Bobby Digital - In Stereo (November 24, 1998)

Oh, I've been waiting for a crack at this album for a while, now. Strap in.

I feel like I've been harping for a while now on the fact that 1997 was a landmark year for the Wu-Tang Clan and its brand, but if you don't know who I'm talking about here by any chance, how the fuck did you get here? Of all the countless distractions the internet offers, you come over to mines. Oh well, bonus traffic. Yay.

Nobody can talk about the Wu as an idea without talking about its chief architect, Robert Diggs bka RZA. I feel that I've talked about him so much these past few posts (both praising him to the heavens & dissing the ever-living shit outta him) that I'm exhausted from the mere mention of his name but the fact remains that he's the man behind one of the most influential hip hop movements of all time, and history will reflect that no matter how bad he fucks up.

Back to the year 1997 for a bit: This particular year was the culmination of Bobby's lauded '5-year plan' in which he would take his crew, comprising of nine friggin' people, from absolute irrelevancy to straight up superstardom. Judging by the fact that Wu-Tang Forever sold a ton of copies and rivals its predecessor, the revered Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) in critical acclaim (I even feel it eclipsed it.), I think it's fair to say that he succeeded big time. His next move was to promptly relinquish control of his cohorts' solo careers after his dictatorial guidance led them to success, and to be fair, I think that was the only way forward.

Now aside from his day job as Wu führer, Bobby has also dabbled in another hip hop venture, although one not as commercially dominant as that W but still very respected: That of the Gravediggaz, where he shared MC duties with former Stetsasonic mainstay Frukwan and the late great OG anomaly Too Poetic. In this group's amazing debut N****mortis, or 6 Feet Deep as it's known Stateside, Bobby got the chance to greatly broaden his horizons as an MC. Although by 97, the Wu brand had gotten so big that their second album, The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel  released that same year, had become an official Wu-Affiliate record, with Rob relegating himself as main guest on what was mostly a duo album. Despite not being that big of a seller, the album still managed to become Gravediggaz' biggest commercial hit while being as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, although for a variety of different reasons. I've talked about these dudes enough, goddamnit, go read my reviews of theirs for more.

Now, you ask me what was my point of all this ranting, right? It's that up until that point, every long-term musical venture this dude has committed to has been critically lauded one way or another. So when he announced that he was going to put out a solo project where he had total unhindered freedom to express his artistic ideas, many a Wu Stan (and back then, they were a lot) had recurring wet dreams fantasizing about how it was going to bring the next revolutionary stage in Robert Diggs' musical career. And when he dropped Tragedy, his debut single for the upcoming album called The Cure, it seemed everyone was getting their wish. Then life came with its oh-so-precious lemons: RZA dropped B.O.B.B.Y. and everybody who ever loved the Wu suddenly felt an emptiness welling up in their souls.

The official explanation behind this new direction Bobby was heading in was that the entire album was to be a concept record telling the story of yet another alias: Bobby Digital, basically a hedonistic super-powered thug. He later explains that "this persona had to come out of him or else he'd become emotionally unbalanced." Yeah, his significant other cheated on him and obviously it ended in an ugly fashion. Don't get me wrong, this can lead to phenomenal music. Listen to Phil Collins' first two albums, you'll recognize. They all do. Anyway as I said above, quite the bunch of Wu stans were excited at this new direction.

In fact, five hundred thousands of those Wu stans bought Bobby Digital's resulting album, In Stereo, in the States alone. I would say you're here to see if it deserved those numbers, I'm just psychic like that.

Of course, you know that I'm reviewing the Japanese version, right?

INTRO
You know, Diggs? I'd forgive the German shouting, even though that probably came from a racist viewpoint. Hell, I'd even forgive your shitty command of the keyboards. What I won't forgive, however, is the overwhelming pretentiousness on this bullshit. I don't care if it's half a minute long, you get fuck you points for this, Diggs.

B.O.B.B.Y.
This shit is such a huge step back for Bobby Digital. Merely one proper song in this shit and Robert Diggs, the real person, comes across as a whiny, attention whoring nutcase. How is this possible? Musically this is one mind-numbingly boring instrumental. The genius of cuts like Assassination Day seems to have all but evaporated. And lyrically, the punchline attempts, while good when compared to the rest of the competition then and magnificent compared to the shit you've been subjected to in the mainstream for the past 14 years, are so beneath Bobby's true capabilities, it's physically sickening. But the worst part about this abortion is, by far, the hook. Another fuck you point for the hook alone, Diggs.

UNSPOKEN WORD
Well, so much for the swearing off of sampling, right? I mean, you took time off your busy day to record that intro, Diggs. Busy doing what, I don't know but it couldn't have been more productive than whatever horseshit you call the previous song. And you still failed to make this beat interesting. I will say that the lyrics have improved a bit more.

SLOW-GRIND AFRICAN
Fuck this shit.

AIRWAVES
King Tech of Sway & King Tech produced this song. I must admit this is Bobby of the Digital tribe's most focused showing on the album so far. Apparently, King Tech liked this song so much he changed the name of the remix he eventually did in order to promote it as the lead single for him & Sway's then-upcoming album. They kept the beat & sliced off half of Bobby's verse in favor of adding a gazillion other rappers. The original is fairly dope, though.

LOVE JONES (FEATURING ANGEL CAKE)
Unlike this shit, where Digifuck here samples the exact same Mighty Ryeders record that DJ Muggs sampled multiple times. Here's the foul part: he samples it in the exact same speed. At least he didn't loop it in a similar way. Yay? None of that is why I hate this song, however. It's always the subject matter that these dickheads fuck up in choosing. Of course Bobby-O ain't helping matters by upping the sleaze in his bullshit Supreme Mathematics approach to infinity. If this song was a person, I'd forcefeed him milk and eggs that have expired two years ago.

NYC EVERYTHING (FEATURING METHOD MAN)
About damn time we got a Wu cameo! Bobby always seems to have an electric chemistry with Mef, as they both knock their contributions out the park per the Wu's usual standards. The beat and rhymes displayed on here were more of what Wu stans expected from the Bobby Digital concept. Makes a valid case for being my favorite song on the album. Nice!

MANTIS (FEATURING MASTA KILLA & TEKITHA)
A common misconception on this song is that Tekitha raps a verse, when she actually only contributes a wordy hook. Just to show you that heads can be very hypocritical when claiming that they 'listened' to a song by an act they're interested in. Bobby & the High Chief bring the house down with their unique brands of braggadocious rhymes, with Masta Killa actually upending Digi and bringing my favorite verse on this album

SLOW-GRIND FRENCH
Why hasn't someone bitchslapped Bobby for this type of horseshit, again?!

HOLOCAUST (SILKWORM) (FEATURING GHOSTFACE KILLAH, HOLOCAUST, DOC DOOM & MS. ROXY)
Most Wu stans were introduced to the Wu's West Coast imports, Black Knights of the North Star, on the Wu vanity album The Swarm, which bafflingly went gold despite receiving the shittiest of all marketing campaigns. That W was serious. Anyway, the group was actually a mashup of two groups, similar to what was attempted with Sunz of Man & Killarmy as well as the BCC's abandoned Fab 5 idea. It was painfully obvious from the get-go that the North Star half (who called themselves, gasp, the North Star) had no business on the mic, so it makes sense that Bobby would later pick the Black Knights half (who called themselves, gasp, the Black Knights) to appear on his album. Now, it's painfully obvious that Bob had a raging hard-on for the rhyming skills of Black Knights member Anthony Brown fka Holocaust nka Warcloud, to the point that he named this song after the fucker. I tell you, the bias here was very much warranted: This dude sets the song off with a verse so demanding that the remaining MCs were forced to imitate his style. Yes, even future critical darling Ghostface Killah. Am I the only one who thinks that the late Doc Doom sounds like he's doing his damnedest Ras Kass impersonation? By all means, I didn't mind, as this surely forced him to elevate his rhymes, which is always a good thing. The beat is where my gripe lies with this song: It's not really bad, per se, but it damn sure doesn't match the lyrical quality exhibited here. Oh, and Ms. Roxy's subdued delivery clearly only serves to contrast with high-octane songs like Reunited, because she will put you to sleep on slower ones like this. OK song.

