Enta da Stage by Black Moon (prod. Mr. Walt)

Although it was not fully appreciated at the time of it's 1993 release, Black Moon's Enta da Stage in retrospect encapsulates a turning point in Hip Hop. It all started with members 5ft Accelerator and DJ Evil Dee meeting at Bushwick High School. They formed a duo and called themselves Unique Image, but would soon add Buckshot Shorty from Brownsville (a neighboring section of Brooklyn).

Shortly there after renaming themselves Black Moon (Brothers who Lyrically Act and Combine Kickin Music Out On Nations). DJ Evil Dee and his brother, Mr. Walt, would handle the beats, crediting themselves as da Beatminerz. Pre-production began in the Dewgarde Crib of Hits at Mr. Walt's house. Soon they recorded and released their first single "Who Got da Props?" in 1992. Through the help and exposure of WBLS's DJ Chuck Chillout, the single out of nowhere earned them the 82 spot on the Billboard Top 100 and a record deal with Nervous Records. However, despite the success of their single it would be a year before fans would hear their release.

Prior to their debut, Black Moon would release their second single "How Many MC's...". This was a total departure from their previous style and featured a much more grimy style of production, and Buckshot with a raspier voice. The story behind their transitions of styles lies in their hiatus from recording while on tour with Kool G Rap and a young Nas. From his observations of Nas and G Rap cyphering, Buckshot had an epiphany and would change up his rap style, soon da Beatminerz followed suite. Also through Buckshot's eventual friendship with Nervous Records' employee Drew "Dru Ha" Friedman lead to the formation of their company, Duck Down Management, where Dru Ha became the co-executive producer of Enta da Stage. The remainder of the album would be recorded and finished at NYC's acclaimed D&D Studios. 




Da Beatminerz production on here was through and through a signature 90s hardcore album. However with the hard hitting drum loops, deep basslines and filtered jazz arrangements laced with loops upon loops, they really set standards. The number of samples used is easily illustrated in the breakdown of their title track "Enta da Stage". The bassline sampled in this particular song comes from Alice Coltrane's "Satchidananda" but is pitched higher with a low end filter.


Sample starts at 0:00

Alice Coltrane is a Jazz pianist, organist, and composer as well as wife to the late John Coltrane. The bassist playing on this sample is Cecil McBee on Coltrane's album Journey in Satchidananda, an album that is dedicated to Swami Satchidananda, a religious teacher from India whom Coltrane was a disciple of. The drum loop heard 10 seconds into the song comes from Lonnie Smith, another famous Jazz pianist and organist, who coincidentally converted to Sikhism in the late 1970s, an Indian religion. The song sampled is "Spinning Wheel" from his 1970 Blue Note album Drive.


Sample starts at 4:41

The faint gang chants of "Buckshot" in the background of the beat comes from Onyx, another acclaimed hardcore act from New York, specifically Queens. The song is from their 1993 album Bacdafucup which was released the spring before Black Moon debut their album. Sampling such a current release, not to mention another Hip Hop group is an interesting choice by Mr. Walt.


Sample starts at 3:50 

Walt gets bold enough to even sample Buckshot saying "Into the stage of the Buckshot Shorty" repeating off in the distance during the chorus. The layering of more vocals appears at 10 seconds into the song. An audio of Cannonball Adderley from the song "Eyes of the Cosmos". This appears on the 1972 album Black Messiah, which was recorded live from "The Troubadour" in Hollywood.

Sample starts at 0:02

Mr. Walt continues putting different touches of variety to the beat by bringing in a panning sample of an unknown announcer off of James Brown's Revolution of the Mind, his 3rd live recording at the Apollo. The announcer is saying "soul" as it is being panned over the left and right speakers.

Sample starts at 0:04

Due to the massive amount of hardcore Hip Hop coming out of New York City in the early 90s, I think Black Moon was overshadowed, and didn't get the shine it deserved. Really looking at it, it was not a very lyrically complex album. There was no deeper social meaning. But as a fan of hardcore Hip Hop, the elements are present in the album, but they definitely elevated the danger involved content wise. Buckshots lyrics were about typical street topics weed, guns, and violence; however, coming from an eighteen year old gangster with no remorse. Not to mention the pairings of rowdy gang shout hooks that became signature to Black Moon's sound and the complex deep bass muted jazz sounds of Mr. Walt and Evil Dee. Enta da Stage is by far an album that deserves its recognition as a unappreciated classic.