About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators. 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.
| 6 Feet Deep | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | |||
| Released | August 9, 1994 | ||
| Recorded | 1991–1993[1] | ||
| Genre | Horrorcore | ||
| Length | 52:17 (North America) 55:53 (Europe) | ||
| Label | Gee Street/Island/PolyGram Records 524 016 | ||
| Producer | Prince Paul, Frukwan, RZA, RNS, Mr. Sime | ||
| Gravediggaz chronology | |||
| |||
| Singles from 6 Feet Deep | |||
| |||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
| NME | 4/5[3] |
| RapReviews | 9.5/10[4] |
| Robert Christgau | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
6 Feet Deep (alternately titled Niggamortis) is the debut album of the horrorcoresupergroupGravediggaz. It was released on August 9, 1994 by Gee Street Records. The album was re-issued in 1997. 6 Feet Deep received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its ominous production and lyrics, and is considered an influential album in the horrorcore subgenre. The album peaked at number 36 on the Billboard 200 and spawned three singles: 'Diary of a Madman', 'Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide' and '1-800 Suicide'.
Album information[edit]
The original title of the album was Niggamortis, but it was changed to have a better reaction with the American crowd. However, the record was called by its original title overseas. The European version also included the bonus song 'Pass the Shovel'.[6]
The last question on '360 Questions' is a reference to Tommy Boy Records, to which each band member had been signed at one point.
Grym Reaper's first couple of lines from “Here Comes the Grave Diggaz” (You don't pull on Superman's cape/You don't spit into the wind/You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger) are from the song 'You Don't Mess Around with Jim (song),' originally by Jim Croce.
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Killah Priest and Shabazz the Disciple made their first released appearances on 'Graveyard Chamber' and the single 'Diary of a Madman'. This led to RZA signing them both to his Wu-Tang Records together with their group Sunz of Man. Dreddy Kruger made his recording debut on 'Graveyard Chamber' as well.
Three charting singles were released from the album. 'Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide' and '1-800 Suicide' found minor success on the rap charts, while 'Diary of a Madman' became the group's only single to make it to the Billboard Hot 100, making it to 82.
Reception[edit]
The album was well received and is considered to be one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time. It is also notable as a unique collaboration between two of the most influential producers on the East Coast at the time, Prince Paul and the RZA.
Rolling Stone (10/6/94, p. 90) – 3.5 Stars – '[Gravediggaz] evoke the atmosphere of horror movies and ominous effects, they've also been street tested, boasting hard beats and verbal skills.'
Entertainment Weekly (8/19/94, p. 62) – 'The album doesn't take itself very seriously, but the flustered beats, washed in minor chords, are strangely irresistible--partly because it is all so silly'. – Rating: B
Q magazine (11/94, p. 129) – 3 Stars – 'The foursome use death, burial and The Grim Reaper as central themes for a chilling mid-tempo stomp through America's urban problems.'
The Source (9/94, pp. 91–92) – 3.5 Stars – 'No, this isn't the climax of the latest Stephen King flick or Jason, part 17. It's an image created by the Gravediggaz, one of a number of new groups combining rap with horror-movie macabre to create a genre unofficially known as `horror-core'.
NME (12/24/94, p. 22) – Ranked #22 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'
NME (Magazine) (9/10/94, p.46) – 8 – Excellent – 'Gravediggaz feverishly document the low life – graveyard low.[7]'
In 2009, Fangoria named it as an iconic horrorcore album.[8]
Track listing[edit]
| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just When You Thought It Was Over (Intro) | 0:10 | Undertaker |
|
| 2 | Constant Elevation | 2:30 | Undertaker |
|
| 3 | 'Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide' | 3:55 | Undertaker |
|
| 4 | 'Defective Trip (Trippin')' | 5:04 | Undertaker |
|
| 5 | '2 Cups of Blood' | 1:24 | Undertaker |
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| 6 | 'Blood Brothers' | 4:47 | Gatekeeper |
|
| 7 | '360 Questions' | 0:33 | Undertaker | |
| 8 | '1-800 Suicide' | 4:18 | Undertaker |
|
| 9 | 'Diary of a Madman' | 4:34 | RNS, RZArector & Undertaker |
|
| 10 | 'Mommy, What's a Gravedigga?' | 1:44 | Undertaker |
|
| 11 | 'Bang Your Head' | 3:24 | Undertaker |
|
| 12 | 'Here Comes the Gravediggaz' | 3:44 | Mr. Sime |
|
| 13 | 'Graveyard Chamber' | 4:57 | The RZArector |
|
| 14 | 'Deathtrap' | 2:57 | Undertaker |
|
| 15 | '6 Feet Deep' | 4:36 | RZArector |
|
| 16 | 'Rest In Peace (Outro)' | 2:01 | Undertaker |
|
Note: The source of the producers is the sleeve jacket of the album.
