Enta da Stage - Black Moon (1993)

Black Moon - Enta da Stage (Nervous Records)

production: 9/10
lyrical content: 7.5/10
album consistency: 9/10
influence: 7.5/10
overall: 8.25/10

Enta da Stage is first entry in the long timeline of the Boot Camp Clik, one of the premier hip-hop groups of 90's New York(BCC: Black Moon, Smif-n-Wesson, Heltah Skeltah, O.G.C., Da Beatminerz). Some people say that they are on the same level as D.I.T.C. or Wu-Tang Clan and although the similarities will always warrant comparison, Boot Camp Clik is in a league of their own, neither better nor worse than its obvious contemporaries. These guys epitomize the gritty, street-smart sound of the early 90's East Coast style, and Black Moon's (comprised of Buckshot Shorty, DJ Evil Dee and 5 ft. Accelerator) Enta da Stage is the starting point for an altogether amazing BCC discography. Unfortunately this album's production outshines the lyrics, which is sometimes a plague on the entire BCC repertoire. Legendary production team Da Beatminerz handles this entire album giving you some of the grittiest boom bap of the 90's. This album a classic on par with Show and AZ's Goodfellas or Big L's Lifestylez.

A lot of the appeal exuded from this album comes from the appropiateness of the beats and rhymes, you can easily imagine yourself walking down a darkened Brooklyn street with your crew, Timberland boots echoing between the buildings and the smell of weed smoke lingering in your nostrils. The lyrics are a day in the life of Black Moon, and that is where they get stagnant at some points. As fun as it is to hear about smoking weed, loading clips and getting paper, it gets old after 15 songs. The worst part is the choruses, repetitive, bland and altogether boring, especially after the 30th "buck 'em down, buck 'em down". What saves these lyrics from crippling blandness is Buckshot Shorty's (now known only as Buckshot) unique flow, fluctuating from laid back to urgent with almost perfect ease, making each of his verses a pleasure to listen to almost every time. Not the most technical or complex lyricist, there is a reason Buckshot is still listenable and instantly recognizable even today; his unique flow and presence. Although hard to quantify it is obvious on the first listen that he has no shortage of either. Da Beatminerz have such impeccable production on this album that I've found myself listening to just the beats and being blown away every time. They are no DJ Premier or Pete Rock, but they elaborated on the greats and made a sound that is all their own. Few producers have the consistency that Da Beatminerz have on this album. Usually when a single producer makes an entire album of beats there are a few stand out tracks, and all the rest is filler. Not Da Beatminerz, this entire album has gems, every song has a different mood, conjuring up a different feeling for each track. From laid back and haunting to bass-ey with hard hitting drums, Beatminerz can do it all and make it sound fresh on every listen.

This album is a great example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. There are a few standout gems on this album that alone are great songs, but I recommend listening to the album from start to finish. "Buck 'Em Down", "Slave", "Shit Iz Real", "How Many Mc's...", "I Got Cha Opin" and the title-track "Enta Da Stage" are my personal favorites, and the apparent standouts on this album. Da Beatminerz production particularly shines on "Shit Iz Real" and "I Got Cha Opin", the haunting horn and string samples give the songs a solemn and longing atmosphere. The albums opener "Powaful Impak!" se's the stage for the rest of the album, and is similar to the ending track with a minimal beat heavy on the bass. Da Beatminerz uncanny ability to tailor their beats to an emcee is nothing short of amazing, giving Buckshot an edge that no other producer or production team has done since. "I'm real shit iz real fuck the raw deal, pick up the bitch in the back by the field, on the word shit is heard in two-third, pump herb to my niggas with a nickel bag of absurd", the lyrics' may be unremarkable but laced with an echoing violin(?) sample chopped to weave with Buckshot's unique style makes for an unrivaled atmosphere that can be only found on Beatminerz produced records. 5 ft. Accelerator is the other emcee on this album, recognizable only because he isn't Buckshot. His style isn't very original especially when coupled with Buckshot, but another lyrical flavor on this record is welcome.People like to hate on 5 ft. but he really isn't bad at all, he just had the misfortune to be coupled with Buchshot. 5 ft. is more like a guest than an actual part of the group and he is outperformed by Buckshot in every way on this record. The only "guests" on this album are on the tracks "Black Smif-n-Wessun" and "U Da Man", the ill duo of Tek & Steele (aka Smif-n-Wesson and more recently the Cocoa Brovaz), and BCC affiliates Dru Ha and Havoc. "U Da Man" is this albums party track, with 6 emcee's spittin' fire on top of a bass-heavy beat that makes you want to strap on some Tim's and stomp on necks, a perfect ending to this album.

This album may not have pioneered a genre, like some of BCC's contemporaries, it certainly solidified a specific style of NY hardcore and paved the way for some of the decades most unique and entertaining artists. Being released all the way back in '93 this album will always be considered one of the top albums of that time, while it is no 36 Chambers it took that burgeoning NY sound and made it it's own. More importantly this album paved the way for some amazing albums (see Smif-n-Wessun's Da Shinin', Heltah Skeltah's Nocturnal, O.G.C.'s Da Storm), giving BCC OG status in the NY scene, considered to this day to be one of the best crews to come out of NY on par with greatest of the greats. This album, while having some minor flaws, is a definitive classic.


"Buck 'Em Down" clean radio mix (non-album)