Customer Reviews

Dah Shinin

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...to test the warrior -I, me na know why, a new breed of conqueror is on the rise, step to my boot camp and catch black eyes from the heltah skeltah, the gun the clappas..." The line from Session at Da Doghille, which features Heltah Skeltah and the gunclappas, sums it up well. These cats can go from storytellin (Hellucination) to straight up anthems like Lets git it On over the best beats the Beatminerz have ever put together. This album is even better than Black Moon's first classic, Enta Da Stage. It has a slower tempo, more weeded out, and I think Steele is the best rapper in the whole BCC. It's not quite as direct punch you in the face type of thing. Sound Bwoy Buriel is a unique classic, slow and meditative and strong and hard, but I also like the version which is on the video with the chatter kid -"Tell them fi come if a trouble them want.." That's not here, nor is the version of Wreckognize with the "Just the Two of Us" sample. The album version of this song is better, though. Furthermore, the album does not get old. It does not sound outdated, it is truly classic. Its definitely a winter album, a cold album, a night album. "Bring ya lighters/ prepare for another alnighter." This album also happened to make a true weedhead out of many a youngster from boston to new york during the winter of 1995. It also came out when dancehall reggae was arguably at its best point in the 90's, when superstars like Buju, Beenie, Spragga, and Bounty were building popularity among people outside of just the WestIndian communities, and this album fueled that growth well, too. It is actually quite rare that reggae and hip hop can combine into something this good, though it seems like such a natural pairing. That New York Jamaican influence in all the BCC, but especially this album, adds flavor to this unique laid back sound. The whole album is great, start to finish, and so I'm saying even in the 2G, its well worth buying.

I bought this album based on amazon reviews, I had not even heard the track samples, I had purchased the recent reloaded album and I enjoyed it enough to start perusing through smif n wessuns back catalogue and Im glad I did.

Smif n Wessun are the duo consisting of Tek and Steele and are part of the well known underground coalition Boot Camp Click.
This album is raw from start to finish, when I put it on I was brought back to the classic mid ninties era and reminded once again why this was hip hop at It's peak.
The beats (produced by the Beatminerz) are dark grimy with the turntable scratch being used often providing that much loved new york sound, Tek and Steele both have a firm grasp on the mic and demonstrate why new york rappers are often imitated.

If you love mid ninties new york rap I highly recommed you check this out. It is a shame that this type of hip hop is hardly coming out of new york now, the sound of new york mainly being polluted by the likes of Ja Rule and company today just makes you want to did deeper into your own collections rather than buy new material, still I suppose thats why we have the underground.

What a year 1994 was. The release of CLASSIC material that year was relevant, and this album by Smif N Wessun is relevant too, for all the right reasons. Just like Black Moon before them, this album represents not only Smif N Wessun, but the entire Boot Camp Clik in their primes. Tek and Steele come off smoothly on every track, and the production by The Beatminerz in something amazing. Here's the review:

Album Highlights: Every song here KNOCKS!! Absolutely NO filler on this one.

Production: Thumbs up, some of The Beatminerz' best work.

Lyrics and Subject Matter: Thumbs up.

Originality: Thumbs up.

The Last Word: This is one AWESOME album, from start to finish. It didn't set me on fire when I first heard it, but after a couple of listens, it grew on me just like Black Moon's first album did. This album, out of many, represents the resurgence of the East Coast sound in hip hop, after hip hop was dominated by the West Coast for a period. Overall, I strongly recommend this album to anyone who wants to purchase this.

In the mid-90s, crews ruled underground hip hop. Posses such as D.I.T.C., Hieroglyphics, Def Squad, Wu-Tang, Dungeon Family, Native Tongues, and the Boot Camp Clik each achieved huge alternative fanbases despite little mainstream airplay. The Boot Camp Clik, a Brooklyn collective including Black Moon, Smif-N-Wessun, Heltah Skeltah, Originoo Gun Clappaz, Representativz, and the Beatminerz established a following beginning with Black Moon's Enta da Stage in 1993. The second out the gate was the duo Tek and Steele, known here as Smif-N-Wessun, with their 1995 offering "Dah Shinin'," which further develops the unique BCC sound.

Like the rest of BCC, Tek and Steele are rugged underground rappers with a distinctly Brooklyn flair. Subtle Jamaican inflections can be detected in their deliveries, and they display chemistry. Their lyrical content isn't exactly revolutionary, and nearly all of their verses speak of gunplay and threats. Their ready-for-war mindstate isn't anything new, but although they aren't great lyricists, their verses tend to be well-written, and they are good performers. The album thrives on its production, handled entirely by BCC's in-house beatsmiths the Beatminerz. In sharp contrast to the rough lyrics, the beats are surprisingly smooth and subdued, using loopy basslines and dusty, distant jazz samples. The product is a blunted experience that takes the listener into the dangerous land of Bucktown, where Tims and hoodies are the standard and neighborhood hangouts have names like the Doghouse. Guest appearances are limited to BCC members, which along with the excellent production gives the album a focused consistency.

