Smif-N-Wessun

Dah Shinin' (Parental Advisory)

  • MOG Editorial Review

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    Rather than align themselves with any particular hip-hop movement in the mid-'90s, New York duo Smif-N-Wessun instead created an irresistible hybrid of everything exciting about the period. While Da Beatminerz handled the jazzy production of Dah Shinin', Tek and Steele set about spitting rhymes that painted a gritty portrait of street life in New York, yet their use of Jamaican Patois still managed to keep things playful. In a way, standouts like "Bucktown" and "Sound Bwoy Bureill" capture a moment in hip-hop history in a way their more popular peers never could, and it's no wonder that Dah Shinin' grows in critical stature with every passing year.
  • AMG Review of Dah Shinin'

    Amg
    Chris Witt
    All Music Guide

    Upon its release in 1995, Smif-n-Wessun's Dah Shinin' was unfortunately swept aside by the popular onslaught of the Notorious B.I.G. and the Wu-Tang Clan. That's too bad, because the group's album is a masterpiece of New York City crime rap. The stars of the album aren't really the two MCs, Tek and Steele, but the Beatminerz production team. They were responsible for the groundbreaking tracks on Black Moon's Enta da Stage, the album on which Smif-n-Wessun made their debut, and they continue their strong track record on Dah Shinin'. Da Beatminerz craft their songs with deep, fluid basslines and moody jazz samples. On Smif-n-Wessun's debut, they create a series of hazy soundscapes perfect for the group's brand of lyrical mayhem. Tek and Steele don't break any new ground, but they bring enough joyful abandon to their tales of guns, drugs, and thugs to keep things interesting. Their smoked-out rhymes match the beats perfectly. Indeed, few hip-hop albums offer such a unified coherent effort. Dah Shinin' is certainly Smif-n-Wessun's strongest album to date, and it represents da Beatminerz's high point as well.

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