TERRORIST (FEATURING KILLA SIN, DOM PACHINO, HOLOCAUST & DOC DOOM)
In a recurring Wu theme, Diggs hands away an entire song from his album to a certain act and no-shows said song to avoid stealing the spotlight. The move, in theory, is admirable, but the song needs to be an awesome one in order for this to work, which sadly isn't the case here. This Killarmy/Black Knights mashup is, in turn, named after Dom Pachino's then-pseudonym. Difference is, his performance doesn't warrant the naming of this song after him in the least, even though he clearly saved Holocaust's fuckup with a freestyle (which can only be heard on this Japanese version I'm reviewing. Go nuts, all you collector freaks.) Doc Doom and Killa Sin both deliver nicely, though. Unfortunately the beat drags the song down once again. Maybe it's because Bobby rushed this Digital concept of his way too soon, because there are a lot of beats that are underwhelming on this album.

BOBBY DID IT (SPANISH FLY) (FEATURING GHOSTFACE KILLAH, ISLORD, TIMBO KING, JAMIE SOMMERS & NDIRA)
This beat doesn't sound Spanish in the least, but it does sound a step better than the previous two. So, um, why was Islord chosen to open the song again? His delivery is irritatingly bad and always has been. And it ain't like he's some blazing lyricist either, for his bars are incredibly generic. Anyway, Royal Fam's Timbo King manages to pick up the scraps enough for you to continue listeing to this song, then Bobby and GFK give it a shove further in the right direction, until Wu affiliate Jamie Sommers forces the track to a complete halt with her Lil Kim/Foxy Brown interpretation. And Ndira is an absolute earsore with her forced hook and adlibs, done in Spanish by the way! Not that there's anything wrong with the Spanish language but the idea is so friggin' tacky it will piss you off. Yeah overall, this one's pretty meh.

HANDWRITING ON THE WALL (FEATURING RAS KASS)
So Razzy actually shows up? Nice! Except when you realize this is an extended intro with a boring-ass beat. Groan.

KISS OF THE BLACK WIDOW (FEATURING OL' DIRTY BASTARD)
The Abbott of the Wu-Tang Clan chose to include an Inspectah Deck beat on his album out of all the available Wu-Elements on-call. That should tell you something about where Deck could've went had he focused a bit more on his beatmaking. That being said, the Portishead sample is pretty effective as a standalone, but when combined with this lyrical failure to capitalize on the intended concept, it falls flat on its face. Further points down for the late great ODB using a portion of his verse from Big Daddy Kane's Show & Prove. Frustrating misfire.

SLOW-GRIND ITALIAN
Fuck you, Diggs!

MY LOVIN' IS DIGI (FEATURING THE FORCE MD'S & MS. ROXY)
Dammit! What is it with Bobby wasting these amazing beats on unworthy rhymes. This could've really been an amazing song, instead of the elaborately planned sex romp it ended up to be. And it ain't like Bobby's covering new lyrical ground, either. Fuck this song and fuck everyone on it for making it.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (FEATURING JAMIE SOMMERS & MS. ROXY)
Ms. Roxy's back again, and I wonder what I'm gonna think of this song. Yep. I friggin' hate this one the most. First off, Jamie Sommers should be barred from ever touching a microphone ever again because of her insanely horrible delivery, Ms. Roxy blesses you with her worst performance, straight up. This will be the last time I say this: I am staunchly and firmly against any form of misogyny showcased on record, whether it be belittling a woman's mind or body, so fuck Bobby's lyrics here, even if they were based on a true story, freedom of speech be damned. Fuck this song. I don't give a fuck how common the subject matter is. This song is an utter embarrasment.

PROJECT TALK (FEATURING BERETTA 9)
Bob and Killarmy's Beretta 9 choose to enact their own version of the Run-DMC rhyming formula. And to this I ask: You really couldn't get Cousin Gary aka GZA for this, huh Diggs? The end result is OK, I guess. I will say that the beat reminds you of the eclectic sound that made you fall in love with this dude's production in the first place. Shout out to the sounds he used here that he introduced on The Projects from Wu Forever.

LAB DRUNK
By far, my favorite solo song on the album where Robert rhymes by his damn self for a change. No guests. No fancy bullshit. Just him, his rhymes and his anger. I friggin' love this side of Bobby, as he sounds like a rabid, wounded animal lashing out at any who come close, which is a style he excelled at ever since his Gravedigga days. The beat is mercilessly relentless, as well, which adds to the overall feeling that this dude is not to be approached right now. Awesome song!

FUCK WHAT YOU THINK (FEATURING 9TH PRINCE & ISLORD)
Islord, personality vacuum extraordinaire returns with his Killarmy brethren and Bobby's blood brethren 9th Prince to share a track with Diggs to flex their lyrical supremacy. Problem is, the beat is some grade-A sleep-inducing bullshit. You don't really need to waste your time with this song.

DAILY ROUTINE (FEATURING BERETTA 9)
Final song for the evening is another Digital-Beretta 9 duet over another boring-ass instrumental. I will say, though, that Bobby sensed that he lost his audience halfway through this album, so he chose to up his lyrical product and delivery. Unfortunately, Beretta 9 never fit him nor did he attempt to rise to his level. On top of that, the hook is another infuriating failure on Diggs' part.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Oh, do I ever hate this album with a vengeance. It's not the fact that this album is a horrible debut from Robert Diggs that gets me the most, nor is it his sudden obsession with rhyming alongside dudes who have no dream of challenging him lyrically, a trait that continues to haunt his stubborn ass to this day. No, it's the indisputable fact that this guy was capable of so much more at the time of this album's recording and yet he purposefully chose not to give it his all. Which, as you may well know, is an unforgivable sin to Wu heads. And rightfully so: You're talking about the guy mostly responsible for the success of the Wu brand. How can he fuck up so badly? Thing is, maybe it really wasn't in his power to reach the heights he's set for himself back then. Maybe he exerted all of his creative brilliance on his revered '5-year plan' for his crew. But then a realization hits you: The fucker already completed The Cure before this album was even made. And all remaining pity for this man vanishes, and you start wishing for his failure so intensely that you hatch a plan to block his success at every turn, finally getting your revenge for that horrible disappointment that was In Stereo. Until you wake up from your nap, resulting from a combination of the sheer boredom you've experienced listening to this album and the sheer boredom you've experienced reading my review of it. You masochistic bastard, you.


WORTH IT?
Run! Don't let your Wu-stannery blind you! You'll thank me later. Or you can just download the songs I liked and flip off the rest. It's up to you.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN
SAMURAI SHODOWN
This song was off the wildly-uneven Ghost Dog OST which Bobby produced in its entirety, and it's a much more snug fit for what an MC of his background and credentials would go for with a 'Bobby Digital' superpowered character idea. The beat contains a stab of a Mad Lads sample that adds more depth to the overall picture. Pretty good. Why weren't you making songs like this on the debut again, Diggs?!

THE CHASE
Off the Bulworth OST, (brilliant movie, that!) Bobby basically does his own version of Run, with infinitely better results, as the theme fits his character like a fucking glove! The immediacy of his delivery combined with that random ass hook brings a sense of mirth sorely needed by Bob Digi. Add that with some pretty descriptive storytelling and a beat that's so full of said mirth that you won't help but enjoy this song! Now let the crushing realization that this could've been on the proper album sink in. I tell ya, this guy is downright shameless with his stubbornness, sometimes.

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (FEATURING METHOD MAN, KILLA SIN, DOM PACHINO & ISLORD)
A prevalent MLK sample that has absolutely nothing to do with what the song's message is begins proceedings as the quintet run roughshod (with absolutely zero consideration for the title of the damn song, might I add) over the digital instrumental from the abovementioned '98 Swarm compilation, which admittedly sounds pretty damn good. Flying in the face of any notion believing that I hate the Digital Orchestra sound Bobby was pushing then. I just hate the bad songs. Dom Pachino sounds like he worked on his rhymes a bit, which is good. Still hate Islord.

THE ANTHEM (FEATURING TECH N9NE, EMINEM, XZIBIT, PHAROAHE MONCH, KOOL G RAP, CHINO XL & KRS-ONE)
Damn. Didn't you ever luck into this one, huh Diggs? Everyone mentioned above really do bring the ruckus something lovely. A common misconception is that Jayo Felony rhymed on this when he only provided a bridge. Hence why he's absent from my crediting. Anyone wanting to study punchlines may want to add this track to their list of references. And we're done.

For more on RZA's career, Digi Digi or otherwise, hit this.

Gravediggaz - The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel (October 14, 1997)

I finally return with my 2nd Wu run, and this time it's gonna be a fucking doozy. Yep, I'm tackling their 97-00 output. Fair warning: this time some Wu b-teamer albums will be reviewed. By this sentence, you're probably saying: Clearly, shoe-in has chosen to wear his Wu stannery proud with absolute disregard to other hip hop acts more deserving of such extensive retrospect. You're motherfucking right. However, I didn't say all Wu b-teamers. I'm not that crazy.

