Smif N Wessun
Albums:
Rude Awakening (1998) Dah Shinin (1995) After an impressive appearance on Black Moon’s “Enta Da Stage,” Smif N Wessun came through with Tim boots stomping to deliver their own classic in “Dah Shinin’.” The duo of Tek and Steele delivered ill street tales and straight talk with songs like “Bucktown” and introduced the next wave of boot camp representatives on “Cession At Da Doghillee” Changing their name to avoid a lawsuit, Tek N Steele took the name Cocoa Brovaz for their second album and got lost up in the mix. As boot camp lost steam so did Coco B’s although they maintained a steady following with white label releases and contributions to compilations. Finally away from Rawkus, which shelved their would be third album, the Bucktown heads are back with a new mixtape and other projects in the works.
Halftime: I can’t believe it’s been practically ten years since “Dah Shinin” dropped. Looking back, did you guys think you’d even be in the game this long?
Tek: When you think back then that’s when we didn’t even know nothing about the game. We was just having fun doing what we was doing. We was still in high school running around still in adolescent stages. We didn’t even know nothing about the music business itself. If you listen to “Dah Shinin” you don’t hear no background vocals on that album. No doubles, no adlibs, nothing, its just straight music. We didn’t even know what we were doing. We were just experimenting, having fun with what we loved to do in the lunchroom and on the block on the corners and in the hallways of the projects. Nobody was really thinking longevity to be truthful with you. Niggas just wanted to have a video to be on TV or to hear themselves on the radio while they doing what they do with whoever so they can be like yea that’s me right there. Nothing like oh I’m gonna put an album out and be in the game ten or twelve years. It was just have fun with it and make some music.
Steele: What was dope too was we just watched Buckshot do his thing. We probably went to every studio session with Buck.
(Steele’s attention is diverted for a second)
Steele: Fuck tha police coming straight from the underground.
Tek: I thought I heard mad sirens. I was like is these niggas behind me or what?
Steele: It’s hell up in Harlem folks.
Tek: Where you at up top?
Steele: I’m on 32nd and Malcolm X.
Tek: I just came from 45th fucking with cuzo and them.
Steele: It’s on an poppin son. I’m getting the fuck off this joint. A nigga just turned down a one way on Malcolm X.
Anyway, like I was saying we watched Buckshot and Five do they album and for us that was a good experience. We sat and watched it as students. We went through there to support him but and I think both of us wanted to get on the album but we never pressed him like let us get on let us get on. When he finally called us it was the right time and that’s when we did “Black Smif N Wessun.” When we did that, it was tense. Niggas was like we get to spit 16s now.
Tek: That was that time. That was it. It was official now.
How long were you guys rhyming together before you put out the album?
Tek: We had like a little musical group, M.O.S.T, even before we had Smif N Wessun. That was something my PNC was doing with my other brother Chase. I was just like security holding shit down. We all used to go to school with Craig G, niggas from Onyx, we used to always see the god Rakim up at the high school so it was like we was born into this shit. This was our culture that’s why we say hip hop is a way of life. It’s not just something you wake up and participate in. This is what you’re born into. Basically from birth we been into that. As far as us being PNC that’s a lifelong thing, there’s no alpha or omega to that.
Steele: I think I was rhyming in junior high but I wasn’t thinking about being no rapper.
I had heard different versions that ya’ll met as kids or at a brawl on 125th.
Steele: We lived across town from each other and one of our PNCs who did a skit on “Dah Shinin,” Cook the big ole pimp, that’s one of our older brothers that introduced us. We kinda always been around each other plus we was banging in high school so it was like a big family. Us being the type of men we were we just slid off from everybody and did our thing. We found out how close we were living and we were together everyday. Not only in school, after school we was on the streets.
Tek: Then it was bugged we found out our parents knew each other and everything. That’s why we named the album “Dah Shinin.” Not even knowing what each other was doing but just bumping up with each other like I knew this was gonna happen. Or he’ll come walking through one train of the car and I’d come walking through the next train and we’d all just meet up. We was always the littlest niggas out of the crew so we used to have to fuck niggas up daily. That was the fun part about it always being the underdog. Knocking a nigga’s teeth out, giving niggas stitches and shit, that was a fun thing.
What brought ya’ll together with Tupac?
Tek: Well you know the saying real recognize real. When Pac first came to NY, he was doing the club scene heavy. Niggas was doing they club thing but we didn’t put a face with the name. Then he happened to go through his lil bullshit and got locked up and niggas made a comment to him like ‘keep ya head up and stay strong thug life for life.’ Outlawz is PNC. When he touched ground, he hollered at the god and from there it was family.
What was the experience like working with him?
Tek: Ahh it was real. I think that broadened my work ethic as an emcee period. As an individual just being around him, I had the god stop smoking cigarettes on some personal shit. He was a Gemini like I’m a Gemini so we just clicked up right there. We in the studio and you doing like three or four songs whereas before that a nigga was going in there doing like one freestyle not even a whole song. You figure you’re wasting thousands of dollars to do nothing when you could be taking care of B.I. Niggas just really sat down and became focused right there and that just helped us better ourselves as an emcee and as a person.
What was the wildest incident you can recall being with Pac?
Tek: It’s a couple but the one that really stands out was when we was coming from a movie set. He was filming a joint and he’d tell niggas to come through. We just happened to pull into a gas station and it was like on some Menace II Society like I know this ain’t no setup type shit. It’s like everything just stopped and he was like ‘What the fuck? Ya’ll niggas know who I am right now? You know niggas out to kill me blahzay blah’ He was like get the fuck up outta here and it was just so ill. It was funny and real at the same time. Niggas laugh at the stupidest things that be serious but it be funny. That’s one occasion.
Steele: A lot of people don’t realize that with Pac it wasn’t all work. When we went out there as soon as we landed he had his film guy, this kid named Goldie, meet us at the airport. He was making a film at the time. His thing was instead of doing a video he was gonna do a collection of videos.
Tek: That’s why you see a glimpse of Smif n Wessun in everything that come out.
Steele: What was dope for me was how he received us. This is in the midst of so-called east coast and west coast beef and we east coast niggas straight from the belly of Brooklyn. We go to Cali and we get out there and they had the limousine pick us up but we ain’t into all that limo shit. We don’t know what the vibe is gonna be but as soon as we pull up to the studio the first person we see is Snoop. Buck and Snoop seen each other and it was like they was old cousins. Then as soon as that happen we see Pac come out the studio with that infamous bop he got. It was like he was coming to greet his long lost friends. From day one when he seen us it was like a friendship. Instead of staying at a hotel, we stayed at his crib with his aunt and his moms. The Outlawz took us around when Pac wasn’t around. If we wasn’t in the studio we was building. One part that was funny when we were out there Buckshot was like yo Pac where the shorties at? Go call some shorties or something. So Pac got on the phone and tried to call up some chicks but he couldn’t get no chicks.
Haha
