Gravediggaz was an American hip-hop group from New York City, known for its… Read Full Bio ↴Gravediggaz was an American hip-hop group from New York City, 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.
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. Frukwan and Prince Paul were previously together in the group Stetsasonic. 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." 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.
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_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. 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". In 2011, it was announced that the group had been recording new tracks involving Shabazz The Disciple & Killah Priest.
In 2018, Gatekeeper released "1 Cup of Blood" under the Gravediggaz name.
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. Frukwan and Prince Paul were previously together in the group Stetsasonic. 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." 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.
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_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. 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". In 2011, it was announced that the group had been recording new tracks involving Shabazz The Disciple & Killah Priest.
In 2018, Gatekeeper released "1 Cup of Blood" under the Gravediggaz name.
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The Pick, The Sickle And The Shovel
Gravediggaz Lyrics
Da Bomb [Gatekeeper] In '97 don't be alarmed, Gravediggaz drop (Da B…
Dangerous Mindz Verse One: Too Poetic/Grym reaper Yo, hah yo, rahh, yo, y…
Deadliest Biz Yo don't bother me kid Let a nigga live plus eat Bless…
Elimination Process [Grym Reaper] Ghettos are becomin lost Shorties is outta the…
Fairytalez This is the story of three little pigs And the projected…
Hidden Emotions Hidden emotions, you and I control it Don't get pissed cause…
Intro You got the rizza live in effect son You got the…
Never Gonna Come Back [Grym Reaper (Gatekeeper)] (Black woman) She's never gonna c…
Outro Let's get it on ock, and watch the spot get…
Pit Of Snakes The pit, the pit (Oh my!) Yo, 1, 2 Dun dunna dunna…
Repentance Day Yo, there's still time As the door close, the cold wind…
The Night the Earth Cried [Grym Reaper] I want a queen on every continent So I can…
Twelve Jewelz As long as you got mentally dead people Who are living…
Unexplained [Chorus] Behind the ghetto plains, the warfare reign Must we…
What's Goin' On [Rzarector (Blue Raspberry)] Yo hold up stop stop What's goi…