Gravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York City, well-known
for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The
group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing
together Prince Paul (The Undertaker), Frukwan (The Gatekeeper),
Too Poetic (The Grym Reaper) and RZA (The Rzarector). The group is
widely credited as being one of the most influential and pioneering
groups in the small hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.
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."[4]
[edit] Style and influences
Gravediggaz is widely known as a pioneer in the genre of horrorcore
rap, focusing primarily on issues presented as macabre black humor
(such as suicide, death, killing, psychopathy, hell, etc..), as a
way of presenting social criticism towards the music industry.
[edit] Biography
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, well-known
for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The
group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing
together Prince Paul (The Undertaker), Frukwan (The Gatekeeper),
Too Poetic (The Grym Reaper) and RZA (The Rzarector). The group is
widely credited as being one of the most influential and pioneering
groups in the small hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore
According to the RZA "When it came time for the Gravediggaz,
Prince Paul was thinking about putting a group together. He wanted
to get some good MCs. Poetic was another dope MC who was underrated
out on Long Island. He had one single out on Tommy Boy that didn't
take off, but he was a dope MC. As the Grym Reaper, you know how
many dope lyrics he dropped. Frukwan, one of the top lyricists out
of Stetsasonic. He and Paul were friends already. He told him about
me. He said, "I know this one guy who is super-dope."
At the same time, I was also trying to do Wu-Tang. I was trying
to start my own company and stuff, so when Paul called me up and
invited me to his crib on Long Island and told me his idea for forming
this group, I thought it would be an honor to be in a group with
him. But I told him, "I'm also producing a group, and I'm also
part of a family that I'm building." He said, "Yo, that's
crazy." We would talk a lot of times. ODB came to his house
a lot of times with me. Meth, too. We all would just go there and
try to find ways to get out of the streets. Me, I was trying to get
out of the ghetto. Paul had a lot of respect for me, so he helped
me break out of it. I think he liked that I was so dark, but I didn't
know I was dark."[5]
The group's first album was originally titled Niggamortis; however,
the 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"). Released on August 9, 1994, 6 Feet Deep was a mix
of black humor, cartoonish violence reminiscent of the Geto Boys,
esoteric references to the Nation of Gods and Earths, and some of
Paul's darkest production. The four members adopted Gravedigga alter
egos for their work with the group: The RZA became Rzarector, Poetic
became the Grym Reaper, Prince Paul became the Undertaker, and Frukwan
became the Gatekeeper. The three rapping members (without Prince
Paul) released a collaborative EP titled "The Hell EP" with
UK trip hop artist Tricky in 1995.
The second full-length Gravediggaz album, The Pick, the Sickle and
the Shovel, was less humorous. The album dealt more with social and
political issues than 6 Feet Deep; 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 associates (including True Master
and 4th Disciple).
A bootleg Gravediggaz album surfaced in 1998, called Scenes From
The Graveyard. It featured 7 unreleased tracks plus some remixes
from the first two albums.
The Gravediggaz recruited DJ Diamond J around the turn of the millennium.
Poetic finally succumbed to 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.[6] Nightmare in A-Minor,
the third official album for Gravediggaz, was released independently
in 2001; it featured two of the original members, Poetic and Frukwan.
This album was their darkest work yet. It includes many references
to Poetic's struggle with colon cancer, as well as a focus on the
more apocalyptic themes of the teachings of the Five Percent Nation.
Although RZA did not take part in the making of 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 themselves.
A different version of the album (minus the song "Better Wake
Up") was released to widespread critical acclaim in 2002. Some
of the tracks previously 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 and featured
songs from Nightmare in A-Minor and Life which was mentioned in an
interview on wu-International. According to Frukwan, he had nothing
to do with the release from Cleopatra Records and noted that the
Titles were changed without permission, further showing an unauthorized
release. Legal remedies were noted as being addressed.
More recently The Gravediggaz 2 More Cups Of Blood was released,
minus any material from Poetic. The new release was long overdue,
and fans welcomed a well timed Halloween release.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
Year Title Chart positions
U.S. U.S. R&B UK [7] France [8] NL [8] FIN [8] SE [8] NZ [8]
1994 6 Feet Deep
* Released: August 9, 1994
* Label: Gee Street
36 6 — — — — — —
1997 The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
* Released: October 14, 1997
* Label: Gee Street
20 7 24 25 87 36 28 39
2002 Nightmare in A-Minor
* Released: April 9, 2002
* Label: Empire
– 38 — — — — — —
[edit] EPs
Year Album
1999 The Hell E.P.
* Released: March 9, 1999
* Label: 4th & B'way
[edit] Compilations
Year Album
2004 6 Feet Under
* Released: March 30, 2004
* Label: Cleopatra
[edit] Singles
Year Single Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap UK [7]
1994 "Diary of a Madman" 82 57 8 – 6 Feet Deep
"
Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide" – – 32 –
1995 "1-800 Suicide" – – 46 –
1997 "Dangerous Mindz" – – – – The
Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
"
The Night the Earth Cried" – – – 44
"
Unexplained" – – – 48