Black Moon - Total Eclipse (October 7, 2003)

In my ongoing attempt to treat other hip hop supergroups in the same way that I treat the Wu-Tang Clan and their various offshoots on HHID, I present to you two a project that I had completely forgotten even existed in the first place: Black Moon's third album, Total Eclipse.  After having made my "finish what I start" argument during the last Busta Rhymes write-up, I dug through my crates and boxes to locate the projects of the many many many artists whose discographies I've started discussing and then seemingly gave up on, and I came across Total Eclipse, an album I had listened to exactly one time, so I figured now was as good a time as any to get the Boot Camp Clik and their many affiliates back onto the front page.

Total Eclipse was released in 2003, four years after Duck Down Records co-CEO Buckshot, 5 Ft., and DJ Evil Dee had both released their sophomore effort War Zone and settled with their former label home, Nervous Records, over the right to actually use their band name.  I've mentioned this before, but for those of you in the cheap seats, I'll repeat: any contract that you sign with a record label where you could potentially lose the right to use your own name is a fucking terrible contract.  Thankfully, Black Moon has long since moved past their legal issues, and Buckshot has inadvertently become the leader (alongside fellow Duck Down co-founder Dru Ha) of what is one of the best underground hip hop label in the game right now, with its roster including the likes of everyone in the Boot Camp Clik, KRS-One, Kidz In The Hall, B-Real, Pharoahe Monch, Random Axe, and, um, Black Rob.

As mentioned above, Total Eclipse is Black Moon's third album, and it is their first to not feature wall-to-wall production from Da Beatminerz, although to be fair, they do handle about three-fourths of the project.  Rappers Buckshot and 5 Ft. used Total Eclipse as a vehicle to expand their reach within our chosen genre, and as a result, the album is a far cry from the grimy, basement beats that their other two releases, Enta Da Stage and War Zone, subjected listeners to, as the two artists (well, okay, really just Buckshot, as 5 Ft. only appears on four tracks, since he's the Phife Dawg to Buck's Q-Tip) choose instead to rhyme over more accessible instrumentals, which I suppose sounded like a good idea at the time.

Wikipedia claims that Total Eclipse was released to critical acclaim, but I find that difficult to believe, since that would imply that people were actually aware that it came out in 2003.  Two videos were allegedly shot, but I don't recall ever seeing either one or hearing any singles on the radio: in fact, I didn't even pick up Total Eclipse until a few years after it dropped, when I randomly came across it in a store, double checked to make sure it was a real Black Moon album and not an unauthorized compilation (not unlike what Nervous did with that Diggin' In Dah Vaults project), and went back to pick it up; I had never heard of it before that day.  Nice job with the marketing there, kids.  The part of the Wikipedia story I will believe is that Total Eclipse failed to reach its intended audience, as the only people who cared (and still care) about Black Moon were underground heads with visions of Enta Da Stage dancing in their heads alongside the scantily-clad sugarplums.

1.  STAY REAL

This introductory song-as-message is brought to you by Da Beatminerz and the good folks at Duck Down Records.  In case nobody gets that reference, I'll be a bit more direct: the beat on "Stay Real" samples the same source material that Just Blaze mined for Jay-Z's "Public Service Announcement", which this track actually predates, and aside from a few creative flourishes, the instrumentals sound basically the same.  Buckshot provides the bookend verses while 5 Ft. workss the torso, both men making their case for hip hop longevity (it helps that they choose to "Stay Real, " suppose), and even though the song is a bit too long (was there really a need for the first track on Total Eclipse to run longer than five minutes?), it does serve as an effective reintroduction to Black Moon for those of you who may have tuned out after War Zone.  Not bad.

2.  LOOKING DOWN THE BARREL (FEAT. SEAN PRICE)

Were you expecting an homage to the Beastie Boys song "Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun" featuring a winning cameo from Sean Price?  You weren't?  Good, because this song is so not that.  In fact, it kind of blows: the MoSS/Dan the Man beat is too simple to even pretend that it could be remotely threatening, and the choice of vocal sample (played during the chorus) can best be described as "hyper-fucking-annoying".  Both Buckshot and the artist formerly known as Ruck deliver weak-ass verses as well, and it's far too early into Total Eclipse for everyone to sound exhausted.  This shit sucked.

