In 1992 there were several New York City-based rhyme collectives that were injecting the industry with high doses of original styles and lyrical wizardry the likes the world had not seen in sometime. To many it was considered the rebirth of New York City as the absolute center of Hip-Hop culture. Wu-Tang Clan was bumping hard, Nas was doing his thing, and Bad Boy Entertainment’s street credibility was at an all time high thanks to Biggie, Craig Mack and Mary J. Blige.
Not since Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Rakim and other greats shared the airwaves had so many talented acts battled for space. Right in the midst of the storm lurked The Boot Camp Clik. The Brooklyn-bred collective, led by Buckshot and Dru Ha, featured Black Moon, Heltah Skeltah, OGC, and the venerable Cocoa Brovaz (formerly known as Smiff N Wesson). Powered by the eclectic tracks laid by DJ Evil D the BCC seemed poised to bring the underground, Timberland boot-wearin’, backpack sporting, blunt-rolling rude boy image to the mainstream and beyond.
Here it is 2002 and the Boot Camp Clik’s contemporaries have gone onto bigger and better things while they have languished due of situations beyond their control.
Their current situation is akin to Hip-Hop blasphemy. I had the rare opportunity of speaking to the B.C.C. prime members. Their whereabouts and upcoming works were heavy on my mind.
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“We’ve been doing a lot of things. Right now we’re working on a new Black Moon album,” said Buckshot. “Evil D and Da Beatminerz have been knocking out a lot of stuff for that album, plus they’ve been doing a lot of production for other groups as well. Black Moon has just been dealing with a lot of politics that you have to deal with when you make a lot of good music. Basically, we’ve been running our own projects and that took sometime. We were one of the very few groups that were doing a lot of things back then. Now acts that came out with us, like Nas and Wu-Tang, are doing their thing, but we’ve been dealing with drama.”
Often times we hope and pray drama is an adjective best used to describe a television show or someone else’s life. Smiff-N-Wesson, currently known as the Cocoa Brovaz, know much of drama as well. Tek had this to say about their itinerary and their new deal.
“We’ve got the new Smiff N Wesson joint coming out in October. It’s the third album from us,” said Tek. “We’ve got something on the upcoming Soundbombing compilation. Plus we’ve signed to Rawkus Records and are going to be distributed through MCA too. Besides that we’re just constantly in the lab. When we’re not in the lab, we’re still constantly on the road putting in that road work and going to places the ‘Rude Awakening’ never took us.”
Of course you know we had that whole lawsuit thing, don’t you? The one in which the Smith and Weston firearm company threatened to sue the group, and everyone associated with them, unless they changed their moniker. That was the beginning of a lull for the duo. They appeared on singles and Mixtapes but did not release anything of their own. Their most recent work is for the High Times Records premiere release, ‘THC‘. Incredibly talented and original, the BCC and affiliates have been dealing with life in these evil streets. The CBs appear on a single called “Roll Up.” Not soon after that single was recorded Shabaam Saadiq caught a hot one and is currently incarcerated.
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“The cut we’re on the THC compilation is with my man Shabaam Saadiq,” said Steele “He’s headed to jail right now because he had to feed his family or whatever, you know? It’s rappers out here that are just struggling. So, whenever we get a chance to appear on something or head to a concert where somebody wants to hear us it is a blessing. I just want to give a big-up to my man and to all the other cats that are incarcerated. It’s just as real out here for us as it is for anybody out here in these streets. That is the undeniable truth as spoken by Steele. Rappers are struggling despite BET and MTV’s seemingly ongoing campaign of misinformation through video their respective video shows. While millionaire rappers profess their love for the streets they can no longer walk down, superior emcees with smaller bank accounts still haunt the streets that birthed them.
In part two we will continue this look at The Boot Camp and talk with Ruc and hear more from Buckshot.
