The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
Encyclopedia
The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel, released October 14, 1997, is the second album by the Gravediggaz
, an influential horrorcore
hip hop
supergroup
. The album has a more socially conscious sound to it and is considerably more calm than its predecessor, and features heavy production input by the RZA
and his production team The Wu Elements
.
Prince Paul
was barely involved in the making of this album although he did produce the outro and the skit preceding "Hidden Emotions". He was still billed as an official member of the group however, and appeared on the cover and inserts of the album. Two singles were released from the album, "Dangerous Mindz
" and "The Night the Earth Cried
", though neither made it to the Billboard charts.
Gravediggaz
Gravediggaz is an American hip hop group from New York City, well known for its dark sense of humor and abrasive, menacing soundscapes. The group was formed in 1994 and was effectively a supergroup, bringing together Prince Paul , Frukwan , Too Poetic and RZA...
, an influential horrorcore
Horrorcore
Horrorcore is a subgenre of hip hop music based in horror-themed lyrical content and imagery. While the style is rarely popular, some performers have sold well in the mainstream scene.-Origins:...
hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
. The album has a more socially conscious sound to it and is considerably more calm than its predecessor, and features heavy production input by the RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
and his production team The Wu Elements
Wu-Elements
-Conception :The Wu-Elements are a production team closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan. A loosely-knit group, it consists of five producers who typically support main producer RZA in handling production duties for Wu-Tang group, solo and affiliate releases...
.
Prince Paul
Prince Paul
Paul Huston, better known by the stage name Prince Paul, is an American disc jockey and hip-hop record producer. He was also a founding member of the Gravediggaz where he used the name The Undertaker.- Biography :...
was barely involved in the making of this album although he did produce the outro and the skit preceding "Hidden Emotions". He was still billed as an official member of the group however, and appeared on the cover and inserts of the album. Two singles were released from the album, "Dangerous Mindz
Dangerous Mindz
"Dangerous Mindz" was the first single released from the Gravediggaz' second album, The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Produced by RZA and the 4th Disciple, Dangerous Mindz was the group's first single to not make it to any Billboard charts. A music video stylized after the album's cover was...
" and "The Night the Earth Cried
The Night the Earth Cried
"The Night the Earth Cried" was the second single released from the Gravediggaz' second album, The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Like the previous single, "Dangerous Mindz", this song was produced by both RZA and the 4th Disciple. Though it did not reach the Billboard charts, the song...
", though neither made it to the Billboard charts.
Reception
- Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(9/18/97, p. 104) - 3 stars (out of 5) - "...an exotic, multilayered soundscape that is often melancholic, but also melodic....the Gravediggaz deliver plenty to sink your pick into."
- SpinSpin (magazine)Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
(12/97, p. 160) - 7 (out of 10) - "The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel is less hyperbolic satire than playfully serious caution--for Gravediggaz, the ghetto's particular nightmare has now come to Main Street. Grieving over lost lovers, friends, and family, the group observes the culture of death as part of the everyday landscape."
- Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
(10/31/97, p. 108) - "...guest rappers Killah Priest, Omen, and Hell Razor spin oblique horror stories from ghetto hell over bruising beats by RZA and Prince Paul." - Rating: B
- QQ (magazine)Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
(1/98, p. 112) - Included in Q magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
- Vibe (11/97, p. 149) - "This second offering from Gravediggaz...finds the Wu-TangWu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
boardsman moving away from production and immersing himself fully in the power of words....RZA is a master MC."
- OptionOption (music magazine)Option was a music magazine based in Los Angeles, California.-History:Originally called OPtion, it, along with Sound Choice, were the dual successors to the earlier music magazine OP, published by John Foster and the Lost Music Network and known for its diverse scope and the role it played in...
(11-12/97, p. 100) - "Individually, it seems the Gravediggaz are trying to outdo each other (and every other MC) by writing and rapping denser, more complex rhymes than anybody....they maintain remarkable flow."
- Melody MakerMelody MakerMelody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
(09/13/97, p. 50) - "...machetes injustice, decapitates the real criminals, and burys the lot of 'em in a festering, snake-filled pit."
- Rap Pages (11/97, p. 110) - "There's a lifetime supply of meta-force wordplay for the heads, enough braggadocio for the hard-core and plenty of hooks for the pop quadrant."
- NMENMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
(12/20-27/97, pp. 78–79) - Ranked #20 in NMEs 1997 Critics' Poll.
Track listing
| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performers | Samples |
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| 1 | "Intro" | 1:16 | RZA RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost... |
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| 2 | "Dangerous Mindz Dangerous Mindz "Dangerous Mindz" was the first single released from the Gravediggaz' second album, The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Produced by RZA and the 4th Disciple, Dangerous Mindz was the group's first single to not make it to any Billboard charts. A music video stylized after the album's cover was... " |
4:54 | 4th Disciple 4th Disciple Selwin Bougard, now known as El-Divine Amir Bey, better known by his stage name 4th Disciple, is a hip hop producer and engineer who was one of the founding members of Killarmy and one of the best-known Wu-Tang-affiliated producers.- Biography :... (co-produced by RZA) |
RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost... Frukwan Frukwan Sun-Star Allah-Bey is a Moorish American hip hop musician. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop group Gravediggaz and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic.- Early life :... |
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| 3 | "Da Bomb" | 4:10 | True Master True Master True Master is an American hip-hop producer and very occasional rapper. He is closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan and an original member of its production team, sometimes referred to as Wu-Elements. He derives his rap nom de plume from the martial arts movie of the same name... |
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| 4 | "Unexplained" | 2:58 | Poetic |
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| 5 | "Twelve Jewelz" | 2:51 | Darkim Be Allah |
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| 6 | "Fairytalez" | 4:46 | Goldfinghaz |
Kelis Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart... /The Grym Reaper |
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| 7 | "Never Gonna Come Back" | 3:48 | Goldfinghaz |
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Barry White Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring... |
| 8 | "Pit of Snakes" | 4:19 | True Master (co-produced by RZA) |
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| 9 | "The Night the Earth Cried The Night the Earth Cried "The Night the Earth Cried" was the second single released from the Gravediggaz' second album, The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel. Like the previous single, "Dangerous Mindz", this song was produced by both RZA and the 4th Disciple. Though it did not reach the Billboard charts, the song... " |
4:32 | 4th Disciple (co-produced by RZA) |
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| 10 | "Elimination Process" | 5:37 | Poetic |
Shabazz the Disciple Shabazz the Disciple or Scientific Shabazz, is a rapper from the Red Hook Houses of Red Hook, Brooklyn. He is an original member of the Sunz of Man and Da Last Future.- Biography :... |
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| 11 | "Repentance Day" | 5:18 | Poetic |
Killah Priest Walter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious... Hell Razah Hell Razah is an American rapper, best known as a member of Sunz of Man, an early affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan... |
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| 12 | "Hidden Emotions" | 6:17 | True Master (Intro skit produced by Prince Paul) |
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Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B... |
| 13 | "What's Goin' On?" | 4:32 | RZA |
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| 14 | "Deadliest Biz" | 3:03 | Frukwan Frukwan Frukwan Sun-Star Allah-Bey is a Moorish American hip hop musician. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop group Gravediggaz and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic.- Early life :... |
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| 15 | "Outro" | 1:17 | Prince Paul |
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