3.  THE FEVER

5 Ft. gets in a quick one-verse wonder before disappearing back underneath the rock he lives under.  Nothing about "The Fever" or Tone Capone's instrumental sounds feverish in the least bit, and 5 Ft. actually sounds annoyed and angry at the fact that he was included on a glorified interlude instead of on an actual song featuring Sean Price.  Although it doesn't last long enough to warrant you exerting the energy, you two should probably skip "The Fever" entirely.

4.  CONFUSION

Black Moon's cover of the New Order standard "Confusion" veers in a different direction than expected, foregoing Bernard Sumner's club-friendly vocals in favor of some fresh, original record industry commentary from Buckshot and a DJ Static-handled instrumental (one that uses the same Lee Oskar "Our Road" sample, in much the same way, as DJ Premier did on Jeru The Damaja's "Ain't The Devil Happy") that doesn't truly fit the proceedings, but it also doesn't not fit, if that makes any sense.  The hook is terrible, which is to be expected, but it was interesting to hear a co-CEO of an underground label complain about the very industry that allows him the opportunity to publicly complain about the very industry that allows him the opportunity to publicly complain about..okay, okay, we get it.

5.  THAT'Z THE WAY SHIT IZ (FEAT. COCOA BROVAZ)

Awfully bland for a track that claims to offer up guest spots for both Tek and Steele from the Cocoa Brovaz (apparently they were still fighting over the Smif-N-Wessun name back in late 2003) but then abandons them both in hook country.  Da Beatminerz lend an instrumental that would have been better utilized by any other shitty artist in our chosen genre and it would be ignored, but because Black Moon decided to use it, I'm forced to pay attention to how much it doesn't work for Buckshot, whose verses sound as forced as an absentee father attending his daughter's first school play.  The only think I liked about this track is how the title sounds like a direct response to the question posed in the next track's title.

6.  WHY WE ACT THIS WAY (FEAT. STARANG WONDAH)

Starang Wondah (from the Originoo Gunn Clappaz, which may or may not still be a group today, it's hard to tell) is one of my favorite underrated rappers, but you would be hard-pressed to determine exactly why after hearing his pedestrian two verses over this inessential Nottz beat (one that Buckshot believes to be "crazy", clearly unable to discern the difference between "crazy" and "entertaining").  Buck quickly lets loose his two verses and then leaves his guest with the heavy lifting, but the truth is that neither man sounds quite capable over the instrumental.  I seem to remember this being the major problem I had with Total Eclipse and, as such, the reason why I forgot it even existed.  Sigh.

7.  MC EVERYBODY (SKIT)

...

8.  THAT'Z HOW IT IZ

I actually found this song, which successfully both ties into the preceding skit and reiterates the response given in the title of "That'z The Way Shit Iz", to be pretty fucking dope, as the unorthodox and simple Beatminerz concoction reminds me of War Zone's "Freestyle", except without Buckshot trying to end every bar with the word "motherfucker".  Buck and 5 Ft. jump right into the mix with their advice to all aspiring artists who may not have a realistic idea of what actually happens within the music industry.  Buckshot's been around for a while, so it's fair to say that he knows what he's talking about, and even 5 Ft. gets in some entertaining and informative lines.  This shit was nice, son!

9.  STONED IZ THE WAY

Unlike this shit, which was so appalling that I can't even be bothered to write more than one sentence about it.

10.  RUCK IS DEAD (SKIT)

Huh?

11.  WHAT WOULD YOU DO? (FEAT. SEAN PRICE)

Sean Price makes up for his horrible cameo on "Looking Down The Barrel" and the confusing skit "Ruck Is Dead" by bringing out an entertaining performance on this playful track, which features Buck and his guest trading off verses that begin with hypothetical questions in an effort to stimulate the audience.  While the lyrics are all on point, however, the Beatminerz instrumental leaves a lot to be desired, as its generic texture clashes with the attempted ruggedness of Buck and Ruck, attorneys at law.  Oh well.

12.  HOW WE DO IT

I couldn't get into this track at all.  Buckshot's three verses weren't necessarily bad, but he doesn't say anything of note, either.  Kleph Dollaz's beat also, once again, doesn't fit the artist, but I'm starting to believe that was the underlying mission statement during the recording sessions for Total Eclipse.  The lame-ass hook was just the icing on a horrible-tasting cake made up of compost and baby doll heads.  Moving on...

