The S.H.O.W. brought the Boot Camp Clik's Smif N Wessun to the University of Washington's Ethnic Cultural Center on January 26th. MADKrew/Boom Bap Project's DJ Scene started the show off with a non-stop mix, while MC Insane hosted for the night. Seattle's 2-0-$ickness were the first group up, followed by Central Intelligence.
The crowd was hyped and ready when Tek and Steele (Smif N Wessun) hit the stage with DJ Logic for an intensive lyrical showcase of their best work. Smif N Wessun talked to the audience quite a bit in between songs, making everyone feel a part of the message.

Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~
all photos by Dove

The Duck Down soldiers Smif N Wessun - formerly known as the Cocoa Brovaz formerly known as Smif N Wessun - are back in the trenches with their new project Still Shinin.  With industry uncertainty surrounding them, Tek and Steele show no signs of being disarmed.  I sat down with them in the summer of 2001 at Seattle's Experience Music Project for an interview http://www.daveyd.com/cocoabrovasinterview.html, and followed up with them recently during a stop through Seattle for a show at the University of Washington.

What is the status of the new album?

Tek:  The album is complete, it's in the mix-down stages - we're on pause right now, just cuz we're doing little spot dates right now.  We got Talib, we got Mr. Ripper, Mr. Victor, Starang Wondah of OGC, Buckshot, Evil Dee - keepin' it family.  Beatminerz got about six joints on the album.

Are you nervous about the changes Rawkus has made?

Tek:  It ain't really affecting us right now.  We're just making music. 

How did you manage to get the name Smif N Wessun back?

Tek:  That was a group move from the label.  They had our backs, they were askin' us if we wanted to rock with it, we felt strong about it, so we're gonna rock it. 

With the delays in the release of your album, do you feel like you've had to make a lot of sacrifices over the past year?

Tek:  We're sacrificing every day - being young Black men living in this society we're living in - we're sacrificing every day. But the music is something that we love, we keep that in our hearts - there's not much we're giving up but talent, that's what we bring to the table and giving you music that you want to hear. 

Have you found yourselves getting discouraged? 

Tek:  Every now and then - that's been our fuck up right there - consistency with the music.  Every time we go through a different trial or tribulation or we jump in this trench this shit might happen, so this is gonna have to wait - but other than that it's been a good run for Smif N Wessun, Cocoa Beez.

Do you have plans for other projects?

Tek: Right now our main focus is on the new album Still Shinin', the new Smif N Wessun project which is at hand. We always try to put on new artists from the hood and give back and make everybody feel good, to bring us to the point that we're at - but our main focus is the upcoming Smif N Wessun project right now.

Do you have anything you want to say to your fans? 

Steele:  Yeah!  All y'all cats that be buyin' stuff off the internet - buyin the shirts and sweatshirts and all that, we love y'all.  Y'all fuel our engines - you keep us writin' and keep us recitin' and keep us practicin' and keep us comin' out with some raw shit - keep this Hip Hop fire lit.  All those cats who be out there comin' to the shows and buyin' our records - y'all the true reason why Hip Hop is Hip Hop - it's not the rappers, it's not the writers, it's not the videographers - that's all good, but it's the people who come to the shows, people who buy our records, people who write in, and write on the internet at www.duckdown.com with this bullshit they're writing with - some of the raw comments - keep it comin'.

When you hit us on the net, we're well aware of it.  Whether it be Tek, whether it be Steele, whether it be Buck - Dru definitely informs us on what's goin' on and the information that cats is puttin' through, so don't think that you go unheard.  Especially them cats that be writin' them fuckin' stupid ass messages - all y'all fuck you - that's comin' from the General S-T-doubleE-L-E, aiight, fuck you.  Get a fuckin life - all you muthafuckin muthafuckas who got nothing to do but write stupid messages on my website - get a fuckin' life you fuckin' dickless bastards!  Now, for the rest of you that be writin' some positive shit and negative shit - we love you.  That's the shit that keeps us pumpin' and the shit that keeps us goin' on.  Give us the constructive criticism - we need that, we love that - never get on some real 'Bootcamp everything' - say what you mean and say what you feel all the time, cuz we need that and we love that and we appreciate that you even take time out your life to give that to us. 

Given the messages of Smif N Wessun, how did the events of 9/11 affect you artistically or personally?

Tek: It's always been a message in our music.  Before the actual bombing took place, Smif N Wessun music was always hittin' the streets with a message lettin' you know what to do, what's right from wrong, telling you what we think in our eyes anyway.  Terror has always been in effect, it just hit home so hard that the heart was just in our force and in our eyesight - that just opened us up to make us realize more how serious and real shit is.  You always gotta be careful about what you say and around who you're saying it to - we got a thing - never let outsiders know what the family is thinking - we have our meetings, we take it to the table and do what we discuss, then we come back to the public and let them hear what's supposed to be heard.

Losing a brother, a sister or friend is always personal. Just the life itself is precious.  People just better arm themselves, cuz it's gonna go down - Bob Marley been lettin' you know Babylon's gonna burn and it's gonna come a time when we're gonna be to war.  The revolution will not be televised.

Steele:  My man lost his wife in the building, and to this day he acts like nothing happened, because that's all he can really do to maintain living on in his life.  Smif N Wessun came out and was talkin' about war this, war that, there's a war goin' on… a lot of cats used to ask us in interviews 'what is this war?' - it shouldn't have to take physical damage, and it shouldn't have to take personal loss of life to realize that it's a war goin on.  We been telling you that there's a war goin on - we ain't rockin' camouflage cuz it's cute, because it make it look like hardcore rappers - we have a mentality, and when we come out and we speak on the mic we representin' that mentality.  Everybody that come out, cats just be on what they on - they represent a certain mentality, if their mentality is flossin', if their mentality is bein a gangsta - we rock that - cuz we got a little bit of all that in us.  But our mentality is being soldiers, and our mentality is always bein' on point, always bein' aware of what's going on, always bein' ready for the unexpected.  9/11 was the unexpected, but really it's never unexpected if you're on point for the unexpected. As soldiers we just ride on and we rock on, because we're always ready for the unexpected - we're always in a position that we're saying 'take care of your family', have shit in your crib that has your family taken care of.  It's about family, it's about loyalty, it's about dedication.

That 9/11 shit, it's a whole bunch of shit behind that that I can't even comment on, that other individuals have more information on and they just ridin'.  It's propaganda.  That's why Hip Hop is so important, because Hip Hop will shock a nation - Hip Hop will tell you shit that muthafuckas don't want you to know.  9/11 is just another blow - like muthafuckas took our queen but we're still in the game - they didn't get our king.

Still Shinin is due out on October 15, 2002.  Check for new releases from Sean Price, Black Moon, and a special Duck Down Collectors Edition at http://www.duckdown.com

Dove

~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~