs include two video singles, "Creep Wit Me" and "Black Moon Rise." As... Read more
October 18, 2019 Audio
Black Moon Is Rising Once More. Here’s Their New Video, Album Tracklist & Guests

Black Moon Is Rising Once More. Here’s Their New Video, Album Tracklist & Guests

More than three months, Black Moon released its first music video in more than 16 years. "Creep Wit Me" reunited Buckshot, DJ Evil Dee, and 5 ft after years of anticipation that the Brooklyn, New York trio would follow-up Total Eclipse. Heads now have more details surrounding Rise Of Da... Read more
September 20, 2019 Audio, Exclusive, News
Black Moon Release Their 1st Video In 15 Years. The New Album Is Coming Soon.

Black Moon Release Their 1st Video In 15 Years. The New Album Is Coming Soon.

It has been 16 years since Brooklyn, New York's Black Moon released a studio album. Boot Camp Clik's breakout artists are back with their first new music since 2003's Total Eclipse. Along with an exciting new music video, the collective of Buckshot, DJ Evil Dee, and 5 ft have a... Read more
June 14, 2019 Video
Black Moon Is Releasing A New Album This Summer. Evil Dee Describes The Sound.

Black Moon Is Releasing A New Album This Summer. Evil Dee Describes The Sound.

When heads think of Black Moon, many immediately trudge back to their heralded 1993 debut Enta Da Stage. Beyond its textured sampling and aggressive lyrics, the Nervous Records LP helped detail an East Coast equivalent to Gangsta Rap. While there where no lowriders, or bandanas in Buckshot Shorty, 5FT, and... Read more
April 23, 2019 Audio, News
Evil Dee Details What Led To The Demise Of Rawkus Records

Evil Dee Details What Led To The Demise Of Rawkus Records

DJ Evil Dee was a onetime artist at Rawkus Records. In the fall of 1997, he hosted and mixed the first Soundbombing compilation. That release would propel the label launched by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater onto the radars of many. With it, plenty of Hip-Hop Heads got a taste... Read more
April 17, 2019 Audio
Jean Grae Knocked With The Hardest Bars & The Industry Opened The Door (Audio)

Jean Grae Knocked With The Hardest Bars & The Industry Opened The Door (Audio)

Jean Grae was a refreshingly honest and forthright MC when she first emerged out of the New York City underground scene in the late 1990s. Previously known as What? What?, Jean made it abundantly clear to all within an earshot that she was bringing that raw spit. Known to share... Read more
March 1, 2018 Do Remember
O.C.’s “Jewelz” At 20: It May Be The True Diamond In His Discography

O.C.’s “Jewelz” At 20: It May Be The True Diamond In His Discography

Following the assassinations of the Rap industry's biggest stars The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997 and Tupac Shakur one year prior, the genre was a powder keg that exploded. The remaining stars of Hip-Hop were trying to figure out how to clean up the mess. Some hardcore outfits like Wu-Tang Clan... Read more
August 19, 2017 Throwback
Main Source Are Joined By Pete Rock, Just Blaze & More For Their 25-Year Reunion (Video)

Main Source Are Joined By Pete Rock, Just Blaze & More For Their 25-Year Reunion (Video)

Last week (February 1), the founding three members of Hip-Hop group Main Source performed together for the first time in more than 25 years. Large Professor, as well as John Browne high school classmate,  K-Cut, plus guest DJ Rashad Smith (of Bad Boy Records fame) blessed Lower Manhattan's S.O.B.'s stages... Read more
February 8, 2017 Video
Kool G Rap, Canibus & Chris Rivers Send An Omen That Real Lyricism Is Back (Audio)

Kool G Rap, Canibus & Chris Rivers Send An Omen That Real Lyricism Is Back (Audio)

One of 2016's most steadfast MCs, Chris Rivers is a clear disciple of that hard-nosed late '80s and 1990s lyricism. While the Bronx, New Yorker's greatest influence would appear to be his father (Big Pun), there are other clear connections. Pun, after all, was a student of Kool G Rap,... Read more
December 17, 2016 Audio
Da Beatminerz Show How They Made Those Thunderous Boot Camp Clik Beats (Video)

Da Beatminerz Show How They Made Those Thunderous Boot Camp Clik Beats (Video)

DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt are one of the most successful brotherly groups in Hip-Hop. As Da Beatminerz, the Brooklyn, New York record clerks-turned-DJ/producers have laced ageless knocking beats for Smif-n-Wessun, The Roots, Mos Def, and of course Black Moon (which Evil is one-third of). From Academy Records to... Read more
May 27, 2016 Video
This Little Boy Blues Record Was A Seed Of Love For Some Brooklyn Rap Giants (Audio)

This Little Boy Blues Record Was A Seed Of Love For Some Brooklyn Rap Giants (Audio)

Little Boy Blues released a single album, 1968's In The Woodland Of Weir. The Psychedelic Garage Rock outfit fronted by "Little Boy Blue" Ray Levin, would eventually rise to open for the Rolling Stones, The Association, and Lovin' Spoonful. Formed four years before the Fontana Records LP, the band was... Read more
January 10, 2016 Sample Sundays
Da Beatminerz Rock A 90 Minute Radio Party Covering Rock, Funk, Jazz & Hip-Hop (Mix)

Da Beatminerz Rock A 90 Minute Radio Party Covering Rock, Funk, Jazz & Hip-Hop (Mix)

Da Beatminerz and Q-Tip go back. Although not collaborators in the traditional sense, DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt joined the Abstract at those storied Roosevelt Hotel Record Conventions in the early 1990s New York City. Black Moon and A Tribe Called Quest were running in the same circles, advancing... Read more
December 22, 2015 Mixes
Black Moon’s ‘Powaful Impak’ Is The Focus Of A Duck Down Feature Documentary (Video)

Black Moon’s ‘Powaful Impak’ Is The Focus Of A Duck Down Feature Documentary (Video)

In looking at Hip-Hop artists and consistency, Heads regularly point to De La Soul, Outkast, and A Tribe Called Quest. There are acts who made extensive catalogs, by-and-large, never disappointing fan-bases. Is Brooklyn, New York trio Black Moon not one of them? Buckshot, DJ Evil Dee, and 5FT have released... Read more
September 18, 2015 TV/Film, Video
Big Daddy Kane, Whodini & The eMC Headline 38th Rocksteady Anniversary

Big Daddy Kane, Whodini & The eMC Headline 38th Rocksteady Anniversary

The 38th annual Rocksteady Anniversary concert has been announced. The free Sunday July 26 event at New York City's Central Park Summer Stage will be headlined by Hip-Hop legends Big Daddy Kane, Whodini, and The eMC (Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Stricklin). Additional performers include Your Old Droog, Queen Herawin (The Juggaknots)... Read more
July 2, 2015 News
DJ Evil Dee Makes A House Birthday Mix For Himself That All Can Celebrate (Mix)

DJ Evil Dee Makes A House Birthday Mix For Himself That All Can Celebrate (Mix)

DJ Evil Dee had a birthday recently (May 24). The Bushwick, Brooklyn co-founder of Black Moon and Da Beatminerz celebrated in style. The veteran DJ/producer fired up the Technics 1200s, and pulled out some dance-friendly crates of records for his two-hour "Church" mix-show. The "birthday edition" features the producer for... Read more
May 26, 2015 Throwback
Do Remember: Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing 2 Album (Audio)

Do Remember: Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing 2 Album (Audio)

May 18, 1999, Rawkus Records would enter their most definitive year with their fifth full-length release in Soundbombing II. Distributed by the same Priority Records that had been so integral to the successes of Ruthless, Rap-A-Lot, and Roc-A-Fella, Brian Brater and Jarret Myer's imprint was truly stepping out. 1998 had... Read more
May 14, 2015 Throwback
How Many MC’s Could Freestyle Over This Black Moon Classic As Well As Lloyd Banks? (Audio)

How Many MC’s Could Freestyle Over This Black Moon Classic As Well As Lloyd Banks? (Audio)

G-Unit has been quite active throughout the last month. With their second EP, The Beast Is G-Unit and a number of freestyles from Kidd Kidd during his promotion for XXL's 10th spot in the 2015 Freshmen class, the Unit has been hard at work. While Tony Yayo recorded his own freestyle... Read more
April 7, 2015 Audio
Sound Bwoy Bureill Was Intended For Heltah Skeltah? Smif-n-Wessun & Da Beatminerz Recall (Video)

Sound Bwoy Bureill Was Intended For Heltah Skeltah? Smif-n-Wessun & Da Beatminerz Recall (Video)

