smif n wessun ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

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

Boot Camp Clik Reunites For The First Time In 16 Years

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let Ambrosia For Heads sift through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, it’s better than it’s ever been. Not only can we go back... Read more

July 14, 2023 Audio

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2019 (Battle 1): Skyzoo & Pete Rock vs. Smif-N-Wessun

Over the last couple of years, Ambrosia For Heads has asked our readers to help us determine the Best Rap Album for 2017 and 2018, respectively. In looking at the top music of 2019, we believe that instead of letting the Grammy Awards—a committee who does not know anything about... Read more

January 9, 2020 Best Albums Of 2019

Ambrosia For Heads’ Top 15 Hip-Hop Albums Of 2019 List

It is that season when “best of” lists abound and, in a year that featured some remarkable music from artists across the landscape, 2019 kept Hip-Hop fans on the edge of our seats. There were reunions, surprise collaborations, and show-stopping debut albums. The year also featured innovative label compilations, unexpected... Read more

December 18, 2019 Best Albums Of 2019

Sean Price & Lil Fame Take “Center Stage” On A New Release From P! (Audio)

It has been more than four years since the incomparable Sean Price, but thankfully, his name continues to ring bells through new music reaching the fans. Right in time for the holidays, Ruckdown/Duck Down Music will release Price Of Fame, a collaborative album from P and fellow Brownsville MC/producer Lil... Read more

December 8, 2019 Audio

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 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

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

Sean Price’s Brooklyn Mural Is In Danger & Hip-Hop Ain’t Havin’ That

Next month will make it four years since Hip-Hop artist Sean Price passed away. The member of Heltah Skeltah, Boot Camp Clik, and Random Axe was in top creative form. Although accolades came to Price during the 1990s alongside Rockness Monsta, the Brownsville, Brooklyn native had catapulted himself to elite... Read more

July 12, 2019 Lifestyle, News

Smif-n-Wessun Take Brooklyn To South Beach In A Perfect Video For Summer

Back in February, Ambrosia For Heads premiered Smif-n-Wessun's "Ocean Drive" as a part of the Boot Camp Clik duo's latest album, The All. As Heads would later learn, the Duck Down Music release was one of SnW's best works to date. Now the Brooklyn, New Yorkers are treating fans to the... Read more

May 30, 2019 Video

Smif-N-Wessun Detail The Making Of The Album Where They Truly Gave Their All (Video)

In the mid-1990s, Smif-N-Wessun burst onto the scene brandishing two barrels locked-and-loaded with raw Rap talent. Following a breakthrough appearance on Black Moon's seminal Enta Da Stage, the skills of Tek and Steele shimmered on their 1995 debut, Dah Shinin'. Da Beatminerz-produced album balanced vigor, street-smarts, and just the right... Read more

March 5, 2019 Exclusive, Interview

Smif-n-Wessun & Rapsody Bring The Heat On A Song That Feels Like Summer (Premiere)

The gap between Smif-n-Wessun’s last album and their upcoming LP, The All has been their most extended hiatus since they dropped The Rude Awakening in 1998 (as Cocoa Brovaz) and did not follow-up with Smif-n-Wessun: Reloaded until 2005. And while Heads never like to wait for new material from one... Read more

February 11, 2019 Audio, Exclusive

Smif-n-Wessun’s 1st Album In 8 Years Is Coming. Playtime Is Over For Weak MCs

Following two 9th Wonder-produced records in 2018, Smif-n-Wessun is releasing their first album in nearly eight years. The All will arrive in just over one month, on February 22, 2019. The Duck Down Music release is produced entirely by 9th Wonder and The Soul Council. Last month, General Steele and... Read more

January 19, 2019 Video

Smif-n-Wessun Show Bucktown Is Standing Strong In 2018 (Video)

Tek and General Steele make quintessential New York City Hip-Hop. The Smif-n-Wessun pair has been doing it for 25 years, since they made powerful impact on Black Moon's debut. Together, Tek and Steele are the genuine article, and they helped define an era that many MCs and groups wish to... Read more

December 11, 2018 Exclusive, Video

Masta Ace Is A Hip-Hop King. He Raps Royally On A Marco Polo Track (Video Premiere)

With 30-plus years of being one of Rap's most consistent (and profoundly influential) lyricists in the game, Masta Ace teamed up with longtime collaborating producer Marco Polo to pay homage to the borough of Brooklyn. They did this by collectively constructing a full-length body of work that is conceptual, cohesive,... Read more

November 12, 2018 Exclusive, Video

Smif-N-Wessun Show Boom Bap Sounds Amazing With Live Instruments (Video)

The group Smif-n-Wessun is preparing the release of their forthcoming album, The A.L.L., and they promise it will be soon. The Duck Down Music LP is produced by 9th Wonder and his North Carolina-based Soul Council collective (Khrysis, Eric G., Kash, Amp, E. Jones, Nottz, and others). Last Friday (September... Read more

