Every time I hear some so-called intellectual pop consumer complain about how much he loves hiphop, but can't stand to listen to an hour of someone threatening to shoot him, do I want to... um... take him gently by the hand and lead him to the wondrously funky achievements of Brooklyn's Smif-n-Wessun? No. Perhaps I want to point out to him that he wouldn't raise that issue with respect to Taxi Driver, or Goodfellas, or most Westerns (where the constant threat of gunplay is the main plot device)? No. I wanna blast the moron!

Let's be honest. If simulated violence makes you uncomfortable, Smif-n-Wessun is not for you. But the reason these guys aren't as popular as their greatness demands is that so many people who love simulated violence are rattled when it comes from the minds and mouths of young black men. If you enjoy heavy funk, and have ever envisioned yourself shooting someone, you shouldn't miss out on Smif-n-Wessun's 1995 debut album, Dah Shinin'.

Produced by the Beatminerz, Dah Shinin' offers at least one impossibly slick, serpentine bassline for each track. The beats tug like marionette strings at the bass of one's spine, causing involuntary rump shaking. Both Mr. Smif and Mr. Wesson (they later changed their name to the Cocoa Brovaz) have the ability to rap a millisecond behind the snare drop. It sounds as if they're so relaxed, lyrics are actually pulled out of them by the beat instead of forced up from below. People who think Black Eyed Peas, Latyrx, Ugly Duckling and/or Jurassic 5 have flow really need to hear this album.