Gravediggaz
| Gravediggaz | |
|---|---|
Gravediggaz, from left to right: The Rzarector (RZA), The Undertaker, The Gatekeeper and The Grym Reaper (deceased)
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, Long Island U.S. |
| Genres | East Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop, horrorcore |
| Years active | 1991–2002; 2010–present |
| Labels | Gee Street/Island/PolyGram Gee Street/V2/BMG Empire Musicwerks/BMG |
| Associated acts | True Master, Tricky, Killah Priest, Scientific Shabazz, Dreddy Kruger |
| Members | The Gatekeeper The Undertaker |
| Past members | The Grym Reaper (deceased) The RZArector (RZA) |
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1992, bringing together Prince Paul (The Undertaker), Frukwan (The Gatekeeper), Poetic (The Grym Reaper) and RZA (The RZArector). It came about largely due to the efforts of Prince Paul. The group pioneered the small hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.[1][2][3]
Contents
Biography
The group's first album was originally to be titled Niggamortis; however, this potentially risqué title was changed to 6 Feet Deep for the American market (European versions of the album retained the original title, and also included the bonus track "Pass the Shovel"); it was released on August 9, 1994. The four members adopted Gravedigga alter egos for their work with the group: RZA became The RZArector, Poetic became The Grym Reaper, Prince Paul became The Undertaker and Frukwan became The Gatekeeper. In 1995, the three rapping members (without Prince Paul) released a collaborative EP titled "The Hell EP" with UK trip hop artist Tricky.
The second full-length Gravediggaz album The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel was less humorous, dealing more with social and political issues; it also used calmer and more conventional production. Prince Paul played a considerably smaller role in the making of this album, with many of the production duties now taken care of by RZA and his Wu-Tang affiliates (including True Master and 4th Disciple).
A bootleg Gravediggaz album surfaced in 1998, called Scenes From The Graveyard. It featured seven unreleased tracks plus some remixes from the first two albums.
Around 2000, Gravediggaz recruited DJ Diamond J. Poetic died of colon cancer in July 2001. Frukwan stated in an interview not long after Poetic's death that a new album using leftover Poetic material would be released.[4] Nightmare in A-Minor, the third official album for Gravediggaz, came out in 2001; it featured two of the original members, Poetic and Frukwan. This album was their darkest work yet, including many references to Poetic's struggle with cancer, as well as apocalyptic themes to do with the teachings of the Five Percent Nation. Although RZA did not take part in the album, some Wu-Tang Clan affiliates such as 4th Disciple, True Master and Beretta 9 were involved. The album was mostly produced by Poetic and Frukwan. A different version of the album (minus the song "Better Wake Up") was released in 2002, for which some of the tracks created by Poetic were replaced or altered.
In 2003 Frukwan released his debut solo album, Life. The fourth Gravediggaz album 6 Feet Under was released in 2004 by Cleopatra Records and featured songs from Nightmare in A-Minor and Life. According to Frukwan, he had nothing to do with the release and claimed that song titles were changed without permission, making it an unauthorized release.
In 2010, Gravediggaz recorded a new song, "2 More Cups of Blood".[5] In 2011, it was announced that the group had been recording new tracks involving Shabazz The Disciple & Killah Priest.[6]
Style and influence
According to Frukwan, the group's name means "digging graves of the mentally dead, and it stood for resurrecting the mentally dead from their state of unawareness and ignorance."[7] The group's lyrics mix black humor (regarding topics such as suicide, death, killing, psychopathy, hell, etc.), criticism regarding the music industry, cartoonish violence reminiscent of the Geto Boys, and esoteric references to the Nation of Gods and Earths. The group pioneered the horrorcore genre.[8][9][10]
Discography
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Albums
- 6 Feet Deep (1994)
- The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (1997)
- Nightmare in A-Minor (2002)
Compilation albums
- 6 Feet Under (2004)
References
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- ↑ Frukwan (Gravediggaz) Interview - [Gate Keeping With Frukwan] - Wu-international.com
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External links
- Articles with hCards
- 1993 establishments in New York
- African-American musical groups
- Five percenters
- Hip hop groups from New York City
- Horrorcore groups
- Gee Street Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1993
- Musical groups disestablished in 2002
- Musical groups reestablished in 2010
- Musical quartets
- Supergroups (music)
- Underground rappers
- Wu-Tang Clan affiliates