This past Saturday (January 10), Smif-n-Wessun's debut album, Dah Shinin', turned 20 years old. The Wreck Records release from General Steele and Tek was a benchmark moment for the Boot Camp Clik, and largely perceived as a follow-up to Black Moon's Enta Da Stage, given the tight-knit collective's overlapping production... Read more
January 12, 2015 Throwback
Black Moon’s First New Song In Years Is Slow-Moving Dopeness (Audio)

Black Moon’s First New Song In Years Is Slow-Moving Dopeness (Audio)

This week, Black Moon/Da Beatminerz' DJ Evil Dee released his first free online mixtape in recent memory. Part of the Broadcasting Live Mix is "Go To War," a Black Moon cut, and the first new one from Evil, Buckshot, and 5FT in nearly a decade. The Duck Down trio last... Read more
December 26, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Black Moon’s Evil Dee Releases a Mixtape Of All New Material (Mixtape)

Black Moon’s Evil Dee Releases a Mixtape Of All New Material (Mixtape)

Straight out of Bushwick, Brooklyn, DJ Evil Dee has made some amazing Hip-Hop records. A onetime high school DJ phenom, this centerpiece of Da Beatminerz is mean on the mix, the drum machine, and diggin' in the crates. The sound-provider of Black Moon established Duck Down as a source of... Read more
December 24, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes
DJ Premier’s HeadQCourterz / D&D Studios To Become Luxury Apartments?

DJ Premier’s HeadQCourterz / D&D Studios To Become Luxury Apartments?

For 30 years, D&D Studios has been a destination recording studio in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. Encased above 320 37th Street, the lab has been a longtime home to Gang Starr's DJ Premier, who co-owns the studio today, re-named HeadQCourterz in honor of Gang Starr's slain friend. A report... Read more
November 25, 2014 Fresh
Tek & Steele Recall Street Origins Smif-n-Wessun, Decepticon Ties, Making Dah Shinin’ (Audio)

Tek & Steele Recall Street Origins Smif-n-Wessun, Decepticon Ties, Making Dah Shinin’ (Audio)

Within the Boot Camp Clik, it often feels like Smif-n-Wessun are massively under-sung. Whether it was the fact that General Steele and Tek followed Black Moon's Enta Da Stage with Dah Shinin' (before Heltah Skeltah, O.G.C., and the Clik compilations), or the unfortunate forced name-change (to Cocoa Brovas) and subsequent... Read more
October 21, 2014 Fresh, Throwback
AZ Sounds So Illustrious On A Chopped Down Strawberry Letter 23 (Audio)

AZ Sounds So Illustrious On A Chopped Down Strawberry Letter 23 (Audio)

AZ is a proven master of being a current master, while channeling past eras of Hip-Hop, culture, art, and street style. This is wildly true of "Red Magic." Linking with Baby Paul, the veteran producer (and onetime member of Da Beatminerz) who's been working with A, Nas, and even Amil... Read more
June 30, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Summer Is Cooking Up. Know The Ledge On The Making Of Mtume’s Juicy Fruit (Video)

Summer Is Cooking Up. Know The Ledge On The Making Of Mtume’s Juicy Fruit (Video)

Whether you're a '60s, '70s, '80s, or '90s baby, Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" means something to you. The Electro-Soul groove is a hit in its own right, before becoming the basis of The Notorious B.I.G.'s breakthrough hit almost of the same name. Red Bull Music Academy sat with James Mtume, the... Read more
May 13, 2014 Fresh, Throwback
Da Beatminerz In The House! DJ Evil Dee’s Tribute Mix For Frankie Knuckles (Audio)

Da Beatminerz In The House! DJ Evil Dee’s Tribute Mix For Frankie Knuckles (Audio)

DJ Evil Dee stays on the mix (c'mon, and kick it!). One of the living legends of Bushwick, Brooklyn and Hip-Hop production has been making mixtapes for over 25 years. Although Evil Dee (and brother Mr. Walt) are best known for grimy, bass-driven Hip-Hop beats (especially with his group, Black... Read more
April 6, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Throwback
The Masterful Place & Time Of Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage (Food For Thought)

The Masterful Place & Time Of Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage (Food For Thought)

Place and time can be everything in art. If a creator properly conveys place and time, the viewer of the artwork can learn so much more about the world it speaks from. When watching Goodfellas, you can undoubtedly know the stakes of every action before it’s explained to you. You... Read more
October 19, 2013 Food for Thought, Fresh