13.  WHERE IT GOEZ WRONG (FEAT. TEK)

This track had problems sticking with a theme.  When the Beatminerz beat first drops, the listener is led to believe that this will be the "serious" song on Total Eclipse, but then the artists featured veer off onto wildly different topics, with Buckshot being the worst offender, as his verse, typically detached in its shit-talking, comes across as especially unnecessary.  Tek, also credited as Smokey Lah on the back cover for some reason, fares well enough, but there isn't anything on here that will stick to your ribs.  Damn.

14.  PRESSURE IZ TIGHT

This wasn't all that great, but it is the best song on the back half of Total Eclipse.  Over a mildly entertaining Beatminerz excursion that plays better today than it did nine years ago, Buckshot and 5 Ft. assert their dominance in a surprising manner, and by "surprising", I mean that 5 Ft. actually contributes two verses to Buck's one.  "Pressure Iz Tight" is decent as a late surge from Black Moon, but when looked at outside of the album's context, there isn't all that much to see here.

15.  NO WAY (FEAT. STEELE)

zzzzzz...huh?  What?  There was a song playing?  Nah, you're just fucking with me.  Right?

16.  THIS GOES OUT TO YOU (FEAT. STEELE)

Total Eclipse ends its program with a Coptic-handled attempt at positivity and sincerity that features Buckshot running through some autobiographical verses while describing his struggle in the rap industry, which isn't nearly as dramatic as you would think, but he still sounds pretty good along the way.  As the track isn't confrontational in the least bit, though (Steele's chorus indicates that this song is dedicated to those who simply didn't believe in our host, which is hardly the same thing as throwing your success in someone's face), "This Goes Out To You" is the equivalent of Buck giving his haters the middle finger during a light rainstorm or piano keys.  Still, this wasn't a bad way to end things.

The European pressing of Total Eclipse contains the following bonus track.

17.  RUSH

For the non-Stateside audience, Black Moon chooses to end Total Eclipse with an extra track taken from a single that was allegedly unleashed earlier in 2003, but I haven't ever seen a twelve-inch single for the Beatminerz-produced "Rush", so it clearly doesn't exist.  The instrumental lends the project a much more aggressive sound then the rest of the album managed, but that doesn't mean it meshes well with whatever Buckshot was aiming for on here.  Buck gives listeners three decent-to-good verses and an overly-wordy chorus, but I've long since moved on past the point where I have to actually accept that shit.  And with that, we're good.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  I've mentioned it enough times throughout the post that you two could probably finish this write-up for me, but I'll say it again anyway: Total Eclipse falters because the beats Black Moon purchased for themselves (well, mostly Buckshot) don't gel with their actual flow or subject matter or audience or whatever other excuse you can come up with.  While it starts off strong, Total Eclipse quickly loses its footing in a world filled with wack-as-fuck beats, wasted cameos, and useless verses from both Buckshot and 5 Ft.  I appreciate that Black Moon were trying to expand their sound while exploring the idea of longevity in as fickle a musical genre as hip hop, and it's unrealistic to expect Da Beatminers to sound grimy and gritty on all of their production credits, but that's not an excuse for Black Moon to snag that production team's leftovers and try to create an album around them.  Also, the fact that DJ Evil Dee is in both Da Beatminerz and Black Moon would lead one to believe that he would only give his team the best beats his crew could come up with, but clearly I'm wrong about that, too.  Total Eclipse doesn't go so far as to destroy any goodwill that the Boot Camp Clik have built up thus far, but it commits a far worse sin: it just isn't very entertaining.

BUY OR BURN?  Burn this if you must.  Total Eclipse should only be considered by Boot Camp Clik enthusiasts anyway: everyone else still reading this post can throw a rock in a mom-and-pop record store and find a better Duck Down release no matter where it lands.

BEST TRACKS:  "That'z How It Iz"; "Stay Real"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

There's more Black Moon to be seen by clicking here.

Black Moon - War Zone (February 23, 1999)

Full disclosure time: although this was not the first Boot Camp Clik project I ever purchased (that honor would go to Originoo Gunn Clappaz's Da Storm), it was the first Black Moon album for my collection.  Yes, you read that correctly: I bought War Zone, the crew's second album, before I ever picked up Enta Da Stage officially.  I fixed that mistake almost immediately, but I feel it's important that you two know the truth.  