So, last time we saw the Gravediggaz, they were rabid dogs backed into a corner. The brainchild of Paul Huston bka DJ Prince Paul, this was a group of blacklisted artists who lashed back out at the industry that rejected them in a most spectacular fashion covered in my earlier review of their debut. The co-conspirators in this unique idea were one Anthony Berkeley bka the late great Poetic RIP, one Arnold Hamilton bka Frukwon and one Robert Diggs tka Prince Rakeem. That last dude, though, had another project he was working on to bumrush the industry with: the Wu-Tang Clan, in which he changed his name to the infinitely-better-known RZA. Guess which venture panned out for son.

That W left an indellible mark in the industry, through a phase he infamously dubbed 'the 5-Year Plan', where he directed the Clan's output masterfully, yielding at least 7 classic hip hop albums starting with the group's debut: Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Here's the crucial part: Paul finished the Gravediggaz project before the Wu's seminal debut, but the Gravediggaz quartet were so blacklisted then that it took the Wu's most successful single to date, C.R.E.A.M., to break out for the Gravediggaz to be welcomed back. By then, their brash and confrontational practical joke was suddenly in high demand through the simple fact that the leader of the hottest hip hop act was a member in the group. Needless to say, Gravediggaz were stuck with their association with the Wu ever since.

But N***amortis/6 Feet Deep was still a Prince Paul creation through and through, to the point that he assigned each member a pseudonym Raekwon-style (Well, technically Rae imitated Paul so maybe Paulie should do a Shark N***as of his own?): Paul himself was the Undertaker, Poetic was the Grym Reaper, Frukwan was the Gatekeeper and RZA, most unoriginal of all, was the RZA-recta. (You already know I'm using these names for the remainder of the review, right? Just checking.) In true Undertaker fashion, though, he lost interest in the concept the minute he saw how successful their debut was. I swear, I think he was too stung with what happened after De La Soul's debut. Anyway, the Undertaker loosened his grip at a time when the Wu were achieving their greatest feats in the industry, so naturally leadership was overtaken by the one who had the most experience leading shit: the RZA-recta. This transition can be traced all the way back to 6 Feet Deep, where Bobby was the one who added the finishing touches on the album while introducing his close affiliates, who would then form the genesis of the Wu's wild family tree, which has surely spiralled the fuck outta control by now. And with Wu-Tang Forever being the monster that it was (it's not my favorite Wu project for nothing), the next Gravediggaz project was surely going to be as Wu-related as they come.

The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel dropped on Gee Street, who were desperate to continue their business relations with the trio now that they were bona-fide Wu-Affiliates. The album dropped the same year as the Wu's coveted sophomore, in a calculated effort by the RZA-recta to capitalize on its success. Thing is, this album was the beginning of Bobby Diggs relinquishing dictatorial control over everything that wasn't an official Wu-Tang Clan release. Then, there was the fact that he had his solo aspirations to look forward to, as he was prepping for The Cure, his solo debut that was going to change the world. I tell you, everyone was waiting for that shit. Everyone's still waiting, you say? Look, it's the Gravediggaz sophomore review!

INTRO
In the interview featured here, Gatekeeper states that Undertaker is with the remaining trio in spirit. Telling, that. Yet another hip hop intro that wastes a dope-as-fuck beat.

DANGEROUS MINDZ
A 4th Disciple/RZArecta co-production, where samples from Lobo & the Classic IV are distorted just enough to achieve that vintage Wu sound. The trio accommodate themselves properly, tearing the shit outta said beat. From the very first word you hear uttered from the Grym Reaper's mouth, you sense his and Keeper's immense lyrical growth. Of course, you've already documented Bobby's with his Wu exploits by now, or else you wouldn't even give this post a second glance now, would you? I will say, though, that he still gives it his all every time he shows up on this album. Seriously, the dude is as focused as you'll ever hear him, and thankfully it's apparent here. For what it's worth, this is, bar none, the finest lyrical display by Anthony Ian Berkeley ever set to wax. No, really. You'll get plenty chances to check for yourself later on in the album and in his later discography. You'll agree eventually. You all do. Naturally, he walks away with the whole song, but the other two are very close behind him. I must note that Gatekeeper bragging about his ride in what is supposed to be a mission statement for the "elevated" subject matter of this album is unintentionally hilarious. He still did well. A smash.

DA BOMB
True Master establishes his connection with the duo of Grym Reaper and Gatekeeper, who do most of the lyrical heavy-lifting on The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel. (Foreshadowing, much?) His beat is a pseudo-Arabesque tune on the keys (it provides the needed entertainment value, but is an absolute failure at imitating Arabic music) while on the hook, Gatekeeper decides that he has vocalism skillz, yo. He's horrible, by the way. Everything else about the track is pretty good. I was so sure I was gonna trash this one, but here you go.

UNEXPLAINED
The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel also marks the debut of Grym Reaper, the producer. He would eventually become the primary producer of the group up to his untimely passing. And here I was so sure that Gatekeeper would take up that job, based on his excellent showing on Blood Brothers from 6 Feet Deep. Anyway, Grym proves he was paying attention to Undertaker and RZA-recta, the masters of production he was around in this group, by freaking a New Birth sample effectively. Which gives him and Gatekeeper ample room to flex their Killah Priest some. I must say, they do a better job than Walter Reed himself, even if we are talking five percenter crazy talk here. (Side note: I never liked Killah Priest's quasi-religious psychobabble style, even though I am certain that he's a very capable MC. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.) Good shit.

TWELVE JEWELZ
In an attempt to change the pace, something called a Darkim Be Allah produced this short RZA-recta solo, where he goes into a batshit five percenter tangent of his own. The bass here wasn't fancy but it never needed to be. And Bobby further proves in this one-verse wonder why he's just as capable an MC as he is a producer. Back then, anyways.

FAIRYTALEZ (FEATURING KELIS)
That's right. Mrs. Motherfucking Milkshake herself debuted on a fucking Gravediggaz song. Her singing has always sounded terribly forced to me. If you have a problem with that, Kelis, you are welcome to comment on this post, and I'm welcome to not give a single solitary fuck what you think. So, yeah, this song marks the debut of producer Goldfinghaz (not to be confused with Grym's little brother Goalfingaz fka DJ E-Sharp), a short-term Wu-Affiliate who would fall out unceremoniously with the Clan and start shitting on them. Easy to see where his career ended up. For what his beat is, it's not bad as the Reaper-N-Keeper offer their take on the fairytales-reflecting-hood-life formula we see so much in hip hop. All in all, this shit is OK.

NEVER GONNA COME BACK

Unlike this song, where Goldfinghaz brings you his single best beat he ever did, courtesy of a Barry White loop. Seriously, don't go looking anywhere else for better work from this guy. You won't find none. This is not lost on Reaper-N-Keeper, as they deliver one of their best works on this album so far. Considering you already heard Dangerous Mindz, that's no easy feat. And might I add that there's no way that Gatekeeper's not walking away with this song, with this being his best lyrical offering to date in my humble opinion. His last few bars, and his delivery of said bars, are heartbreaking. This tale, unlike the previous song, accomplishes so much in so little time. My favorite song featuring these two as a duo period.

PIT OF SNAKES
So RZA-recta decides that now is a good time to re-enter the fold, with True Master this time sharing production duties with him, with his two cohorts. You know, because he just remembered that Gravediggaz is a goddamn trio. I must say that our three hosts are much more lyrically potent together this time round, and it shows in songs like this. RZA-recta and True Master further their journey into Bobby Digital musical territory with admirable results, even if the beat pales in comparison to the previous song.

THE NIGHT THE EARTH CRIED
This time, RZA-recta goes back to 4th Disciple for co-production duties. They head to a Peter Nero sample and loop it to achieve the desired somber effect, which works in my opinion. RZA-recta also chooses this song to outshine his two partners through delivering a full-blown thesis on slavery. Grym comes close with his 5%-based aspirations. But Keeper is a clear last place here, as he wastes his first 8 bars bragging about himself, even though he redeems himself with the second half. Overall, this is a very good showing.

ELIMINATION PROCESS (FEATURING SHABAZZ THE DISCIPLE & OMEN)
Production duties are handed back over to the Grym Reaper as he crafts another unorthodox beat, although this one isn't as effective as his last production. And that hook? I'm sorry, Grym, but how did this abomination of a chorus escape the studio again?! Even the lyrical quality's compromised here, as Sunz Of Man outcast and co-founder Shabazz The Disciple returns to yet another Gravediggaz project to ruin the reputation he garnered with his stellar debut on Diary Of A Madman, Gravdiggaz' debut single, and his fantastic solo singles circa 95-97. Only Grym and newcomer Omen represented with Grym launching a scathing attack on rappers who glorify violence needlessly, while Omen follows up on said concept with observations of hood life and how the ghetto's structured to keep minorities down and squabbling with each other. Overall, some touches work enough to give this a pass, but this was a very close call.

