Ranked #93 in the Soul Strut 200

Enta Da Stage ushered in a new age of NYC hip hop that would define the 90s (Wu, Nas, Biggie, Mobb Deep, etc.)  Produced by Da Beatminerz, the beats were lo-fi and grimey utilizing innovative bass filters.   They sampled crate digger classics by the likes of Donald Byrd and 9th Creation, but gave them a much darker vibe than their golden age predecessors. The lyrical content delivered mostly by emcee Buckshot Shorty, was aggressive, often violent, and an valid rebuttal to the West Coast gangsta rap that dominated the airwaves at the time.

The most well-known cuts include “Who Got da Props?”, “How Many Mc’s…”, and “Buck Em Down”. To this day, compared to Illmatic and Ready to Die (albums released around the same time), Enta Da Stage is criminally slept on and considered by backpack diehards to be an unsung rap classic.

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