As you are now undoubtedly figuring out in your head why HHID hasn't really focused on the exploits of the entire Boot Camp Clik all that much (I bet you've also come to your own conclusions regarding my Enta Da Stage write-up, too), allow me to throw you another curveball: I didn't actually buy War Zone because of the music included.  I hadn't even heard any of the singles that Black Moon had released for the project: hell, if I had, I probably would have significantly questioned my commitment to throwing money away.

Here are the reasons I decided to buy Black Moon's War Zone.

-  The guest list was intriguing enough to me.  Aside from some of the BCC making their token guest appearances (I was sad that Starang Wondah apparently wasn't invited, but whatever), the contributions from Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, M.O.P., and Heather B. seemed interesting enough.  Based on the little bit I knew about rappers Buckshot and 5 Ft. from their Enta Da Stage work (I was actually familiar with the songs from their debut; I just never got around to buying it until later, for some fucking reason), I thought that these guests might actually be complimentary to their respective styles.

-  I was also excited with the idea of an album featuring wall-to-wall production from Da Beatminerz.  (Again, this doesn't explain why I didn't just buy Enta Da Stage first.  Sue me.)  I'm a fan of dark, dusty production, especially when the artists who choose to utilize those types of beats are skilled enough to stand out amongst the dank.  While I didn't exactly get my wish, I was still pleased with the results back in 1999.  Today, however, will probably be another story.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Sadly, though, the most honest reason I can come up with as to why I blindly bought War Zone has to do with the backstory of the album.  Black Moon were in the midst of their lawsuit with their former label, Nervous Records (who had released both Enta Da Stage and Smif-N-Wessun's Dah Shinin'), one which threatened to take away all of their rights to their early work, even the right to use their own fucking names.  I found this fascinating for all the wrong reasons: just how fucked up can a record contract be if you are signing away the ability to keep your own nickname?  Although they had since formed their own label, Duck Down Records (which, at the time, had a distribution deal through Priority Records), the two founding groups of the Boot Camp Clik were still stuck in park: Smif-N-Wessun was even forced to change their name to the Cocoa Brovaz in order to actually release their sophomore effort, The Rude Awakening, one year prior.  War Zone was even originally marketed as the new album from "Buckshot, 5 Ft., and Evil Dee", just in case they lost the suit prior to their 1999 release date.  (This reminded me of how The Firm's project was quickly changed to an album from "Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Nature", except it was even more pathetic.) 

Luckily, a deal was finally reached just before the album dropped, hence the name Black Moon appearing on the album cover art.  (This decision was made too late for a couple of parts of the album to be reconfigured: I'll expand on that when I get to it.)  

The unfortunate aspect of this backstory is that I have completely glossed over the lyrical contributions of both Buckshot and 5 Ft., who doesn't rap all that much but still managed to score a career record number of slots on War Zone.  This project proved that Buckshot's worldview wasn't as obscured with the griminess of street life as one might have originally thought.  In fact, the CEO of Duck Down Records steps up his writing game tremendously, tacking sociological commentary onto Black Moon's second effort.  For their part, production team Da Beatminerz (of whom Evil Dee is a member) chose not to wallow in the darkness, instead choosing to stretch out their sonic boundaries, mixing up the overall sense of menace with some lighthearted moments, including one track, "Two Turntables and a Mic", which sounds custom-built for the radio airwaves of 1999.

Well, why should the honesty stop here?  Let's get to the fucking review!

1. INTRO

Bleh.

2. THE ONSLAUGHT (FEAT. BUSTA RHYMES)

The music starts off sounding iffy, but once the drums kick in, you're hooked. Buckshot manhandles his three verses with the skill of a seasoned vet, mastering a flow that will appeal to both Black Moon fanatics and new listeners alike. The weakest link on “The Onslaught” is also its most marketable: Busta Rhymes, who only provides the hook and unnecessary ad-libs at the end, appears to have been included solely because of the star power attached to his rap moniker. Erase him from the track, and “The Onslaught” would be much more effective (although, to be fair, we wouldn't have a helpful reminder of what the song is called after every verse, so that's something).