REPENTANCE DAY (FEATURING KILLAH PRIEST & HELL RAZAH)
Unlike this track. Here, the Grym Reaper delivers his best work behind the boards ever, while bringing a verse that really forces you to respect him. I mean, I stand by my opinion that nothing beats his Dangerous Mindz verse, but this is some awe-inspiring shit nevertheless. Gatekeeper goes missing on this song, as he was babysitting his baby mama's daughter from another man here, so Grym recruits more Sunz Of Man alumni in Killah Priest and Hell Razah to bookend his monolithic contribution. Killah Priest, another Diary Of A Madman debutant, is right at home in songs like this, so he does very well. Hell Razah, though, is by far my least favorite member from Sunz Of Man, and his contribution here does little to convince me otherwise. Taken as such, his verse wasn't bad. Grym Reaper should've switched him and Shabazz' placements on the album, because Shabazz has been known to amaze on backdrops like this. Oh well, still a great song.

HIDDEN EMOTIONS (FEATURING TRUE MASTER)
The lone track where former Gravediggaz ringleader the Undertaker contributes anything of note, as his skit here is one of the few skits he's done that are devoid of any humor. That's no knock on said skit, by any means, as it introduces the subject matter of the song brilliantly. Speaking of which, True Master freaks a revered Otis Redding sample in a befitting way as he lays out the canvas for Reaper-N-Keeper to paint a vivid picture that tells a gut-wrenching story of a street thug who's struggling between trying to be a better father to his son and taking vengeance upon the murderers of his friend. In a surprising move, True Master himself enters the fold as a mentor figure reprimanding said thug and setting him firmly on the course of positivity. Truly one of the greatest songs on the entire album, and that's saying a lot. Shame it didn't open the album proper, because that would've been... Sigh. One can dream.

WHAT'S GOIN' ON? (FEATURING BLUE RASPBERRY & 9TH PRINCE)
The final recording of all three remaining Gravediggaz together. Because c'mon. You know Undertaker's way out of the picture by now. Fitting that RZA-recta brought his lil bro, Killarmy's 9th Prince, to round out the Wu-Affiliate exhibitions on this album. He chose to represent the two main acts repping that W flag other than the main crew in a way that suits him. Can't be mad at that. This song's awesome, by the way. RZA-recta's for dolo behind the boards this time, and this is one of his better compositions as he gets on the piano to create a menacing loop while sprinkling it with two Chuck Cirino and George Jackson samples spread throughout the tracks that create the feel of a massive lyrical throwdown. And what a throwdown it is, as all three Gravediggaz, along with 9th Prince to a degree, tackle their beefs with society's ills and how far they're willing to go to prevent said ills from ruining the world. A great one-two combo when paired with its predecessor, even if 9th's flow can become aggravating to some, with him trying to cram as many words as possible into his verses at the time. Hell, this song even has a Blue Raspberry hook! Ever since Tekitha entered the Wu-Affiliate ranks, you hardly ever come across these anymore.

DEADLIEST BIZ
The final record for the evening is spent with Reaper-N-Keeper flexing their braggadocio muscles with a beat by Grym that sounds OK by itself, but sucks balls in comparison to the heights The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel has achieved overall. Bad move, that, as your immediate reaction will be to switch off your media player of choice regardless of the song's quality, and I don't blame you.

OUTRO
Yeah, so this outro contains the lone Undertaker beat to grace the sophomore album of the group he created. And it's a goddamn scorcher, to boot. Completely wasted, of course, on snippets of the same interview you heard in the intro and before Twelve Jewelz. Truly a shame.

FINAL THOUGHTS
With The Pick, The Sickle and The Shovel, Gravediggaz have firmly stepped out from under the Undertaker's umbrella, for better or worse. Naturally, the RZA-recta was on hand to pick up the baton, which is why the album is infested with Wu-Affiliates, Wu-Elements and Wu-catering, even though he relegated himself to a recurring guest role a la Tragedy in The War Report instead of immersing himself fully with his brethren. Still, back in 1997 that Wu-Affiliate brand was a great look, and the album benefited from it, reaching similar critical heights as 6 Feet Deep, albeit inferior to said debut in cohesive nature. The lyrical abilities of the Grym Reaper and Gatekeeper grew, as well, with Grym gaining the most from said growth, as well as dipping his hands into beatmaking, mostly with admirable results.

WORTH IT? Hell yes. You can never have enough Grym Reaper in your life, and Gatekeeper is awesome on most of this album, as well. These two show you their absolute peaks here. Plus, this was back when RZA-recta was still willing to properly collaborate with other hip hop figures, instead of desperately sucking up to rock acts of various degrees of credibility like he does nowadays.

For more Wu-ness, here. For more stuff RZA dabbled in by his delf, here. For more Gravediggaz confusion, here. Finally, if you're a glutton for punishment and want more things Wu-related, here.  

Gravediggaz - N****mortis/6 Feet Deep (August 9, 1994)

Check out the future director's fangs and tufts of 'fro. I have to say, people: This picture is not even remotely frightening. It really looks like a lame comedy based on an SNL sketch gone horribly wrong.

But, I digress. I really don't know when I got into the Gravediggaz, but I definitely heard this album of theirs quite some time after hearing the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan's main 93-97 catalog. I also remember shrugging away from this album due to me perceiving that it was a horrorcore album, a genre I absolutely abhor. But before I get into that...

Allow me to take this time to mourn one of the greatest MCs to ever grab a microphone: The late Anthony Ian Berkeley from Wyandanch Long Island (home of hip hop royalty Rakim), aka Too Poetic aka The Grym Reaper. A true MC for over 20 years before his death, he never got recognized aside from family and friends until the later years of his career. Trust me when I tell you: The majority years of his career were not the most stable of times. After Tommy Boy released his promising 12" single called Poetical Terror/God Made Me Funky in 1989, they scrapped the deal because of course. For revenge, he got with his younger sibling, MC Brainstorm, and made a demo as the Bruthas Grym that turned a lot of heads and was very promising. Now, because life runs exactly like you want it to, Brainstorm decided it was high time for spiritual enlightenment, leaving that particular venture with nothing to live under. Ironic, that.

Because the Grym Reaper would actually spend some of 1992 homeless. I mean, I know some people go to dangerous extremes to sustain their careers but goddamn, homeless?! On the fucking street?! Furthermore, if one reads or watches some of this guy's interviews he would immediately recognize the man was extremely intelligent, therefore he would definitely not be some doofus who would lose a home because of stupid, irresponsible moves on his part. Considering that, I shudder to imagine what this person must've suffered through. Most tragic of all, he only spent 7 years among us after he finally got on before succumbing to colon cancer. My consolation is that this dude got a chance to explore his passions among a close family environment, mostly with MC Brainstorm and their younger brother DJ E-Sharp bka producer Goalfingaz, and that he died among loved ones.

I think about the following quite often, though: This man sacrificed so much for his art, yet the number of people who enjoy his rhymes is too limited. Obviously, the masses truly enjoy the horseshit shoveled down their throats by the major corporations. I guess I should be more positive about this situation: For the people who do take a liking to Grym Reap's work usually find it unforgettably awesome. And you'd better count me in as one of them. RIP Grym Reaper. My thoughts are with your loved ones.

So, one obviously cannot mention the Diggaz without their chief architect: Legendary DJ Paul Huston bka Prince Paul of Stetsasonic and De La Soul fame. Paulie, a 30-year music veteran, is one of the most consistently prolific and creative figures the industry has ever seen. So, for him to say that N****mortis/6 Feet Deep remains his favorite work out of his entire catalog is quite telling. How about I delve into how he came around making it, eh? I wasn't asking.

Back in 1990, Prince was riding very high off of his success with De La Soul on their debut, 3 Feet High and Rising. The album sold like hot cakes, which means those pesky record execs are right around the corner for another 'idea to boost marketability'. Sure enough, Paul was contacted by Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen to persuade him to manage a label of his own under Rush Associated Labels. Vehemently rejecting at first, Paul's lawyer was the final straw that made him cave in to the bloodsuckers' demands. Now, you see the issue with these guys: They talk a lot of game but they rarely back it up if someone's out for his own interests. So, he lays the groundwork for his very own Dew Doo Man Records and whaddyaknow?! Corporate reneges on his ass. Understandably, that might tick someone off just a little bit. Well, a little more than that if the fucker actually invested a lot of money out of his own pocket. Which, incredulously, really happened. Paulie: You might say that you don't blame Russell for what went down, but I see through you. You hate the fucker's guts. Admit it.

