russianraiderz's Full Review: The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel [PA] by Graved...
There are albums that you like, and then there are albums that you love. One tier above that, there are the albums that become etched in every fan's heart, and defined as "classics". In my eyes, there is one more stage above that, and these are the albums that completely tune you out of reality and put you on some other shit. Albums that trigger your brain and seem to speak directly to you. In my lifetime, there have been 3 hip-hop albums that I can say are truly members of this upper class: "Rip the Jacker" by Canibus, "I Am..." by Nas, and the album of which this review is dedicated to.
Let's rewind back to 1994 for a second.The RZA, fresh off his group's revolutionary brainchild "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers" was looking for a new project to tackle. Once the group's coming was set in stone, he decided to branch out and begin his scouting process for the Wu-Tang family. Enter the Gravediggaz. Comprised as a supergroup of epic proportions, RZA called up Stetasonic's Prince Paul and Frukwan and then-unknown MC Too Poetic, and the four combined to change Hip Hop's dark sound forever. After adopting their "Gravedigga" aliases (Frukwan - Gatekeeper, Too Poetic - Grym Reaper, RZA - Rzarector, Prince Paul - Undertaker), they got down to business. Their debut album, 6 Feet Deep, is considered a staple of Horrorcore Rap, but also a classic in the eyes (or ears, rather) of underground fans. While that album was indeed a masterful composition of dark humor and shock-value (in the vein of Geto Boys), it was their sophomore album, The Pick, The Sickle, and The Shovel, that in my opinion fulfils their true early visions.
As a rapper myself, there is one objective I have set for myself for when I push myself to write to my completely limits: reveal and embrace what most people would keep stored away and hidden in their mind. When I listen to the Gravediggaz, I hear rappers with the exact same calling as I do. I hear rap that contains a bit more than some clever wordplay and rhyme-schemes, but rather pieces of human souls that have been bottled up inside for quite a long time. This is beyond Hip-Hop, this is art.
The major disclaimer I would give about this album is that this is not for the happy-go-lucky optimists who believe that "everything works out". In the Gravediggaz' world, there is no optimism. Life is a bleak existance that you can only attempt to survive. The entire album is a collection of pessimistic outlooks on what the meaning of our being is. As the first track "Dangerous Mindz" hits, the listener is immediately engaged within the menacing instrumental. The MC's all deliver pure poetry chockful of piercing imagery and metaphors. Grim Reaper's opening bars always send me chills in just how insane the picture it paints is:
"I got stress on my brain that causes chest pains
inside the best frames ghetto blood clots is scored by slug shots
and drug spots, well if you're too poor to move out
or get a new house, it's like livin in a war walkin through shootouts"
Welcome to the jungle, no smiles here. The track also features RZA and Frukwan, who deliver equally dark verses with the same objective - the world is not a safe place. I mentioned the production previously, but I cannot do it justice in words. You have to really listen to the song, as well as the rapping, as the production goes hand-in-hand with the vocals. One thing to note about this album is that Prince Paul is no longer the main authority over the beats for the group, as he only handles one track and that is the Outro. The production efforts are now handed over to RZA and several of his proteges (4th Disciple, True Master). While this may have shocked the fans of Prince Paul's efforts on "6 Feet Deep", the beats on this album are all extremely fitting and ideal for what the Gravediggaz do here. Take Poetic's own composition for "Unexplained", a classic display of mature braggadocio that is heavily embedded with an awareness for the world. This is expanded on "Twleve Jewelz", as the Rzarector himself mans the song for a solo outing. For those that think that the RZA is a circus act in Hip Hop and is a rapper who heavily plays the Wu Tang gimmick, please hang yourselves immediately. RZA might be one of the most philosophically insightful MC's I have ever heard. If you as a listener think that his role within a group would best be behind the production boards, you are mistaken, as RZA rules most of the lyrical standouts on this album just as much as Grim and Frukwan do. The song "Twelve Jewelz" is a perfect scope into his intellectual mind, capping it off with a story whose moral is the Rzarector's personal pillars of success.