3. WAR ZONE

A bizarre Frankentrack that was altered from its original form, Harvey Weinstein-style, for reasons that remain unknown to me today. Buckshot and 5 Ft. both sound really fucking good, but the groove is interrupted by random cutaways during where the chorus once sat (more on that a bit later). The Beatminerz beat is perfectly minimalist, especially for a Black Moon track, but when the beat switches at the very end to that of Originoo Gunn Clappaz's “No Fear”, you realize just how similar the two instrumentals sound, which takes away from the experience quite a bit. This could have been really good, but instead, the flow on this amalgamation just sounds fucked the fuck up.

4. THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE (WORLDWIND)

In an effort to truly differentiate the sound of War Zone from that of Enta Da Stage, Da Beatminerz break out the Middle Eastern flutes for what is ultimately a fairly interesting beat. To his credit, Buckshot adapts pretty quickly, and his verses prove to be some of the best from any rapper-slash-label runner, but the hook is fucking awful. I shouldn't be that shocked, since rappers as a whole haven't written a good hook since the dawn of time, but on here it just smacked of pure laziness.

5. FREESTYLE

“Freestyle” my ass: the only aspect of this track that sounds remotely spontaneous is Buckshot's reliance on the word “motherfucker” as an easy out. That said, I still really liked this shit. The beat is pretty simple, evoking the actual feel of a freestyle cipher, but it still manages to include a nice jazzy breakdown before the third verse. Buckshot's performance is also fairly entertaining, as his boasts contain the perfect combination of humor and venom. This was pretty goddamn nice.

6. FIVE (INTERLUDE)

…

7. FOR ALL Y'ALL (FEAT. HEATHER B.)

Former The Real World alum Heather B. is a nonfactor, appearing on here mainly because of a previous working relationship with Da Beatminerz. (At least, that's the best explanation I can come up with.) She provides the hook and random ad-libs (kind of like Busta on “The Onslaught”), nearly ruining a crushing 5 Ft. solo effort that is truly fucking impressive for someone who is seen as the quiet guy in Black Moon. I also enjoyed how the beat switches during his second verse. Had it not been for Heather, this track could have been freaking amazing.

8. COME GET SOME (FEAT. LOUIEVILLE SLUGGAH)

I quite liked the beat on here, but Buckshot wasn't the best artist for it: his two verses are full of clichés and out-of-left-field attacks on commercial rap, seemingly included to appeal to the audience in a “Hey! I'm just like you, the listener!” kind of way. O.G.C.'s Louieville Sluggah does a fine job, though, even delivering a surprisingly cold-hearted second verse that helped me look past the corny hook and the fact that Starang Wondah fails to appear on War Zone.

9. WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

I quite liked the dusty beat, but Buckshot and 5 Ft. don't take full advantage: they decide to cram a shitty hook in between their verses, negating the power of the track. 5 Ft. actually sounds better on here than Buckshot, for those of you who care about that sort of thing, but the instrumental deserved better.

10. EVIL DEE IS ON THE MIX

Evil Dee provides something that is missing from rap albums these days: the deejay cut. There isn't much deviation to speak of on here, but it is less than one minute long, so it'll do.

11. SHOWDOWN (FEAT. Q-TIP)

Even though Q-Tip's presence is negligible (he only provides the hook, begging the question: why did Black Moon call in their favors for such a minimal amount of effort?), “Showdown” comes across as a more violent A Tribe Called Quest song, with Buckshot playing the role of the Abstract Poetic over a simple Beatminerz instrumental. His impression isn't half bad, but there was truly no reason for Kamaal to even pick up a paycheck for this shit.

12. ONE-TWO

Buckshot and 5 Ft. take it back to their Enta Da Stage days with the aid of a grimy beat that relies too heavily on scratched-in vocal samples repeating the song's title. At least, it does at first; the samples receive one last hurrah before 5 Ft. kicks a long-ass Cappadonna “Winter Warz”-esque verse that is really fucking good. Buck does alright for himself, too. Nice!

13. FRAME (FEAT. COCOA BROVAZ)

It's kind of sad that the lone song on War Zone reuniting Black Moon with their closest peers, Smif-N-Wessun, turned into this lameness. The beat is weak, and all of the artists sounds as though they should hang it up for good, which I'm pretty sure wasn't the intention.

14. BUCKSHOT (INTERLUDE)

On which Black Moon show their hand, proving that they had to pay their older, (allegedly) crooked record label for the right to use the Black Moon name on the album cover. They hide the group name on here through backmasking. Why even bother to include this skit, then? It wasn't exactly what the kids would call “essential”.