Seeing as he wasn't alone in that situation, (check this and the paragraph above on the late Mr. Grym Reap for further from my take on this.) he rounded up three other figures that went through similar situations, called the collective the Gravediggaz and dubbed himself the Undertaker. Although, I must be honest: I've never figured out why Paul specifically went to his Stetsasonic homie Arnold Hamilton, bka Frukwan aka The Gatekeeper, of all his previous acquaintances in this industry.

Not to say that Mr. Gatekeep isn't a competent MC. Far from it. Actually, this is one of the few hip hop collectives where each and every MC in the group is a legitimate lyrical threat. In the Gatekeeper's case, his lyrics were already a part of hip hop history. His claim to fame as a member of the aforementioned Stetsasonic saw him debut a classic hip hop verse in 1986 as the final verse in a classic of theirs, Go Stetsa I. Listen to that song and you'll know just how much you heard that shit without knowing it was lil ol Arny here. Of course, he up and split from the group after their classic sophomore In Full Gear in 1988 and it's not really known what he's done during that transitioning period.

Speaking of transition, Bobby 'His Rakeemness' Diggs aka The RZA-recta was coincidentally added to this wonderful freakshow just before he set his Wu plans into motion. There are some sources that claim that Undertaker was ultimately the one who introduced him to the samplers used at that oh-so-golden time, while others say it's one of his Stapleton gang of jolly individuals named Arby Quinn bka RNS, Shyheim's main producer. Nevertheless, anyone thinking that this entire group's goal was to further his plans involving said Wu is better off not thinking. At all.

Actually, Bobby was the youngest and, relatively speaking, most inexperienced member in this damn group. I mean, Paulie was two years older than him, Arny is GZA's age and Tony was 30 when N****mortis/6 Feet Deep dropped. Which made it all the more surprising that Bobby did most of the lyrical heavylifting on said album, as if this was his proving ground within the Gravediggaz. I mean, he's on Every. Single. Song. Not that they needed to prove anything to one another, but Bobby definitely needed to do so, especially since his Wu venture (which, may I remind you, he embarked on after joining the Gravediggaz.) hadn't yet bore fruit.

If that proved anything, it was how much these four were blacklisted in the industry in 92. Which is why the East Coast Renaissance's power in twisting the industry's hand was so great back then. After those quintessential albums dropped though, it was expected for hip hop acts to come out of left field with deep, metaphor-filled concepts or grimy and edgy punchline rhymes.

Enter Diary Of A Madman, the group's debut single with its video incorrectly propelling it into horrorcore infamy, even though that couldn't be further from the truth: There's a definite ghoulish-yet-conscious message behind what these guys were pushing, very similar to the vibes displayed on the later All We Got Iz Us album by Onyx although the Diggaz were a bit more direct in their approach.

Anyways. Given the single's June 94 release, people ironically thought it was an extension of the Wu brand and gobbled it up with praise, which was ultimately good for the actual brand. So when album time came, everybody involved was filled with confidence. With the Undertaker's expertise in said unknown waters, along with RZA's growing influence, this had to be a slam dunk.

Right?

As usual, I'll be reviewing the international version, as it contains the full album as envisioned by the Undertaker:

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OVER (INTRO)
The Undertaker's mastery of the ways of the skit are on full display here, with a simple titular proclamation, an announcement of the group's arrival and the opening licks of a Leroy and the Drivers sample. Simple but effective.

CONSTANT ELEVATION
An expertly-cut sample of some Allen Toussaint piano combined with sickass drums and presto! Musical backing provided. Both the Reaper and the Keeper really lay into this beat for two excellent verses each back and forth, with Tony coming out on top and Arny sounding like he simply imitated him. Yet his shit is still great! RZA-recta finishes off the song with a gutsy performance but Tony was not to be denied. Best way to describe him would be as a sober & consistent ODB (who would've fit the Gravedigga aesthetic like a glove, by the way.) Impressive start.

NOWHERE TO RUN, NOWHERE TO HIDE
Now, this song is where Bobby really hits his stride. He opens the song with a triumphant verse delivered impeccably. The first of many testaments that (spoiler alert!!!) this guy is just as good with his rhymes as he is behind the boards. Reaper and Keeper follow up with equally strong verses and yet RZA-recta comes back for more. During his verse, you hear the opening kung-fu sample of Protect Ya Neck before he exclaims 'Psyched!' and gallops ahead with an even better verse than his first. Now, while you'd think this is another RZA stroke of genius, it's actually Undertaker saving his ass from a fuckup. Originally a blank space, the idea of including the sample came to him after Protect Ya Neck's roaring success and he integrated the whole thing late in the album's crafting process. Props to the Grym Reaper's outro of repeating the song's title, which made the entire beat more relentless on repeated listenings. My favorite Undertaker production on this album, and one of the best songs you'll ever hear in your life. Period.

DEFECTIVE TRIP (TRIPPIN')
A short interlude depicting Tony hilariously taking some drugs from Arny followed by him entering a state that apparently explains the song's mood. This whole image is obviously a metaphor of their music being addictively good which perfectly ties in with the overall theme of the entire album itself being one big 'fuck you' to the pitfalls of the business. All three MCs here deliver equally strong contributions, to the benefit of the listener. This shit thumps.

2 CUPS OF BLOOD
A RZA-recta & Grym Reaper duet over a short Larry Willis/Hihache concoction. Definitely not an orthodox musical pick for the Undertaker, a fact he readily admits. He basically hated this beat until Bobby convinced him to keep it. Speaking of whom, I must say that it's always a delight when two MCs of this caliber are locking horns in a song and try to outdo each other at every turn. This song is quite the representation of everything that makes this group so timeless.

BLOOD BROTHERS
Undertaker yields his role behind the boards for the first time to the Gatekeeper, who does a surprisingly amazing job. He provides a beat from some deft jazz samples that is just the right amounts of haunting and relentless, thereby allowing all three Diggaz to rain death and destruction on it as only they can. I love the way that the Grym Reaper somehow found a way to steal the show with him having only one verse and all, as if the others were overcompensating for their inability to match his shit with their two-verses-apiece approach.

360 QUESTIONS
Another entertaining product of the skitmaster's mind. Although that last question is kind of outdated in 2016, now that Tommy Boy is up and running again. Hell, it published Ghostface's 36 Seasons and Method Man's latest outing. Think about what that means, considering its history with the Wu.

1-800 SUICIDE
Undertaker arms himself with a Booker T (the jazz musician, duh.) sample and really goes to town in crafting his most minimalistic beat on the album, which the MCs use to gruesomely describe a suicide hotline of sorts. Except those are usually sympathetic with you. Aside from the fact that, you know, they're helping you kill yourself. Our trio, however, are three of the most spiteful call center employees you'll ever come across in your life. Once again, I am compelled to edge out the Reaper's contribution as the better of the three, even though the other two display some pretty impressive imagery, strictly for the amount of facets he aces in the various ways of the MC. Props to the KRS-One hook. Paulie acquired a special sample with that and he knows it.

PASS THE SHOVEL
A myriad of samples attacks your ears immediately as the beat introduces our trio, out for blood, as they try desperately to outdo each other. Quite similar to the earlier 2 Cups Of Blood, only the Keeper's in on this one, as well. I'm a little annoyed that Bobby has two verses again, but he makes them mesh well with the others' performances. Even though he does drop the ball throughout his verses multiple times, only to pick it up immediately with a sick-ass punchline. All three sound equally amazing here, as I found out they usually do on high energy tracks. This shit bangs.