September 17, 2018 Video

Smif-N-Wessun Put The Hammer Down On A 9th Wonder Production (Audio)

Smif-N-Wessun has put out some pretty high-quality collaborative projects over the past decade. In 2013, they dropped Born And Raised, an EP completely produced by Beatnick & K-Salaam, that embraced the Boot Camp Clik duo's Caribbean roots and relayed a heavy Reggae and Dancehall influence. In 2011, they teamed up... Read more

September 14, 2018 Audio

Smif-N-Wessun Join Termanology On A Song That’s Rugged & Raw (Video)

It has been a busy season for Smif-n-Wessun. Last week, Tek joined Pharoahe Monch on Wu-Tang Clan and Sean Price's remix to "Pearl Harbor." Meanwhile, General Steele joined Buckshot for a Sean P tribute video, "Apartheid." Both solo appearances came after 9th Wonder confirmed producing Smif-n-Wessun's next album with his... Read more

August 12, 2018 Video

Pharoahe Monch Bodies An Official Wu-Tang Clan Remix With Sean Price & Tek (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back... Read more

August 10, 2018 Audio

3 Years After Sean Price’s Passing The Boot Camp Clik Is Still Saluting Him (Video)

Three years ago today (August 8, 2015), the world lost a true original with the passing of Sean Price. The Brownsville, Brooklyn MC was a deft lyricist as a vocation, and also renowned for his role as a father, a husband, and a mentor and ally to so many peers.... Read more

August 8, 2018 Video

Wu-Tang Clan Are Going On Tour To Celebrate 25 Years Of 36 Chambers (Video)

Later this year, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan will celebrate the 25th-anniversary of their classic debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). In November of 1993, nine MCs came together for the Loud/RCA Records release that would lay a foundation for the "killa bees" to swarm the industry with an unconventional... Read more

July 29, 2018 Fresh, News, Video

9th Wonder Brings Smif-n-Wessun & Rick Ross Together For A Song That’s Super Fly (Audio)

9th Wonder is a master mixer—not just behind the turntables or in the swivel chair in front of the tracking boards, the North Carolina native is gifted at fusing worlds together. At the height of "mixtape Lil Wayne," he brought Weezy F. Baby to Little Brother for a meaningful collaboration... Read more

June 15, 2018 Audio

Boot Camp Clik & Wu-Tang Clan Show No One Has Your Back Like Family (Video)

Sean Price represents one of Hip-Hop's most resilient stories. He burst onto the scene as one-half of Heltah Skeltah, making powerful impact on the charts as a key extension of the Boot Camp Clik. However, a series of events made the MC formerly known as Ruck nearly have to hang... Read more

September 20, 2017 Exclusive, Now You See Me, Video

Boot Camp Clik & Wu-Tang Clan Join Forces On A Song That Makes You Duck Down (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back... Read more

August 8, 2017 Audio, Playlists

Here Are The Best Hip-Hop Performances & Videos Of 2016

2016 has been a unique year. With it, Hip-Hop had a lot to say, visually. Poets new and old, independent and well-heeled, used their art to promote awareness, suggest change, and when appropriate, provide distraction. At a time when the music video largely lives online, artists made statements—about themselves, their... Read more

December 13, 2016 Food for Thought

The Symphony 2016 Was Just 1 Of The Truly Amazing Performances & Videos Of The Year

2016 has been a unique year. With it, Hip-Hop had a lot to say, visually. Poets new and old, independent and well-heeled, used their art to promote awareness, suggest change, and when appropriate, provide distraction. At a time when the music video largely lives online, artists made statements—about themselves, their... Read more

December 12, 2016 Video

Sean Price & Chris Rivers Spit Venom On A Track With Bruse Wane (Video)

Sometimes the best way to make a name for oneself is to make songs with established, respected MCs in a lane you aspire to merge into. Sean Price made his debut on Smif-n-Wessun's 1995 debut, Dah Shinin', and began a shuffle into the game through key spots alongside fellow Boot... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

Buckshot Credits Sean Price For Saving Duck Down & Taking Over Boot Camp Clik (Video)

Whether solo, or as part of Heltah Skeltah or Random Axe, Sean Price would release all of his albums with Duck Down Music. The label founded by Black Moon's Buckshot and manager Dru Ha would launch with the release of 1996's Nocturnal album by Sean Price (as Ruck) and Rockness... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

On The Anniversary Of His Death, Sean Price Is Remembered In A Collaboration With Ras Kass & Steele (Video)

One year ago today (August 8), Sean Price passed away. Two of his collaborators have not forgotten the Brooklyn, New Yorker's incredible impact on Hip-Hop, especially in the modern era. From Ras Kass' upcoming Intellectual Property: S.O.I.2 album (September 9), the West Coast veteran releases the video to single "Paypal... Read more

