“Creep with me as I roll through the hood…” Yeah, the opening track on the return of Black Moon recalls one of the greatest songs in rap history: Deep Cover. If you’re gonna take a bar from the best, you better be able to stand tall with it. And yeah, 5ft, Buckshot and DJ Evil Dee still have what it takes–after “20 years in the game” and over a decade of silence. Black Moon (Brothers who Lyrically Act and Combine Kickin Music Out On Nations) put out one of the best underground rap records in history, Enta Da Stage, released a few more records after that, and then nothing since 2006.
It was worth the wait.
Dee still makes beats that hit hard and stay with you, and 5ft and Buckshot are still undeniably tight on the mic. And it’s mostly all them–just four cuts have guest spots, and the guests are well selected: Method Man, Rockness Monsta, and then long-time collaborators Smif, Wessun, Tek, and Steele.
Honestly, I was expecting this to have about four good songs and the rest filler, but just about every song is excellent. Great to hear these guys again!
The Rest Of The Week: Black Moon’s return was a source of celebration for me, but also worth mentioning: Anna Wise’s As If It Were Forever. A good album with a few great songs, from a Grammy-winning producer making her debut as a solo artist. There’s more than a bit of hip hop flavor, with appearances by Little Simz and Denzel Curry, to name a few.
I also thought Gospel Beach was good.
