Tag: Black Moon

Buckshot – “I’m the Boss” review

Buckshot is a 47 year old MC/producer from New York City coming up in the early 90’s as the frontman of the trio Black Moon & the Boot Camp Clik collective along with for founding one of the most beloved record labels in all of hip hop Duck Down Music with the assistance of his business partner Dru Ha. Not only would The B.D.I. Thug & Backpack Travels become the only 2 solo albums he’s put out to date, but Hanif Alwin al-Sadiq would also form a duo with 9th Wonderdropping 3 full-lengths together & a collab effort with KRS-One called Backpack Skills. But in light of him getting into the NFT game, he’s celebrating by dropping a debut EP.

After the “UPG” intro, the first song “Hey” opens up the EP with a dramatic boom bap instrumental from none other than Da Beatminerz going at the throats of anyone who dares to step up to him in a battle whereas “Come Take a Ride” goes into funkier territory with talking about cruising around at night. “Your Choice” laces some pianos written towards a ride or die bitch leading into “Roll My away” taking a more lavish route & the storytelling throughout Buckshot’s verses painted is very eloquent. The song “Dear Daddy” takes it back to boom bap range talking about his father while the penultimate track “1 Nation” spaciously declaring that it’s time to connect. “Thug Life” ends the EP with a bass guitar-infused tribute to 2Pac.

Considering how much I enjoyed Black Moon’s comeback effort Rise of da Moon a few years back, I was definitely interested in how The B.D.I. Thug would deliver with this EP given how long it’s been since Backpack Travels & it’s definitely worth the listen for any Boot Camp fan. In fact, I’d consider to be some of the best solo material he’s put out yet. Rather than just being lazy & compiling primarily songs that’s been already previously released like Snoop Dogg did with Metaverse: The NFT Drop, we’re getting all new music from the one who gets the job done & he still sounds great on the mic after being the game for almost 3 decades.

Score: 3.5/5

Black Moon – “Rise of da Moon” review

Black Moon is a highly regarded hip hop trio consisting of Buckshot, 5ft & DJ Evil D. Their 1993 debut Enta da Stage would go on to become a hip hop essential & despite their 1999 sophomore effort War Zone not being as acclaimed, it was still solid. Last time we heard from the group was in 2003 with Total Eclipse & all these years later, they’re making a comeback with their 4th full-length album.

The album kicks off with “Creep wit Me”, where Buckshot & 5ft both go at their competition over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat. “Da Don Flow” reclaims Buckshot’s prowess over a slaughterous instrumental while the track “Ahaaa” talks about cops over a g-funk/boom bap fusion. The song “Pop Off” flexes their skills over a boom bap beat with some gloomy horns throughout while the track “Ease Back” with Method Man & Steele go at their naysayers over a vibraphone inflicted boom bap beat.

The song “Impossible” with Smif-n-Wessun talks about how they can’t be stopped over a gritty instrumental while the track “Black Moon Rise” talks about their comeback over a funky beat. The song “Children of the Night” with Rock talks about what goes on during the midnight hours of the hood over orchestral boom bap beat while the track “Glory” makes numerous references to the color black over a mellow instrumental.

The song “General Feva” is a vicious 5ft solo cut while the track “Look at Them” talks about people tryna rob the group over a rhythmic bass-like & some haunting strings. The song “At Night” finds Buckshot & 5ft trading bars back & forth over a somber organ-inflicted beat while the song “Payback” talks about getting money over a funky beat. The penultimate track “Roll wit Me” with Tek gets romantic over a slick boom bap beat & then the closer “Time Flys” gets reflective over a jazzy instrumental.

This is a fantastic return from one of the hardest East Coast groups of all-time. You can really tell the trio all seem really happy to be back together as it really sounds like they never left from the deadly lyricism to the grimy production. Here’s to them hopefully dropping more efforts together in the future.

Score: 4/5