Shyheim - On And On - 1994

Photo courtesy of Shyheim  

Shyheim aka the Rugged Child has been recently released from Prison after serving a five-year bid... so welcome back home !!!
This news reminds me of Shyheim when he was 14 years old at his debut when he dropped his first single "On And On" back in '94.  No doubt that at this time kids knew how to rap with a real flow and a real message. 

12" - 1994 - Virgin 

According to a magazine article written in 1994, Shyheim released his debut single "On And On" at the same time as three males connected to the Borough's burgeoning rap scene were wounded by gunshot. First Dante Hawkins, the son of Wu-Tang Clan member U-God, was caught in the crossfire of a shoutout March 12, 1994. Then, three days later, Darryl Routte, the 27-year old brother of Guy Routte, who managed Shyheim, was shot during an argument. Next, Two Cent, an associate of both Shyheim and Wu-Tang Clan, died from a bullet wound in the chest...

"Times is gettin' hard, word is bond, I sware God

I even got caught tryin' to steal from the junkyard

A born tebba, A rebel without a pause

Ain't nevah had a good Christmas so who is Santa Claus

I walk the streets at night with my head down

In this lil town you see clowns that want to be down

So they get a glock a lick shots to get props

And win shit rocks so you can hear when the shells drop

An old man got shot in the parkin' lot

In front of my buildin' I hang with his grandchildren

And for the nigga that pulled the trigga and tried to slide

And hide, but he got knocked by da homicide

And this happens everyday around my way

So I pray that I can live anotha day" 

From Billboard Magazine - March 26th 1994

DSA a.k.a Dark Skinned Assassin !

Back in 1995 when a Staten Island based emcee with a deep potential, known under the name of Dark Skinned Assassin dropped his first 12-Inches "Lock Shit Down" on 4 Doe Loe Records, a record label managed by himself and Steve Dunn. 
The 12" was produced by RNS, DJ ILL and Vic Flowers and was composed of three tracks "Lock Shit Down / The Horror / Gotta Get The Creme". The first time I've heard these songs was on a mixtape I bought in London in '95, from one of these record stores based in Soho. No doubt I bought the wax after that...

12" - 1995 - 4 Doe Loe Records 

DSA : "I was born in Harlem, things got crazy for my mom and us so we moved to S.E. Wash.,DC, afterwards, to N.C. , but I moved back to NYC, to live with my dad, on Staten Island, until we had a few altercations with one another. I started hustling and carrying, making street moves, soon after a couple close comrades brought me to Stapleton Houses where I met RNS and RZA.

My mentality back in the days was seek out, destroy, conquer.  So one night somebody was having a house party on Staten Island and a few of the favored, neighborhood well known Emcees were there, then out of no where one of  my comrades informed me that some dude was baiting me to get the microphone after Brown Hornet, (guess they wanted to compare my skills to the rest), so I spit over a break beat, "shut shit down", dropped the mic and started to walk away, all of a sudden the whole party went silent for a couple of seconds, then started trippin’!! Screams, cheers and whistles followed, (somebody even let go a few shots), shit was epic. I returned to Stapleton few days after, RNS expressed an interest in recording with me. I was charged ! Heard about RNS as a producer, so the energy was mutual. As we were recording, that same day RZA and a couple dudes walked in the lab, (at the time RNS studio was setup at the apartment in the Pees), RZA listened, then commented, replying, "sound dope, the god got his own style". GP and Wu-Tang was definitely inspirational, and genuine when we interacted. Living the lifestyle, gangsta rap was easy, but there was much more going on in my mind, so I traveled through out NYC to unleash the inner tension. DJ ILL had a studio in Queens at the time, I was living in Brooklyn. I was going from BK, to SI, to Queens to Manhattan to record, then to the Bronx to hustle and part time job back in Manhattan. DJ ILL was putting in crazy hours. He had a group of his on called X-tra Pleza, plus the yg’s (ENY) Pressure and L Murda, (Uncle Murda to most), Mic Handz, Zodiac and Zig Zag, a few others and myself. We all would collab with each other, then we’d record individual songs. The studio in Queens was a family vibe. I walked in and heard the track to "Lock Shit Down" and instantly wanted to spit to it ! ILL said "let me hear what you wrote"... Kicked the verse then we recorded the whole song that day. Soon after met Victor Flowers, (he produced "The Horror" and "Gotta Get the Creme"), and we naturally clicked artistically."

In 1996, he featured on the song "G.P Connection" released by Pop The Brown Hornet. The track is on the B-side of the classic 12" "Black on Black Crime" released by the GP Wu member on Smoke Records.

He dropped at the end of the same year his new 12" single "Unholy / Uncontrollable" produced by RNS and released on Black Dog Entertainment. This Record Label was comprised of Steve Dunn, his brother Walter and DSA. 

12" - 1996 - Black Dog Ent.  

"Unholy" is the main single of the record. A video of the song exists but was never released and the song wasn't as successful as "Lock Shit Down" but it was played many times by Stretch & Bobbito that year. By the way, DSA was invited on WKCR with Gauge the Mental Murderah on October 17, 1996 for the promo of his 12". Here are their freestyles and interviews.

Then he disappeared due to law problems without dropping an album...

DSA : "I was blessed to be alive and given a chance to release some music, do minimal promoting, meet and network with a few people, while being on trial for a couple of felonies, 1 charge was dropped based on a technicality, the other was dismissed in trial, after my attorneys filed a Clayton motion, but the Manhattan D.A. was not pleased so filed a motion of appeal and I was convicted in appellate court. Leaving behind 5 potential major deals on the table, family and friends, my freedom, my lady and 1year old son, whom I loved very much. Thus, no album after EP... I was angry at myself and the world because I felt I let down everyone who was riding with me. I fucked up. Re-entering society after my prison bid, I decided, primarily, the music industry wasn’t as important as being there for the child that never got to know his dad, secondly the shift in quality and politics had began to pollute the rawness of the artform so I stayed out of the grind and moved my new family out of state, (still and all, once and artist always an artist). A year or two later, found myself traveling 700 miles just to record in New York when requested to do so."

A strange EP was released circa '96 with three unreleased tracks produced by RNS : "Life of a Shorty" feat No Smiles aka Tommy Whispers, "Untitled Raw Shit" and "Smoke In Ya Face", but this is an unofficial release...

DSA : "I don’t know who released the 'Down Low Wreckege E.P.', I was incarcerated at that time..."

EP - 1996 - Not On Label 

Mad Props to Michael "Fuji" Love 

Ill Legitimates - Ruthless Bastards

From Hip Hop Connection - February 1998

12" - 1997 - Flowmaster Recordings

Album Review : Shyheim - The Lost Generation - 1996

From The Source - June 1996 - Scan Courtesy of Frederic Thecle  

1996 - Noo Trybe Records ‎