August 8, 2016 Video

Greg Nice Reveals Details About The East/West Peace Album Tupac Was Recording When He Died (Video)

In the month of May, the unreleased music of Tupac Shakur has been the topic of discussion. The reported 152 songs belonging to the estate of the slain Hip-Hop superstar are said to now be in the hands of the music executive who signed him to Interscope Records in the... Read more

May 19, 2016 Throwback, Video

Mobb Deep Announce Hell On Earth 20th Anniversary Tour Dates

One day after Bone Thugs-N-Harmony announced a "Crossroads" 20th anniversary tour, another 1996 giant hits the road in style. Beginning next week, Queens, New York duo Mobb Deep will begin more than two months of touring in recognition of Hell On Earth. Prodigy and Havoc's third album was released on... Read more

February 5, 2016 Fresh

Duck Down Artists Old & New Celebrate By Performing The Hits, For 3 Hours (Video)

How many labels in Hip-Hop can get all of their artists over the last 20 years back together on stage? Duck Down Music (a/k/a Duck Down Records) celebrated its 20th anniversary this month. On B.B. Kings' Manhattan stage, founders Dru Ha and Buckshot Shorty celebrated this massive milestone accomplishment with a... Read more

December 11, 2015 Video

DJ Premier Made Others’ Albums Great. Now Nas, Snoop & Dre Are There For Preemo. (Video)

In January of this year, it was revealed that Gang Starr's DJ Premier would step to the front with his solo debut, Last Session @ 320. The forthcoming LP's title serves as an homage to the West 37th Street address of Midtown Manhattan's HeadQCourterz Studios—Premier's resident studio since the early... Read more

October 10, 2015 News, 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

Buckshot & Smif N Wessun Have a Boot Camp Clik Reunion on a Statik Selektah Banger (Video)

Last week, Statik Selektah released his stellar Lucky 7 album on Duck Down Music. That compilation, which Statik says is his last solo project, features a smorgasbord of MCs, including Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Royce Da 5'9", Your Old Droog, Rapsody, Big K.R.I.T., Styles P, Bun B and more. Ever... Read more

July 16, 2015 Video

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

Da Beatminerz Share Their Production Secrets with an Up and Coming Producer (Video Premiere)

For more than 20 years, Da Beatminerz helped define a predominant, defiantly Brooklyn, New York sound. With low end bass, heavily filtered samples, and rich sonic textures, the Bushwick-based crew has been sought out by major labels and indie labels alike, making 12" deep cuts and Rap classics played everyday... Read more

March 10, 2015 Video

Sadat X, General Steele & Channel Live’s Hakim Green Light Up A Roundtable Freestyle (Video)

With his Never Left album in stores (and available for snippet-stream), Sadat X is on an award tour. The Brand Nubian co-founder was a guest on Tony Touch's Toca Tuesday show. However, Derek was far from alone. Smif-n-Wessun's General Steele and Channel Live's Hakim Green were in on a roundtable... Read more

February 10, 2015 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

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

Jeep Music Returns, With Das EFX’s Krazy Drayz & Smif-N-Wessun (Video)

In 1995, two of New York City's strongest Hip-Hop outfits were Das EFX and Smif-N-Wessun. The culture and skill still runs deep with Hit Squad and Boot Camp Clik. The cliques come together for Krazy Drayz' "Rude Boy," which features Tek and General Steele. With hard, dead-pan rhymes, a scratch... Read more

August 28, 2014 Fresh, Video

Smif-n-Wessun Attack Street Violence & Police Brutality In Shots In The Dark (Video)

Tek and General Steele have always been Voice Of The People artists in Hip-Hop. With street violence an undoing epidemic, the intelligent-thug MCs from the Boot Camp Clik tackle the police brutality going on worldwide, as well as the unnecessary violence in "Shots In The Dark," an evocative black and... Read more

March 4, 2014 Fresh, Video

Smif N Wessun Return To Their Reggae Roots With Jahdan On Shots In The Dark (Audio)

From the days of Nervous and Weeded Records, Smif N Wessun helped usher in a mid-'90s fusion of Hip-Hop and Reggae/Dancehall that also included KRS-One, Prince Ital Joe, Mad Lion, Afu-Ra, Capleton, and The Fugees. Tek and General Steele keep it Brooklyn, but team with Jahdan for "Shots In The... Read more

November 22, 2013 Audio, Fresh

Smif N Wessun – Solid Ground ft Junior Reid

There are times when artists swerve from their usual style and a train wreck ensues, however sometimes, it just works. The latest from Smif N Wessun is a prime example of the latter. Digressing from the sound of their previous releases, the Brooklyn MCs are releasing a new 6 song... Read more

October 10, 2013 Throwback