# 9 ....Gravediggaz-"6 Feet Deep" (1994)

First off, Happy New Year!! Hope all of you had a fresh 2009 and here's to a DOPE 2010. Today's entry takes a closer look at Prince Paul and the RZA's side project GRAVEDIGGAZ 6 Feet Deep. This would also be the seminal release from the short lived "Horrorcore" segment-genre. To pigeonhole this record into a silly sub genre would not be doing it any justice, however. Seriously, Prince Paul and the RZA making a record should be means for a national holiday.

I know I kind of beat a dead horse at times within the confines of onlyhiphopblog by showcasing what I like about a particular album and then, in turn what, or who, it influenced. The fact of the matter is that, (and not just in the realm of popular music) but in life-even in terms of the world, all of the things we take for granted wouldn't have been possible without those who came before and laid the groundwork.

Within the material itself, Prince Paul and the RZA take us on a midnight walk through the cemetary but not without digging up influences that scream Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson before even looking for Eric B or Grandmaster Flash. Slow, dusty grooves play juxtapose alongside Frukwan and Too Poetic; these two carry most of the rhyming while the "RZArector" and Prince Paul primarily stay behind the boards....they definitely come out and shine on most of the tracks, even if just for a minute.

Records like 6 Feet Deep gave hip hop crossover appeal. By using unconventional production methods and mastering the use of genre-defying samples, RZA and PP brought in a new audience...and I can tell you first-hand when all the alt kids fell for hip hop....around '96-'97. I went to the neighborhood music store. (okay, so the closest thing resembling a music store where I grew up was circuit city) the dude behind the counter had longer hair, a skull cap, looked like he had just stepped out of any 90's grunge coming of age picture (Singles, Reality Bites, etc) He had Jane's Addiction's Kettle Whistle playing at his counter. I walked up to the counter with my purchase, (Genius/GZA's Liquid Swords) and he asked me if I had heard the Gravediggaz. He pointed me to 6 Feet Deep....I'm pretty sure I walked out with two cd's that day.

That experience made me realize that while hip hop at the time was an extremely formidable venture, I could listen to other kinds of music and those experiences would enrich my life that much more. Kind of funny and ironic that a record called 6 Feet Deep showed me all of the life I had in front of me.


-Marty.