Smif-N-Wessun

Part of Brooklyn's talented Boot Camp Clik, this powerful tandem got their start on Black Moon's classic debut, Enta Da Stage, in 1993. Rudeboy MCs TEK and General Steele made their presence felt on the cuts "U Da Man" and "Black Smif N' Wessun." In early 1994, the crew scored a massive underground hit with "Bucktown," a reference to their violence-plagued Bedford-Stuyvesant stomping grounds and "home of the original gun clappas." Their debut LP, Dah Shinin', followed soon thereafter, unleashing more heavy artillery from the military-minded BCC. With a canvas of dark, gluttonous beats provided by the gifted Beatminerz production squad, the duo expanded the limits of harsh sounding, neck-snapping hip-hop by adding a melodic element. The crew released their album during the heyday of one of the '90s most influential independent hip-hop labels, Nervous Wreck Records, which many other indies (Rawkus) have patterned themselves around. Their name alone implies violence, but the weaponry they deploy is also of the verbal variety. Tek and Steele both possess signature flows, the former a bit more straight-laced while the latter showcases West Indian influences. Dah Shinin' was a focused album with a sharp compacted sound that still contained depth, albeit strictly from the dark side. Forced to reincarnate themselves after a legal battle with the Smith and Wesson firearm company, the duo resurfaced in 1997 as the Cocoa Brovaz, a reference to their heritage and also to their marijuana fixation. Their second album (and first as the Cocoa Bs), 1998's The Rude Awakening, was a more sprawling and chaotic venture, as well as being a shade more frighteningly dark. Since 1998, the two partners have released a few singles, including "Super Brooklyn," which features a superbly innovative use of a sample from the old Super Mario Bros. Nintendo game. They got signed to leading underground record label Rawkus Records but never released an album on the label. Thay joined back up with the Boot Camp Clik in 2002 for the album The Chosen Few. In September 2005, they returned as Smif-N-Wessun for the album Reloaded.