One of the most incredible things you can do as an MC, is deliver a message indirectly. To me, having that much trust in your listeners that they will be able to understand your embedded message, without the need for you to spell it out for them, is an extraordinary ability. That is why "Fairytalez" is one of the more fascinating songs you could encounter. The song features several stories that seem to be masked as stories we've heard as kids (Three Little Pigs, Jack and Jill, etc), but the situations that occur in the story are actually real-life scenarios that happen on a daily basis. The chorus (which features Kelis' first ever appearance) states that we are fed fairy tales when we are young to just only take them as that - fairy tales, when in reality these same stories are all based on truthful things. What I take in from the song is that society can mask many wrong doings by telling the stories to kids as "fairy tales" and calming them down with it, rather than trying to remedy these wrongs.
While songs about love lost can be downers, there is nothing more saddening than a tale of a love lost to death. "Never Gonna Come Back is the complete opposite of the word "obligatory". With the current state of Hip Hop being one of followers, trends, and monotony, with people making formulaic songs for the ladies or for the "dead homies", Frukwan and Grym both tear through convention and have a moment of painful retrospection upon the loss of their beloved significant others. Strangely enough, it's hard to determine whether the song is about two separate instances or if they are both talking about the same death. Both MC's discuss the death of a female due to a violent act that she was not even involved in. The song is not only paying remembrances to the loved one, but also a scope at how damaging inner-city violence is, as even innocent people who choose to stray away from such circumstances can still be robbed, and not only of their belongings, but of their life. However, another interesting thing about this track is that it can also be interpreted in that the "woman" that they are talking about is Hip Hop, so the entire concept is an extended metaphor for how Hip Hop has been murdered and is never coming back. Nas has been proclaiming Hip Hop's death almost 10 years too late.
After the windstorm of vicious imagery that is "Pit of Snakes", we get to my personal favorite song - "The Night The Earth Cried". RZA and 4th Disciple co-produce what might be one of the most sombre and saddening pieces of music I've ever heard. While Frukwan and Grym present their usual pessimistic outlook on the way the world spins and the future, it is RZA's verse that dropped my jaw, with an intricate detailing of the way Africans were brought to the new world and how an entire race was corrupted under the hands of the powers that be. It is an incredible listen, capped off with a bridge that makes any soul shudder:
"At night time you can hear the earth cry
How many more black gods got to die
Before we realize there's no God in the sky
The devil tricked us, that's the worst lie"
Aside from that, the other candidate for the gem of this album would be the philosophical "Hidden Emotions. Grym Reaper and Frukwan are joined by Truemaster to craft one of the most emotionally relatable songs ever. Aptly named, the song deals with many sentiments that we keep bottled up as we grow, that are finally released when we come of age and have reached a level of maturity in which we can no longer keep ourselves shielded. Truemaster laces the beat with an incredible piano loop and screeches in the background. It is so powerful when an instrumental itself can do alot for you even without the lyrics. "The Pick, the Sickle, and the Shovel"'s main strength, in my opinion, is the production's astounding ability to set the tone of the song right off the bat. Every theme and concept on here starts and ends with the beats, and therefore the album's instrumental version would be just as powerful of a listen. The RZA-produced "What's Goin On" follows and continues the socially-aware theme. This track is a bit more on the pessimistic side but nothing you wouldn't expect from the Diggaz. Once again, I can't stress enough what a trip it is to listen to how the lyrics on this album are crafted. There are no easy "writing's-on-the-wall" lyrics here that are instantly understood. You will never fully appreciate this album in the first few listens, it takes many times over to even start catching many of the messages embedded within the words. Much of what they say is very cryptic and hidden among the diverse and exaggerated imagery, but you still can't help but listen in awe at the poetic prevalence that is present.
With that in mind, I must conclude this by reiterating the impact this album has had on my mind and heart. For a long while now, I seem to have been drained of inspiration or the will to write, and as soon as I started listening to this extraordinary group, my mind was sparked once again. Hearing Hip Hop that is not done out of convention or formulaic ideas, but rather out of the most creative and original style is something that will definitely wake even the most inebriated of minds. "The Pick, the Sickle, and the Shovel" is not necessarily an album that your head will nod with, but definitely one that your heart will beat with. Find this album immediately and give it a listen, expand your minds!
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