DIARY OF A MADMAN (FEATURING SHABAZZ THE DISCIPLE & KILLAH PRIEST)
Ah yes. You remember me mentioning this song here, right? Sure you do. So, basically it's the same two Johnny Mathis samples molded by the RZA-recta. What you don't know is that those two samples were originally discovered by RNS, the dude mentioned in the intro to this review. Undertaker and RZA-recta liked those two discoveries so much they credited him as a co-producer. That's right, I said Undertaker. For Paulie also has his hands in this song through fleshing it out into a concept record, where all four MCs appearing here are portrayed to be accused of murdering a child (Please refer to 360 Questions to know the exact identity of said child), someone's uncle and a Spaniard's friend. Paulie acts as various characters during the interludes expertly woven into the track, although I particularly loved his take on the wailing Spaniard. This song also serves double-purpose debuting the very first Wu-Affiliate group, Sunz Of Man. Here, they are represented by founding members David Collins bka Shabazz the Disciple and Walter Reed bka Killah Priest. Yes, the guy who Masta Killa beat to being an official Wu general. Kind of cranking up on the Wu nerdiness, right? Loving it. Shabazz aka Shabby debuts his rap career with one hell of an opening verse, setting the standard for the rest of the song and forcing the RZA-recta, Priest and Gatekeeper to play catch up, which they do in stellar fashion. Shabby would only release three songs with Sunz Of Man before leaving the group in 1997, where his following solo releases wouldn't really take off with fans. Truly a shame, as dude really had talent behind the mic. I mean, anyone who influenced a guy like the late great Big friggin Pun would definitely be a lyrical threat. Listen to Shabby's 95 single Crime Saga (a song that Punny allegedly congratulated Shabby on and told him it influenced him big time. Well, all according to Shabby himself, anyway.) and tell me I'm wrong. Anyways, the only criticism I have for Diary Of A Madman is that the Reaper sat this one out. He could've been perfect for it. Oh well, what you get is still a hip hop classic hands fucking down.

MOMMY, WHAT'S A GRAVEDIGGA?
Not quite a skit, but not quite a full-blown rap ballad either. The Undertaker utilizes a fairly prominent Patrice Rushen sample seasoned with those Skull Snaps drums. Our trio give impressive reasons why the full version should've been inserted here. I know I said Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide is my favorite Undertaker beat, but I'll be damned if this one didn't grab me more during my first listen of this album.

BANG YOUR HEAD
Little thought to marinate on: This song's hook came from RZA-recta's inability to forget a single U-God line from said Wu general's lone true contribution to the timeless 36 Chambers album. How do you like them lemons? So, quite a few fans find this song to be gimmicky. I fail to see such point of view, as this is right up the Gravediggaz' vile-ass alley. Undertaker keeps things simple by playing some makeshift bass off his keyboard, while allowing the endlessly-sampled Synthetic Substitution drum line do the rest. The effect is instantaneous, as the resulting beat will make you lose your shit by the time you reach your 100th listen. Which won't take as long as you think. Trust me, you'll be so hooked you'll do it subconsciously. So, Bobby starts shit off with a typical high-octane performance from him, his lyrics filled with grim imagery perfectly suitable for these situations. Tony follows up with further proof that he is impressively consistent throughout this entire record. But it's Arny who steals the show on this song. Maybe it's because he went on last, but the man seriously goes off. His imagery, flow and punchlines surpass both of his cohorts through his delivery alone. This song really brought something beautiful out of the Gatekeeper.

HERE COMES THE GRAVEDIGGAZ
Tony brings in an old affiliate of his, Mr. Sime, to handle the production of this gem. Meshing an Emotions sample with a haunting Dead Can Dance excerpt, the canvas is laid for the Diggaz to delve into yet another dark place to compete for lyrical supremacy. This beat truly surpasses 1-800 Suicide as THE most minimalistic beat on the entire album, and that is most definitely a compliment in this case. The shit really sounds crazy good. On the lyrical tip, all three keep up with each other just enough for this to become a classic album cut. One of those you can only find by listening through the entire damn thing. Lots of people do that, nowadays.

GRAVEYARD CHAMBER (FEATURING DREDDY KRUGER, SHABAZZ THE DISCIPLE & KILLAH PRIEST)
RZA-recta comes in and effectively commandeers production duties back into the Gravedigga fold and blesses us with a true Wu posse cut, only with him being the lone Wu general present. Don't think for a second that this hurts the song's quality. Far from it. It's a testament to how good Bobby became in applying the posse cut formula to any crew surrounding him at the time. A certain James Dockery bka Dreddy Kruger takes full advantage of said fact, as he debuts a menacing and timeless braggadocio contribution. Shame that he hasn't really followed this shit with more performances, especially considering he was a full fledged member of Royal Fam, currently fronted only by its co-founder Timbo King. It's the game's loss, anyways. Fellow Wu-Affiliates Shabby and Priesty come correct, even though Priest's voice annoyed me to no end. As for the star attraction? They knocked it out the park, as usual. My favorite song on the album. Hated the hook, though.

DEATHTRAP
Paulie! Welcome back! We've missed you. In his skit-tastic way, Undertaker commissions Masta Ace, one of the most positive figures in the rap game, to deliver a short-but-visceral intro to this song, all over Seven Minutes of fucking Funk, a sample made famous by the legendary EPMD. Said sample then proceeds to flesh out the rest of the beat as only Undertaker's beats can. Our trio proceed to deliver a storytelling rap depicting themselves as harbingers of death, where the Keeper comes out on top once again. Don't get me mistaken: Everybody came correct with their respective stories: Imagery, punchlines galore as well as some sly social commentary. But Arny upped the ante by weaving three tales instead of one into his verse. Props to a decent hook as well. This banged hard.

6 FEET DEEP
Of course RZA-recta was coming out of this album with the most unconventional beat of the bunch. I mean, this is still 1994 we're talking about, so he hasn't toned it down just yet. Our trio of Diggaz end their lyrical contributions to the album in damn style, displaying grandiose imagery and a unique flow exclusive only to this song. This will hit your sweet spot, guaranteed.

REST IN PEACE (OUTRO)
Undertaker rounds out the album with a delicious Albert King sampling instrumental, the one you heard on the 360 Questions skit while letting RZA-recta off his goddamn leash in full shoutout mode. Hell, he shouts out most of the tracklist, as if his friends weren't enough. That's 2 minutes of my life I've just thrown in the shitter. At least the beat was dope?

FINAL THOUGHTS: Right off the bat, this is one of those albums that grabs you by the balls. Right from the Undertaker's opening skit all the way to the final track. Not many 16-track albums you can say this about, even back then. Sure there's a lot of albums very fondly remembered from the era I'm focusing on here, but many of them lack the consistency frequently on display in this album. Consistency brought forth by a dedication to the real nature of this album: a conscious hip hop record. The whole album is a metaphoric attack on the bullshit of the pop culture industry as well as the stereotypes we let ourselves fall victim to, and it is executed marvelously. Consistency is definitely a very persuasive turning point in me considering a product like this a classic or not, and what Paul Huston did behind the boards, along with the lyrical efforts of Arnold Hamilton (who's living proof that the old ways of MCing can give you so much lyrical space. Furthermore, that Blood Brothers beat was friggin' awesome!), Robert Diggs (who, by appearing on every single goddamn song here, effectively became the workhorse of the group, and a splendid one at that. This venture truly is his best output outside of the Wu group albums. It even trumps his future solo shit. Let's not forget the sick beats he gave us here, as well.), and, most of all, Anthony Berkeley (who was, by far, the shining star of this album. This Gravediggaz gig he nailed will surely stand the test of time because of his devotion and passion. The world of hip hop truly lost a great person and a hall-of-fame shoe-in. Again, RIP Anthony Berkeley.) lands N****mortis/6 Feet Deep smack dab in the middle of timeless music. I can see why Paul considers this his best work. Pity he never commits to fully helming another Gravediggaz project again.

WORTH IT? I have it on good authority that the Gravediggaz will show up at your spa-of-choice for the weekend, buy out the place and turn it into a graveyard that friggin Beetlejuice would be proud of if you do not go out of your fucking way to include this album in your collection. If I were you, I'd listen to that authority.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:

THE HOUSE THAT HATRED BUILT
The very first Gravediggaz recording. These guys were at the scope-the-others-out stage when this was recorded, and boy does it show. Even the Undertaker didn't have a fresh idea of what the group's sound was to be like. Still didn't stop the shit from attaining headbanga-status. As all three came equally correct here, you should be pretty happy with what you got. Props to Tony's line: I'm Grym Reaper of course I drip red rum/Dead rose, I colour the stage like red rum. Nice!

ASHES TO ASHES
A later recording that clearly showcases better chemistry between our trio as they rip shop over Paulie's work. Surprised that Grym Reaper's first verse was not that inspiring. Instead, RZA-recta ws the one with the witty rhymes throughout, until Reaper comes back with a vastly-superior second verse compared to his first. The audio quality here unfortunately equals to jack followed by a small smidgeon of shit, which will be problematic if you're using speakers, but that won't stop you from enjoying this damn song on earphones. Both this song and the previous one were sampled by Mr. Sime for his lone contribution on the album, Here Comes The Gravediggaz.

MOMMY, WHAT'S A GRAVEDIGGA? (FULL VERSION)
I don't know why this version say it's the RZA Mix, and yet it mentions The Undertaker as the producer for said mix in the credits. Remember my abovementioned grievances with the original track? Well, here we find them completely rectifying said grievances over the exact same beat that I loved the first time. Count me compensated.

