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All Hallows Eve rap video round up · by Sach O
We shoulda worn contacts.
Rap has never shared the close relationship to the occult that Heavy Metal or Goth-rock did. White musicians have time to worry about death, emcees are too busy trying to stay alive. Kicking it about ghosts and goblins for a song is all good, but there’s too much fucked up shit taking place daily to waste a single. Still, thanks to a few dedicated souls, there are enough Halloween ready promo spots to keep the party bumping till November.
Gravediggaz – Diary of a Madman
The most obvious starting point for any Satan-affiliated hip-hop has got to be the Gravediggaz. Although anyone short of a conservative watchdog could tell that Prince Paul and company were pulling a colossal joke on the world with this project, it’s still pretty damn creepy no matter how over the top the lyrics are. Take it at face value and try not to think about Rza, Frukwan and Poetic laughing at each other’s increasingly bizarre verses.
Bone Thugs n Harmony – Crossroads
Of all the uncanny fads in rap, Bone’s melodic occultism over linen-soft R&B beats may just be the most contradictory. This song may make Nelly seem hard, but Easy E’s final meal ticket still scared the hell out of a generation of parents and beefed with Three 6 Mafia back when those guys were REALLY scary. Although not nearly as scary as modern day Bizzy Bone.
The Geto Boys – My Mind Playin Tricks on Me
Duh. The ultimate rap song about paranoia and insanity, the Rap-a-lot classic is practically mandatory on October 31st thanks to Bushwick Bill’s ghoulish shout out.
Dana Dane – Nightmares
Taking it back to the old school, a still accented Dana Dane was hitting up the shrink for his mental issues way before Tony Soprano and Paul Vitti in Nightmares. The scariest part of this video? That rump-shaking female zombie bears a striking resemblance to a latter-year Michael Jackson.
Method Man – Bring the Pain
It’s not as if Wu-Tang were doing anything particularly scary in this one, but the lighting and the fact that at least a few of them were dusted makes this one worth mentioning
The Flatlinerz
The other act mentioned in MTV News’ report on the exploding trend of HORRORCORE. The sad thing is, Three 6 Mafia could have really benefited had that whole phenomenon taken off. Sadly, it wasn’t to be.
MF Doom – Dead Bent
Nowadays, Doom’s Gladiator style metal mask isn’t really scaring anyone, but I would not have enjoyed meeting the more desperate, alcoholic Doom rocking the plastic Halloween joint while doing my grocery shopping.
Comments for "All Hallows Eve rap video round up"
Great post, linked it here:
http://differentkitchen.blogspot.com/2006/10/truly-scary-halloween-in-queensbridge.html
— ian Oct 31, 12:45 PM
Fantastic post. I haven’t thought about the Gravediggaz in years.
And Meth’s “Bring the Pain” video always did kinda creep me out, now that I think about it…
— floodwatch Oct 31, 02:34 PM
I don’t really consider “Diary of a Madman” to be a colossal joke so much as pointed and over the top satire, especially when you take into consideration “400 years of blood, sweat, and tears” with their later output. Nice video round-up though.
— R.H.S. Oct 31, 08:35 PM
As dope as their second album was, I don’t think it takes away from the gleefully anarchistic side exhibited on the original. I do think that there is an element of satire of the cartoonish violence that some gangsta rappers fell in at the time, but other moments are just plain funny on the same exaggerated gross out level as the “Torture” skit on 36 Chambers.
Probably an issue with my wording though. I didn’t mean to take away from the album’s merit by calling the content a joke. The actual stylistic form of the beats and rhymes is serious as cancer and twice as ill.
— Sach Oct 31, 08:59 PM
No love for Lovebug Starski and Amityville?
— DJ Flash Nov 2, 06:29 AM
rafi i know i’m late on this post but thanks for remembering one of the dopest crews in hip hop history.
poetic was my baby and i miss him every day, especially this time of year around the anniversry of his death.
what a loss to hip hop and to the world.
— cherryl Aug 14, 11:26 AM