15. TWO TURNTABLES AND A MIC

I don't think Buckshot was the best choice for the role of “guy who tries to save hip hop”, but this wasn't all that bad, even with the overwhelming Taana Gardner “Heartbeat” sample on the, um, beat. Dude performs like a motherfucker, so it's okay that his rhymes aren't all that great. Can't help but feel that the instrumental was a cop-out, though, even with the overall “bringing it back to the old school” theme on here.

16. ANNIHILATION (FEAT. M.O.P. & TEFLON)

Da Beatminerz should maybe hook up with M.O.P. for a collaborative effort: that could make for a pretty potent album. As with any artist paired up with the Mash Out Posse, the two options for Buckshot and 5 Ft. are to step up their aggressive tendencies or get run over by a steamroller, and they both choose the latter, as they are quickly annihilated on their own shit. Not a big shock, I have to say.

17. DURESS

Da Beatminerz use the exact same The Electric Prunes source material (“General Confessional”) as Rampage's “Flipmode Iz Da Squad!” for a Buckshot solo that is as boring as the chorus is irresponsible: repeating the phrase “Why them devils keep fucking with me?” teaches listeners that any problems that occur in their lifetime are the result of someone or something fucking with them, passing the buck (no pun intended) to a generic, supernatural scapegoat instead of learning to accept any responsibility for their own actions. But that's far too deep of a reading for such a crappy song, so...

18. THROW YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR

You can't tell me what to do.

19. OUTRO (FEAT. ROCK)

An outtake from the original cut of “War Zone”, which not only features Rock (from Heltah Skeltah) on the up-until-now missing hook, he also directly mentions the name “Black Moon”, which might explain why it was removed from the final cut. At least Buckshot and company aren't pretending that the original “War Zone” didn't happen, so this was an interesting way to end things, I guess.

A re-release of War Zone, entitled War Zone Revisited, includes two additional tracks, “The Streets” and “Just Us”. I don't have either of those tracks, so if you're familiar with what they sound like, leave your thoughts below for the other reader.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Wow. I didn't enjoy Black Moon's War Zone nearly as much as I did back in the day. This just didn't hold up well at all, from the mostly lazy Da Beatminerz production to the performances from star attraction Buckshot, who doesn't appear to be quite ready to carry an album consisting of nineteen tracks (or twenty-one, depending on which version you come across). The subject matter rarely strays from how Buck believes himself to be better at everything than you are, which isn't that big of a deal when it comes to a Boot Camp Clik release, except that, save for a few tracks, he doesn't sound like he's convinced even himself. An obvious reliance on name-brand guest stars, the biggest of which hardly do anything, also discourages the audience. It should be noted, however, that 5 Ft. actually sounded really fucking good during his sporadic appearances, perhaps because he wasn't worked to death like poor Buckshot. Overall, War Zone is a disappointment.

BUY OR BURN? Burn this if you must. BCC enthusiasts will already have this one in their collections, but as for everyone else, there isn't much on here to recommend.

BEST TRACKS: “One-Two”; “Freestyle”; “The Onslaught”

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

For those of you upset at the lack of Boot Camp Clik posts on HHID, perhaps these related write-ups will ease the pain a bit.

Black Moon - Enta Da Stage (October 19, 1993)

When I started up Hip Hop Isn't Dead, one of the first albums I reviewed was Originoo Gunn Clappaz's Da Storm. (If you don't remember that review, you're not alone; it's the one review that nobody left any comments for.) In that post, I mentioned that the members of O.G.C. were part of a larger collective known as the Boot Camp Clik; here now I present to you the rap group that started the supergroup: Black Moon.

Black Moon is made up of rapper Buckshot, producer DJ Evil Dee (of Da Beatminerz), and 5 Ft., who was the secondary rhyme slinger in the crew, but relinquished the mic to Buckshot the majority of the time. In 1993, they secured a deal with Nervous Records and released their debut, Enta Da Stage, which has sold almost four hundred copies worldwide to date. (I kid; I'm sure it's sold more than that.) Enta Da Stage is chock full of goodness; that is, if you consider hard-hitting drums, grim street tales, and boasts of sexual prowess and the possibility of violent acts a part of your nutritious breakfast. (Which I do.)