1-800 SUICIDE (POISONOUS MIX) (FEATURING BLUE RASPBERRY)
Now this remix is rightfully RZA-recta's. Before I go further, though, allow me to point out a relevant note: On more than one production of his, Bobby starts you off with one mood then transitions to another opposing it completely in a contrast that paints beautiful colors on your emotions. Here, he chooses to start with an uplifting sample which I admit to not having the faintest clue of its origin, then dip the remaining entirety of the beat into a macabre sample that complements its predecessor in the best way possible. And with New Jersey native Candi Lindsey bka Blue Raspberry bawling her ass off, this song's Wu lineage was solidified in the most morbid of ways. Our MC trio, amazing artists that they all are, recognize this and play along fittingly. Both the Gatekeeper and our producer inject their contributions with a pretty ghastly dose of spirituality, the imagery present taken directly from their Five Percenter beliefs, while the Grym Reaper injects a larger dose of straight-up ill intent. With his contribution no longer superior to his cohorts, Tony joins Arny and Bobby in bringing the hip hop apocalypse on the mentally dead while we visualize the flaming wreckage that is the remains of their fake world from afar with our ears. And we're done.


Scratch your Wu itch here. Or watch RZA scratch his own itches with those weird-ass golden nails of his here. Finally, delve more into the Gravediggaz here.

Prince Rakeem - Enter The Wu-Tang Demo Tape (Recorded 1992)

(Looks at the above picture...) Right.

Robert Diggs has always had an interesting relationship with art. If his multi-faceted career is any indication, it's only going to get more interesting as time goes on. And you can't deny that interest never fails to generate, whether positive or negative, around the projects merely mentiong this dude's more popular pseudonym, The RZA. Nowhere is that particular duality more apparent than in his legendary career as co-founder and creative director of the immortal Wu-Tang Clan, which started as three-man battle rap crew Force Of The Imperial Masters later changed to All In Together Now Crew, where his first nickname was the Scientist along with cousins Gary Grice (the Specialist) and the late great Russell Jones (the Professor). RIP ODB. Now, according to all three members, Gary was the one who taught the other two how to rap. Which makes pretty logical sense, as some of their most well-known lyrics show clear signs of their lyrical lineage. While that's a discussion for a later time, I have reason to believe that only one of them was able to capitalize on the knowledge passed down to him, even though both were very lyrically capable. That, of course, would be our host in case you didn't pick up on my extremely obvious attempts at being vague.

But, two things our host was able to blow past his mentor in were his ability to realize concept and his ability to expand his horizons. As a true Wu fan knows: The latter ability manifested first with Bobby's first forays into production after the initial sessions of Gary's debut album, Words From The Genius. The former? That's what I'm here to shed some light on.

Before that, though. Remember all those corporate woes that Gary, by this point calling himself the Genius, suffered through when he made that album? Well, turns out all labels do the exact same shit to their artists, as hard as it is to believe. And Tommy Boy Records, who picked up Bobby under the nickname Prince Rakeem, weren't going to miss out on all the fun now, were they? If you think what happened between Cold Chillin' and the Genius was bad, Tommy Boy only allowed Prince Rakeem a three-song EP, unforgivably named Ooh I Love You Rakeem. And guess how many songs they gave this guy total creative freedom over? ONE. Understandably, Bobby was pissed. And after that abomination of an EP (which unfortunately wasted a fucking awesome Easy Mo Bee/RZA beat on a fucking sex rap) tanked to the depths of Hades, his Rakeemness found himself back on the streets without a label at the same time Cold Chillin' threw Gary to the wolves.

Now, Gary, Robert and Russell already split their time between Brooklyn, the borough of their birth, and Staten Island, the borough of Robert's then-residence where he knew a couple of battle rap crews. Most notable of which, of course, was the DMD (Dick M Down. Me neither.) Crew from Park Hill Projects. All In Together Now and DMD got into a competition in the past and, for the first time, All In Together were defeated by DMD by a technicality. Robert's signals went off. For in battling code back then, whomever defeats another in a worthy battle must collaborate with that person or crew. Add that to both crews bonding over the then-surprisingly-popular obsession with 70s and 80s kung-fu flicks, Robert obviously obsessing much more than the rest, and he had himself a concept to bond the guys over. So, after initial resistance, Gary, Robert & Russell added the DMD to their ranks, along with a few others, and the result became what is now known as the Wu-Tang Clan.

During those times, Bobby had been dramatically furthering his techniques through insane levels of focus to a level that finally enabled him to become a force to be reckoned with in the production game. A far cry from the work he exhibited on the Words From The Genius album and his abysmal EP, his beats now had a certain atmosphere to them. An atmosphere that only added as time went by to the growing mystique surrounding the man's venture. This increase in skill would only grow from that point, as many Wu fans already know, but it's always interesting to explore the true beginnings of Robert Diggs' magnificent journey behind the boards. Those beginnings and experimentations resulted in a demo tape easily found online, featuring Bobby going for dolo on various tracks and sharing the mic with some of his fellow MCs from the newly-dubbed Wu-Tang Clan on the rest.

Which is precisely why I listed this tape as a solo outing by Bobby and not as a Clan effort, simply for the fact that his Rakeemness is by far the MC with the most contributions to this outing. This offers me a great chance to showcase Bobby's beginnings as an MC, which contrast well with his production efforts. It should be noted, though, that the tape can only be found in extremely poor quality. Unless RZA somehow still has the original masters and decides to release them to the public in mint condition. Another issue is that there seem to be various track listings to said demo tape, which I'll attempt to rectify by including all the tracks I heard from the shit.

Enough talk. Is the tape worth your time?

ENTER THE WU-TANG
Any hardcore Wu fan will immediately recognize this beat, as it was later used for Bobby's other desperate experiment, Prince Paul's Gravediggaz. You read that correctly. Gravediggaz was Prince Paul's brainchild through and through. A fact he seems quite fond of,  seeing as their 1994 sessions rank as his absolute favorite from all the work he's done throughout his legendary career. RIP Poetic. Comprised of two very different Johnny Mathis samples molded deftly by Bobby to compliment each other without alerting you in the slightest, Rakeem proceeds to outright attack his previous output. No, really: he dismisses the chorus of his debut single, Ooh We Love You Rakeem, showing it to be the last thing he'd ever want to be associated with. The RZA persona was definitely strong here, as you hear him cutting loose with the kung-fu punchlines and imagery he's known for today.

WU-TANG MASTER
One of the very first times his Rakeemness administers the use of kung-fu samples in his productions. If you listen carefully, you'll hear traces of a very famous Mohawks sample integrated seamlessly into the beat as Bobby lays down some more punchlines and threats like only he can. He would later reuse very few of the lyrics present on his Gravediggaz venture's Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide.

PROBLEMZ
And what's this? Bobby sampled that Cymande note way before Diamond D?! This immediately jumped at me first time I heard this shit, no lie. The beat, in case you were still wondering, is a poor-quality slice of bliss. Rakeem was a ticking bomb waiting to happen in the hip hop game and believe me, the introspective lyrics of this song show that without question. This song removes any doubt to who was the true disciple of Gary Grice on the lyrical tip. A highlight for sure. Buckwild would sample this song brilliantly in an unused beat that would remain hidden until Celph Titled unearthed it and made a fucking classic out of it with Time Travels On off his fucking awesome Nineteen Ninety Now.

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME
Bobby decides it's contrast time by prescribing a positively whimsical beat and flipping it on its head by writing a three-verse punchline rap heightened with aggression and a kickass hook. Just once, I wish he would pull this song out in one of the massive Wu shows outside of the US. I guarantee you the chorus will blow the socks off a properly hyped-up crowd outside of the US. Why outside of the US might you ask? Because US hip hop concertgoers should be fucking ashamed of their pathetic attempts at crowd participation, that's why.

WHICH WAY IS UP
This track follows the tradition of dedicating each one of the present verses to telling a story of a troubled youth in the ghetto, relying on vivid imagery to relay the desired message e.g. Tragedy's Street Life, Real Live's Trilogy Of Error (if you're flexible). His Rakeemness is certainly no exception from these great MCs as he really gets his creative on, inadvertently laying the foundation to his timeless lyrical contributions to the Wu. Allow me to highlight Russell Jones, here known as Ason Unique, and his fucking hilarious ad-libs on this track. Complete with a white accent. This album shows a very good example of just how pivotal a role he played in the Wu as a whole.

