6 Feet Deep

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6 Feet Deep
6 Feet Deep cover
Studio album by Gravediggaz
Released August 9, 1994
Genre East Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop, horrorcore
Length 52:17 (North America)
55:53 (Europe)
Label Gee Street/Island/PolyGram Records
524 016
Producer Prince Paul
The RZA
RNS
Mr. Sime
Gatekeeper
Professional reviews
Gravediggaz chronology
6 Feet Deep
(1994)		 The Hell E.P.
(1995)

6 Feet Deep was the debut album of the New York-based Horrorcore Hip Hop supergroup, Gravediggaz. It was released August 9, 1994, by Gee Street Records.

Contents

[edit] Album information

The original title of the album was Niggamortis, but 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."[1]

The last question on "360 Questions" is a reference to Tommy Boy Records, to which each band member had been signed during the early days.

Grym Reaper's first couple of lines from 'Here Comes The Gravediggaz' (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 "Don't Mess With Big Jim", originally by Jim Croce.

[edit] Reception

The album was well received and is considered a classic of the horrorcore genre; it's also notable as a unique collaboration between the two most influential producers on the East Coast at the time, Prince Paul and The RZA.

Professional reviews:

  • 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 (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.'

[edit] Track listing

# Title Length Producer(s) Guest(s) Samples
1 "Just When You Thought It Was Over (Intro)" 0:10 Prince Paul
2 "Constant Elevation" 2:30 Prince Paul
3 "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide" 3:55 Prince Paul Kurious
4 "Defective Trip (Trippin')" 5:04 Prince Paul MC Serch, Biz Markie
5 "2 Cups of Blood" 1:24 Prince Paul
  • "Hihache" by Lafayette Afro Rock Band (from the 1974 album "Voodounon")
6 "Blood Brothers" 4:47 Gatekeeper
7 "360 Questions" 0:33 Prince Paul
8 "1-800-Suicide" 4:18 Prince Paul
  • "Sunny" by Booker T. & the MG's (from the 1967 album "Hip-Hug-Her")
  • "One Man Band" by Monk Higgins & the Specialites (from the 1974 album "Dance to the Disco Sax")
9 "Pass the Shovel" (Included on the European version only) 3:36 Prince Paul
  • "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James (from the 1975 album "Two")
10 "Diary of a Madman" 4:34 RNS, RZA & Prince Paul Killah Priest, Scientific Shabazz
11 "Mommy, What's a Gravedigga?" 1:44 Prince Paul
  • "Since We Said Goodbye" by The Counts (from the 1974 album "Funk Pump")
  • "Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up" by Patrice Rushen (from the 1979 album "Pizzazz")
  • "It's A New Day" by Skull Snaps (from the 1973 album "Skull Snaps")
12 "Bang Your Head" 3:24 Prince Paul
  • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss (1977)
13 "Here Comes the Gravediggaz" 3:44 Mr. Sime
14 "Graveyard Chamber" 4:57 RZA Dreddy Kruger, Killah Priest, Scientific Shabazz
15 "Death Trap" 4:36 Prince Paul Masta Ace
  • "7 Minutes of Funk" by Tyrone Thomas & the Whole Darn Family (from the 1976 album "Has Arrived")
16 "6 Feet Deep" 4:36 RZA
17 "Rest in Peace (Outro)" 2:01 Prince Paul

Note: the source for these Producer listings is unknown, but may be erroneous as the backing track for some songs (including, most notably, "Diary of a Madman") appear on RZA's 1992 demo tape for The Wu-Tang Clan, which Prince Paul was apparently not affiliated with. It is most logical to assume that each song on this album represents a collaboration between the two on some level.

[edit] Album Chart Positions

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1994 6 Feet Deep #36[2] #6[2]

[edit] Singles Chart Positions

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1994 "Diary of a Madman" #82[3] #57[3] #8[3] #11[3]
"Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide" - - #32[3] #27[3]
1995 "1-800-Suicide" - - #46[3] #29[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gravediggaz - Niggamortis. Discogs. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
  2. ^ a b Album charts and awards for 6 Feet Deep. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Singles charts and awards for 6 Feet Deep. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2008-03-28.
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