Charts[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Singles[edit]
| Year | Album | Peak position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | ||
| 1994 | 'Diary of a Mad Man' | #82[12] | #57[12] | #8[12] | #11[12] |
| 'Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide' | - | - | #32[12] | #27[12] | |
| 1995 | '1-800 Suicide' | - | - | #46[12] | #29[12] |
References[edit]
- ^'Prince Paul Reveals Gravediggaz Recordings Predate Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'.| Retrieved August 10, 2020
- ^Swihart, Stanton (2011). '6 Feet Deep – Gravediggaz | AllMusic'. allmusic.com. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ abcCD Universe
- ^Bond, John-Michael (2011). 'Gravediggaz :: 6 Feet Deep :: Gee Street/Island/PolyGram Records'. RapReviews. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^Christgau, Robert (2011). 'Robert Christgau: CG: Gravediggaz'. robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^'Gravediggaz – Niggamortis'. Discogs. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
- ^Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep CD Album
- ^Molgaard, Matt (August 12, 2009). 'Rapped and Tagged: Horrorcore's Iconic Albums'. Fangoria. Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- ^'Gravediggaz Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^'Gravediggaz Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^'Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994'. Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- ^ abcdefgh'Singles charts and awards for 6 Feet Deep'. Allmusic. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
Gravediggaz, from left to right: The RZArector, The Undertaker, The Gatekeeper and The Grym Reaper | |
| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City and Long Island, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
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| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Past members |
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Gravediggaz was an American hip hop group from New York, known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. Gravediggaz blended hardcore hip hop, gangsta rap and heavy metal with horror elements to pioneer the hip-hop subgenre of horrorcore.[2][3][4][5]
The group was formed in 1994, 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. Frukwan and Prince Paul were previously together in the group Stetsasonic.
Biography[edit]
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 Gravediggaalter 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 E.P.' 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.
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.[6]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, Prodigal Sunn, Beretta 9 and Shogun Assason 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'.[7] In 2011, it was announced that the group had been recording new tracks involving Shabazz The Disciple & Killah Priest.[8]
In 2018, Gatekeeper released '1 Cup of Blood' under the Gravediggaz name.[9]
Style and influence[edit]
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.'[10] 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 or early Three 6 Mafia, and esoteric references to the Nation of Gods and Earths. The group pioneered the horrorcore genre.[3][4][5]
Gravediggaz 6 Feet Deep Zip Online
Gravediggaz' ironism influenced hardcore techno through Mark Newland's sampling of the group's prose in Nasenbluten.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- 6 Feet Deep (1994)
- The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (1997)
- Nightmare in A-Minor (2001)
Compilation albums[edit]
- 6 Feet Under (2004)
References[edit]
- ^'GRAVEDIGGAZ: THE 16TH ANNIVERSARY THAT HIP-HOP FORGOT'. XXL Magazine. August 12, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^'Gravediggaz - Biography, Albums, Streaming Links - AllMusic'. AllMusic.
- ^ abHess, Mickey (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 369. ISBN978-0-313-33904-2.
- ^ abZuberi, Nabeel (2001). Sounds English: Transnational Popular Music. University of Illinois Press. p. 217. ISBN978-0-252-02620-1.
Gravediggaz horrorcore.
- ^ abKulkarni, Neil (2004). Hip Hop: Bring the Noise : the Stories Behind the Biggest Songs. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 66. ISBN978-1-56025-586-4.
Gravediggaz horrorcore.
- ^'INTERVIEW: Frukwan'. Altrap.com. August 1, 2001. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ^Kujundzic, Petar (October 28, 2010). 'RZA featuring Gravediggaz – 2 More Cups of Blood'. Hypebeast. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
- ^'Gravediggaz Working On Reunion Album, Set To Reunite Onstage At Cage Vs Cons L.A.' ballerstatus.com. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
- ^Dead, Leeps Isn't. 'Gatekeeper 1 Cup Of Blood (Stream)'. 7thboro.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- ^Frukwan (Gravediggaz) Interview - [Gate Keeping With Frukwan] - Wu-international.comArchived May 24, 2012, at archive.today