Smif N Wessun The All Zip Top -

To understand "The All Zip Top," one must rewind to the winter of 1995. Smif-N-Wessun had just dropped Dah Shinin’ under the wing of DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt of Da Beatminerz. The album was a masterpiece of dark, looping jazz samples and stoic street narrations. However, during those sessions, the duo recorded more material than could fit on a single LP.

"The All Zip Top" was born as a promotional exclusive. It never landed on the official tracklist of Dah Shinin’, nor did it appear on the group’s later major label releases. Instead, the track was pressed in very limited quantities—likely fewer than 500 copies—as a 12-inch promo single distributed to select New York radio stations (WKCR, Hot 97) and specialty record shops like Beat Street.

In the digital age, finding a true, uncompressed WAV file of Smif N Wessun "The All Zip Top" is considered a rite of passage for Boom Bap collectors. The A-side features the vocal track; the B-side often contains an instrumental and an acapella, highlighting the raw production style of the mid-90s.

Before Jay-Z had the Roc, before Biggie’s Ready to Die blew the lid off, Tek and Steele were holding down the gritty blocks of Brownsville, Brooklyn. Dah Shinin’ is the sound of a New York that doesn't exist anymore: grey skies, Timberlands, hoodies, and the eternal hiss of a gas stove. smif n wessun the all zip top

Produced entirely by the Beatminerz (Mr. Walt, Evil Dee, and Baby Paul), the album doesn't have a "skip" button. From the haunting piano loop of "Bucktown" to the raw energy of "Wrekonize," the album is a masterclass in that dark, jazz-infused, muddy bass sound that defined the mid-90s.

To understand the top, you must understand the temperature of the room. It is 1995. The gritty, cocaine-rap aesthetic of New York is evolving. Smif-N-Wessun (Tek and Steele) have just released their debut album, Dah Shinin’, under the Duck Down Records imprint.

The album was a masterpiece of raw minimalism. Tracks like "Bucktown" and "Wontime" weren’t just songs; they were blueprints for a specific Brooklyn lifestyle—timbs, hoodies, Carhartt, and continuous circular motion. To understand "The All Zip Top," one must

In the mid-90s, rap merchandise was still a Wild West. You didn’t buy a Smif-N-Wessun hoodie at Zumiez. You bought it at a bodega on Flatbush Avenue, or from a trunk at a mall kiosk, or via mail-order from the back of The Source magazine. Quality varied wildly. But occasionally, a piece surfaced that wasn't just merch; it was a uniform.

"The All Zip Top" was that uniform.

If you look at the physical CD or cassette release of Dah Shinin’, you’ll notice something immediately iconic: The packaging. The album was a masterpiece of dark, looping

Unlike standard jewel cases that snap shut with a brittle plastic hinge, Smif-N-Wessun’s album came in a soft, clear plastic "zip-top" bag. It was a D.A.I.S.Y. (Drug Abuse Is Suicide, Y’all) age artifact—a rebranding of the old "ziplock" baggies used on the street, turned into a legitimate retail packaging.

To a kid in 1995, that was the coolest thing in the world. It felt like contraband. You didn't just buy an album; you copped it. You unzipped the top, slid the cardboard sleeve out, and inhaled that fresh plastic and ink smell.