TAKING HEADS OFF
Bobby's attempt at the Set It Off/Warm It Up formula of old school speed rap. I have to say he did a pretty good job, even though I usually hate this type of gimmick. Sampling a nicely-arranged drum-n-bass loop, Bobby prattles off in his now-familiar way. Fans of his early delivery style will cream their pants, guaranteed. And of course, no early album of this guy's is complete without him entering his patented shoutout mode at the end of the song.

IT'S MURDAH
This is more of a Prince Rakeem effort than it is a RZA's, if you get what I'm saying. Clearly an outtake of the wretched EP debacle, this could've help Bobby rectify his position and give the effing thing some more buzz. Even though he was already fucked with that debut single. Anyways, this is some mind-numbingly lazy display of your skills, your Rakeemness. I can't imagine what was going through your head as you wrote these boring-as-fuck punchlines I'm listening to at this moment. Oh well. Next!

WU-TANG (FEATURING ASON UNIQUE)
Behold, the unveiling of Ol' Dirty Bastard unto the universe! This is exactly how I wanted Russell to sound like throughout his entire career. These rhymes sound infinitely better when Russell reuses them for Baby C'mon off his debut. Now, before anyone reading this gets me wrong, allow me to clarify that I fucking LOVE ODB's entertaining nature. And I'm a sucker for his rhymes, when he actually performs them. (Anyone who thoroughly analyzed Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version, henceforth known on this blog as ODB's debut knows exactly what I'm talking about.) The man transforms into a one-man drunken Cirque De Soleil and is flat-out one of the greatest entertainers music has ever seen but, I truly believe that the ODB persona was his personal and professional downfall. Don't believe me? Watch RZA's speech at ODB's funeral. It's out there on YouTube. With that much god-given talent, couldn't you have come up with something a little more preserving for him, Bobby? That's right. RZA came up with the whole ODB gimmick for Russell, thereby setting him on the course he's taken. Which I believe to be RZA's greatest professional failure. Sure, it seemed like a good idea back then, but now? Sigh. Let's move on.

CUTTIN' HEADZ (FEATURING ASON UNIQUE)
This exact cut is found at the end of ODB's debut. It sounded awesome when it was made in 92, it sounded awesome when people first heard it in 95 on said debut and it still sounds fucking awesome in 2016.

THE WU IS COMIN' THRU (FEATURING ASON UNIQUE)
By this point, the true gravity of Ason's role within Rakeem's vision becomes clear as crystal. The man was supposed to be a co-anchor along with both his cousins. Bobby weaves a well-known Isaac Hayes sample into the beat as he and Ason rip this shit a new one, and I have to say Russell takes it. I'm not saying he's bad, but I know Rakeem can do better than this. On a different note, people trying to form groups or duos should really study the Wu for obvious reasons as I'm sick of forced teamwork, which is unfortunately prevalent today. Even among underground purists and legends.

FREESTYLE (FEATURING ASON UNIQUE)
Bobby and Russell ramp up the punchlines on that ESG sample. Now that's more like the Prince Rakeem I know! I must state my utter irritation at the fact that many people underrate Bobby on the mic, when he has shown time and again himself to be a phenomenal MC at the very least. Ason would make the first bars of his contribution here very famous on his debut single Brooklyn Zoo. and with that he exits the studio (he exits my custom playlist actually), waiting to make history with his brothers on their true debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

AFTER THE LAUGHTER (FEATURING GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
The early version of Tearz. Also, the true b-side for the early pressings of Protect Ya Neck, notable for being the sampling choice of one DJ Premier for Jeru The Damaja's classic joint Ain't The Devil Happy. You will recognize the laugh, trust me. Anyways, another thing this tape shows us is exactly how far ahead Mr. Diggs was in his delivery as a rapper than most of his Wu brethren during the making of this tape. Especially former project neighbor and future critical darling Dennis Coles bka Ghostface Killah aka Ironman aka Tony Starks aka Pretty Toney aka The Wallabee Champ, who sounds greener than that pet frog you're embarrassed you had in sixth grade when you went through that pet phase but your mom wouldn't let you buy a cat nor a dog because they ruin the curtains, the bedsheets, the towels, the rug, etc. I wish all green artists sound this good, though.

BRING DA RUCKUS (FEATURING RAEKWON & INSPECTAH DECK)
The debut of Park Hill's DMD Crew. This is an early version of the blood pumping opener of the Wu's legendary debut, complete with more melodious elements in the beat, a lack of Gary & Dennis and an unheard verse from DMD Crew's chef Corey Woods, who ironically cooks for reals these days in addition to his day job as Raekwon. One other thing I admire about Rae is his care in offering different verses every time you hear him. The man tries as much as possible to write new shit every time he enters the studio, and it shows in his work. Seriously, you rarely hear him repeat a verse he uses once. You have to take your hat off to that type of dedication. Oh, and Jason Hunter from the DMD Crew aka Inspectah Deck's verse is exactly the same as the released version. Of course, Bobby had to enter shoutout mode without contributing one verse. This is, after all, the first of two tracks where Bobby has no lyrical activity to speak of. All in all? Good shit.

YOU'RE ON (FEATURING SHAQUAN & BABY-U)
What's this? DMD Crew's Lamont Hawkins aka Golden Arms aka U-God aka Baby-U was a part of the Wu's early days on more than four bars? Why yes, my arrogant and judgmental reader. I am one of the very few who thinks he is all-deserving of his position as one of the nine original Wu generals, because no one can really point out to me a valid criticism against his group participations. Especially his teamwork during the 5-year plan. Now, in terms of his solo output? I not-so-wholeheartedly agree with the masses of hatred, for I believe he can write a good song once in a blue moon, and that trait has only gotten better since 2009. In other matters, if you must have it pointed out for you: Yes, DMD Crew's Shaquan is Cliffy Clifford Smith aka Method Man. And yes, he's the baby of the group. As evidenced by his slightly squeaky voice. Overall, the beat is a bit goofy and basic but Bobby and the DMD Crew make it work.

I GETS DOWN FOR MY CROWN (FEATURING SHAQUAN, BABY-U & INSPECTAH DECK)
The intro is a bit prophetic, huh? And the DMD Crew naturally get a posse cut of their very own,which is the second track without his Rakeemness in sight. Cliffy sets us off with some lines a diehard fan of the Wu might've heard before. On Ghostface's Cherchez La Ghost. Honestly, I thought it wasn't that bad that he bit from Mef considering they were only two bars, even if they admittedly were the opening two bars. Hated that song anyway but love this one. The sound effects are fucking hilarious, by the way. Golden Arms surprised the fuck outta me with how concise his punchlines sounded, while Mef and Deck were predictably dope. In the end, everybody involved in the making of this song follow Bobby into shoutout mode. What do you mean he shouted out people last?! Overall, this did it's job pretty damn well.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
To call this tape revealing would be too severe of an understatement. All but one of the present demos here are essential listening if you're a Wu fan, if only for what they show from the intricacies of the group's inner workings to the roles they fit in and how those roles shift. If you're not a Wu fan? Proceed at your own risk. The Wu tend to be a little niche sometimes, with various members obviously more appealing than others. However, everyone else ought to help themselves to a slice of musical history, as this measly tape showed clear signs of a hip hop revolution. One that would be infinitely perfected on their next attempt. All this info makes one appreciate Bobby's vision so much more, as you can clearly hear him throughout this whole batch of bootlegs already immersing himself in the role that would define him for the rest of his life. And doing so only in the way one does when he completely believes in his idea.

WORTH IT? Step away from the Future tape and go get this, now. This is the true Robert Diggs debut to me. You know, because it's an actual body of songs and not a three-joint embarrassment.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
DEADLY VENOMS
Now, to be fair: ONE of the three songs on that abysmal EP was, as I've previously mentioned, actually not that bad. In fact, it was fairly impressive. His Rakeemness' production hasn't experienced the dramatic shift seen above yet, but it shows signs of progress from his work on Words From The Genius nonetheless. Now onto the lyrics: I can vividly picture a Robert Diggs who is immensely frustrated with his label situation as he is desperately trying to wrestle some creative freedom out of them. The lyrics clearly reflect that as he, for the span of one single song, tries to convince the unfortunate souls who bought the piece of shit that the other two songs are mere contractual obligations. I imagine he failed, as he got so pissed off he came up with the Wu-Tang idea. So, I guess I should be thankful no one heard this in 91. That doesn't mean people should steer clear from it now, either, as the punchlines present really give a good example of how Prince Rakeem became the RZA and inadvertently compliment what is present on the abovementioned demo tape. Hell, if it weren't for the dramatic contrast in audio quality, I'd actually recommend cooping them up into one playlist and listening to them together. And we're done.

More Wu-ness? Here. And here for other RZA projects.