However, I fear the main thing Black Moon is known for today, other than being founding members of the Boot Camp Clik (whose other main members include Smif-N-Wessun, Heltah Skeltah, and the aforementioned O.G.C., among others), is for being the group whose record contract was so fucked up, they lost the rights to their own fucking name, and are now only able to use it if they pay a fee to Nervous Records, whom they severed ties with many years ago. One one hand, I have to ask, how fucked up do you have to be to sign away your own name? However, the problem here lies within the record industry itself, who has exploited young artist sfor literally gazillions of years, and will continue to do so in the future.

Enta Da Stage is considered to be a hip hop classic, and I'm about to find out if that title is justified. I haven't heard this album in a while, so this will be interesting.

1. POWAFUL IMPAK!
There's just something about the harsh drums and the Busta Rhymes vocal sample that is woven throughout that takes you back to a time when hip hop music actually sounded good. The "Get on my skateboard and do a motherfucking drive-by" line is the funniest thing I've heard all day.

2. N---Z TALK SHIT
The Blogger spellchecker is going to have a fucking field day with Enta Da Stage.

3. WHO GOT DA PROPS?
If your knowledge of the Boot Camp Clik is comprised of tidbits you picked up while reading other blogs, then you will probably be shocked as to how clean and polished Enta Da Stage sounds. True, the beats are grimy, and the drums are dirty, but it's obvious that this is the way they intended for it to sound. Which is to say, great.

4. ACK LIKE U WANT IT
Buckshot and 5 Ft. essentially rhyme over a simple drumbeat with very little melody to speak of. I'm not impressed.

5. BUCK EM DOWN
Uses the same sample that 2Pac utilized on his "Definition Of A Thug N---a", from the Poetic Justice soundtrack. But none of that matters, because this song still rocks today.

6. BLACK SMIF-N-WESSUN (FEAT TEK & STEELE)
Not a bad way to introduce the duo who would become Smif-N-Wessun, but as a song by itself, it's not great.

7. SON GET WREC
5 Ft.'s solo effort. I'm thankful that Buckshot is the primary rapper in Black Moon, and not 5 Ft., but this song isn't terrible.

8. MAKE MUNNE
From the Nicolas Cage movie of the same name.

9. SLAVE
A dark, sparse track, where Buckshot shines lyrically. Apparently this song was left off of the vinyl release, probably due to spatial reasons, but those who only have Enta Da Stage on vinyl should hunt this down.

10. I GOT CHA OPIN
Even if you've never heard any hip hop from the early nineties, when you hear this song, you will be taken back to 1993. Even if you weren't even born in 1993, the time machine that is "I Got Cha Opin" will open your eyes in ways you only thought possible by a DeLorean.

11. SHIT IZ REAL
Thankfully, shit iz real, which is a real load off of my mind, you know? I had been going through life believing that shit iz fake, and that line of thinking doesn't do much for your psyche. Thanks, Dr. Buckshot, PhD!

12. ENTA DA STAGE
The drums on this song (and on the majority of the CD, if you think about it) fucking bang. Listen to this in the ride with the volume and bass turned to the maximum; you will blow your windows out. Somewhere in that last sentence is a recommendation.

13. HOW MANY MCS...
Good, but not great. Will grow on you, if you give it a shot.

14. U DA MAN (FEAT TEK, STEELE, DRU HA, & HAVOC OF MOBB DEEP)
Don't get excited: this is the Havoc from the Juvenile Hell era, which means he was probably about twelve years old, outside running the streets with Black Moon when he probably should have been doing his homework, or at least, including poor Prodigy in his endeavors. Anyway, this song rocks.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Enta Da Stage is an album that would not sell very well in today's musical climate, since nobody checks for hard-hitting drums or melodies anymore. (This would be due to the South's dominance in the game, but that's not what I want to discuss today.) As such, listening to this album has been a very nostalgic experience, and kind of like when you watch an old but great film from the 1970's or 1960's, you appreciate it on a different level. Enta Da Stage may not play well in the top markets in 2007, but that doesn't mean it's bad. On the contrary, it sounds fucking great, for the most part. There are some missteps, but honestly, when was the last time you heard a perfect album?

BUY OR BURN? I would recommend a purchase, and as an added bonus, you'll probably find it for five dollars or less. Some stores offer a set of promotional steak knives as well, so you'd do well to grab it as soon as humanly possible.

BEST TRACKS: "Powaful Impak!"; "Who Got The Props"; "I Got Cha Opin"; "Buck Em Down"

-Max

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