"Timz N Hood Chek" opens the album with an introduction to Bucktown, and "Wrektime" introduces Tek & Steele, the fun-loving Brooklyn criminals. Heltah Skeltah guest on the nice "Wontime," followed by the immediately appealing "Wrekonize." A ragga influence can be felt on "Sound Bwoy Bureill," which has a great beat courtesy of DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt, with a guest from O.G.C. The good "K.I.M." precedes the first highlight, "Bucktown," a BCC anthem with the album's finest beat. "Stand Strong" and "Shinin...Next S..." are both strong tracks with great style, and the posse cut "Cession at the Doghillee" provides more fun moments. Lyrically the highlight is "Hellucination," a memorable storyteller, and "Home Sweet Home" and "Wipe Ya Mouth" lend more somber hardcore to the tracklist. The album closes with the upbeat "Let's Git It On" and the deep, thoughtful "P.N.C."

For the casual hip hop fan, I wouldn't consider "Dah Shinin'" essential, but for the tuned underground head, "Dah Shinin'" is a delightful, blunted ride the likes of which can't be found in today's hip hop. Tek & Steele have real style, and hip hop from '95 is the best. I invite the listener to give this album multiple spins, because it took a few listens for me to really get into it. "Dah Shinin'" is for fans of the rugged mid-90s East Coast sound the likes of Onyx, Artifacts, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Nine, and D.I.T.C. For those who enjoy this album, I also recommend Heltah Skeltah's Nocturnal. Facing a lawsuit from gunmakers Smith & Wesson, Tek & Steele changed their stagename to Cocoa Brovaz for their follow-up, The Rude Awakening, and continue to be an underground presence as a duo, with the Boot Camp Clik, and as solo artists.

I got kicked out of class for bumping this back in the day. Its true it only got 3 mics in the Source. Thats when I knew the Source was bogus. 12 years later Tek n Steele still keep their Timz n Hood Check. Don't get it twisted, this album is a classic in every definition of the word. If you slept on it then, don't sleep now. Make sure you cop Dah Shinin - you'll be glad you did.

Dope Tracks:

Start at 1 and let it play!

If you got to review other peoples reviews about this cd, you should go ahead and buy Ludacris or Sham Pain or some other wack artist like that because Smif N Wesson is a group you dont gotta think about buying their cd. They way they rap to the awsome way they used their drum beats on this cd is amazing. They can make such a simple beat and turn it around with their lyrics and make an extrodinary song. Similar to RZA and how he works is almost like they way Smif N Wesson are. Great cd no complaints. If you're into real hip hop I suggest you ass this cd to your collection.

The bootcamp was on point with "Dah Shinin". This is one of the few cd's that I can play from number 1 til done. Also known as Cocoa Brovas after they were forced to change names, but this is THE cd of theirs to own. It doesn't get much better than this, from the tight lyrics to the gloomy dark beats from the beatminerz. If you like ughh and haven't heard this yet, buy it NOW before you can't find it anymore.

This is some very good hardcore rap from the NYC from the 1990s these guys are some members of the Original Gun Clappaz.Cocoa Brovasz-Steele & Tek are pretty good with the micraphone and the Beatminers do good on the boards mining some hot beats all in all this is an excellent release from Smif-N-Wessun

Also recommended-Black Moon-Heltah Skeltah-OGC-ONYX
Lyrics 9/10 Production 9/10 X Factor 9/10 Classic 9/10 Me 8/10
Overall=44/50 This album gets an 88% that means 4.5 Mics

If you only buy one more hip hop album in your lifetime... do yourself a favor and make it Dah Shinin.

Smif N Wessun aka The Cocoa B'z aka Steele N Tek come at you with one of the hottest albums to ever bless the ears of the music world. Da Beatminerz handle production on this joint and if you aren't familiar with them... let this be your introduction to the sounds they posess. Smif N Wessun also have been known to transform with Heltah Skeltah, Buckshot of Black Moon, and the Originoo Gunn Clappaz (OGC).. into the Boot Camp Clik (BCC), peep more on them at duckdown.com

You won't need to skip a single track on this whole album, guaranteed!

Peep this verse Tek drops on the track "Next Sh1t"...

Blawckah! That's my alarm clock-a-shot
Empty out the clip, of a hooded kids glock
Out on a mission, for the green, with his team
Twisting up buds, puffing on blunts of mean
Always red eyed with an evil scheming mind
Pulling off things with his partners in crime
Not a care in the world, he's seen plenty stiff bodies
Running up in spots with the calico and shotties
Lounging on his strip with his Timbs and his meth
His right hands man, on his side, to the left
Never leave the drink without packing the burner
Got the streets smarts, either kill or be murdered...

----------need I say more.

One of the best hip hop albums of the 90's . Smiff N Wesun's Dah shinin (named after the Stanley Kubrick classic The Shining) still shines five years after it's inital release. Well worh the pick up for fans of the BCC. This is one of their best. Tek and Steele are perfect rhyme partners for one another. They styles compliment one another and although neither of them are GREAT lyricists they make up for it in flow and delivery. Peep lets get it on and Bucktown to see how the throw rhymes back and forth like a picther and catcher. But what makes Dah Shinin the classic that it is is the dark production by the Beatminerz. While todays producers rip off pop hits from yesterday, the Beatminerz use obscure jazz. funk and rock records to cultivate their sound. A must fo any fan of real hip hop. Standout cuts: Wrektime, Wontime, Sound Bwoy Bureill, Bucktown, Stand Strong, hellucination and stand strong among others.