(SLIDE)

I will never forget the first time I ever heard of a group called Black Moon. I was talking to a certain best-friend-to-be who I had met because of his Onyx T-shirt. He asked me if I had ever heard of Black Moon, and I told him I hadn't. His description was Onyx over smoothed out beats. Of course, I ran out right away to get the CD. Did I like it? Well, I've already had to replace it because I think I melted it from playing it over and over again.

Five years later. (Man that's scary), we have the return of Buckshot, 5FT and Evil Dee. Now that the Black Moon is full again, it shines it's particular light on a lot of things that have gone wrong in hip-hop. Wack ass commercial MCs are getting over, real DJs are an endangered species, and the industry as a whole is crying for some relief.

Enter the War Zone. As the Beatminerz provide a variety of beats, from the simple loop and haunting singing of "Duress," to the all out sonic assault of "The Onslaught," Buckshot provides the same lyrical brilliance that shined on "Slave," "I Got Ya Opin," and "Enta the Stage." On top, 5FT, who practically dropped off the face of the earth since the last album returns to show that he's elevated his lyrical game as well. Witness "Annihilation," where he spits with M.O.P. and Teflon.

As mentioned before, the Beatminerz (Mr. Walt and Evil Dee) provide all of the production for this album. In addition, Buckshot and 5FT carry the album with a minimum of guest MCs. This is mad refreshing in these days when wack ass rhymers are getting album deals and then need a guest artist or five on every song just so you don't eject the CD and use it as a frisbee. In contrast, these brothas enlisted Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip, and then only used them for hooks. ("Onslaught" and "Showdown" respectively).

Tracks to check for include: ALL of them. Unlike a lot of albums, (Wackmasters anyone?) every song on this album has recieved full effort. No releasing a couple of singles and filling the rest of the album with filler for BM.

The final verdict: Cop this. Get this. Grab this. And if you don't have it yet, grab "Enta the Stage," it's a classic.

***