Latest Release
- SEP 2, 2023
- 1 Song
- Dah Shinin' · 1994
- Dah Shinin' · 1994
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
- Dah Shinin' · 1994
- Dah Shinin' · 1994
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
- Dah Shinin' · 1995
Essential Albums
- Part of the extensive Boot Camp Clik, Brooklyn duo Smif-N-Wessun first appeared on Black Moon's Enta Da Stage, before dropping their own album Dah Shinin' in early 1995. Like Black Moon, Tek and Steele rhyme almost exclusively about gunplay and weed smoking, but do it with a style and charisma that sets them apart from the pack. Though unapologetically hardcore, they also inject subtle humor and a reggae influence into their songs, and benefit from some of Da Beatminerz' most impressive production; head-cracking drums and jazzed-out loops galore (the cover art is a visual reference to Roy Ayers' He's Coming LP). A New York classic through and through, it features timeless gems like "Bucktown," "Sound Bwoy Bureill," and "Wontime." After the album's release, a certain firearms company sued and forced them to change their name, (they were temporarily known as Cocoa Brovaz), but they eventually got it back and continue to put out new records and tour the world with the rest of the Duck Down collective.
Albums
- 2019
- 2011
- 2007
- 2007
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- Trading bars and turning out streets-approved anthems.
- Dj Flipcyide
- Cheff Chop
- Boot Camp Clik, Ruste Juxx, Rockness Monsta, Smif-N-Wessun, O.G.C., Buckshot & The Arcitype
- Joey Majors & Big Yount
More To Hear
- The Brooklyn duo chop it up on The All.
About Smif-N-Wessun
In an era of mafioso personas and cinematic styles, the duo Smif-N-Wessun perfected a less glamorous strain of New York gangsta rap with a grittier, pared-down sound. Members Tek and Steele, both born in Brooklyn in 1972, first appeared together as guests on Black Moon’s 1993 boom-bap opus Enta Da Stage; their own acclaimed debut, 1995’s Dah Shinin’, builds on that album’s playbook of street threats and muted jazz loops (“Bucktown”), with the addition of winkingly violent rasta affectations (“Sound Bwoy Bureill”). Pressure from the group’s gun manufacturer namesake forced them to release their 1998 follow-up, The Rude Awakening, under the name Cocoa Brovaz. They collaborated for several years with New York’s Rawkus label but wouldn’t release another album until 2005, kicking off a diverse run of records that includes full-length collaborations with Pete Rock (Monumental) and 9th Wonder (The All), as well as 2013 reggae EP Born and Raised, which harkens back to their roots.
- ORIGIN
- Brooklyn, NY, United States
- FORMED
- 1993
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap