This Saturday I'm joined on the set by two of the most genuinely down to earth individuals I've ever had the pleasure of encountering in the rap biz, the pride of Bushwick, Evil Dee and Mr. Walt of Da Beatminerz. I first met the brothers Dewgarde way back in '94 when I was a fledgling journalist on assignment for the fledgling ego trip. As I sat in D&D watching Mr. Walt construct a track for Smif-N-Wessun's Dah Shinin' out of a crazily filtered portion of this, I remember thinking how ironic it was that the producers responsible for Black Moon's menacing sonic onslaught were about as un-menacing as anyone I'd ever met. That Walt was just this really nice guy with glasses. That this Evil Dee fella seen scowling on the cover of Enta Da Stage was actually a wise-cracking Baby Huey-type. They just happened to make records that sounded like someone getting jumped and robbed on some desolate stretch of Fulton.
Over the years it was always a pleasure randomly running into them at the record conventions or some industry event, having earnest discussions with Walt about what records were coming out or whatever else was going on in hip-hop like the hopeless rap nerds we were. I'd interview the guys several more times at various points for magazines, bios etc. And E and Walt even DJ-ed ego trip's book release party for Rap Lists (amiably soldiering well-beyond their agreed set time when Preemo showed up, uh, just a little bit late).
This outtake from Dah Shinin' (which got around NYC on a white label boot) was always one of my favorite, if lesser known, Beatminerz productions - a prime example of what I always liked to call the "brutal grace" of their classic sound: "Cheeba Cheeba" beats meets a judiciously chosen chunk of George Benson's rendition of "Star of a Story" (apparently too tough or expensive for Nervous Records to clear BITD). Man, Michael Weiss should have just ponied up.
Smif-N-Wessun "Nuthin' Move But the Money" (white label, 1995)
Over the years it was always a pleasure randomly running into them at the record conventions or some industry event, having earnest discussions with Walt about what records were coming out or whatever else was going on in hip-hop like the hopeless rap nerds we were. I'd interview the guys several more times at various points for magazines, bios etc. And E and Walt even DJ-ed ego trip's book release party for Rap Lists (amiably soldiering well-beyond their agreed set time when Preemo showed up, uh, just a little bit late).
This outtake from Dah Shinin' (which got around NYC on a white label boot) was always one of my favorite, if lesser known, Beatminerz productions - a prime example of what I always liked to call the "brutal grace" of their classic sound: "Cheeba Cheeba" beats meets a judiciously chosen chunk of George Benson's rendition of "Star of a Story" (apparently too tough or expensive for Nervous Records to clear BITD). Man, Michael Weiss should have just ponied up.
Smif-N-Wessun "Nuthin' Move But the Money" (white label, 1995)
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