Rahul Sharma (Editor)

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel

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Released
  
October 14, 1997

Length
  
60:24

Release date
  
14 October 1997

Recorded
  
1996–1997

Artist
  
Gravediggaz

Label
  
Gee Street Records

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb5

Producer
  
RZA (also exec.) Neil Robertson (exec.) 4th Disciple True Master Poetic Darkim Be Allah Frukwan Prince Paul

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (1997)
  
Nightmare in A-Minor (2002)

Genres
  
Hip hop music, Horrorcore, East Coast hip hop, Hardcore hip hop

Similar
  
Gravediggaz albums, Hip hop music albums

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel is the second studio album by horrorcore supergroup Gravediggaz. Released on October 14, 1997, 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.

Contents

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.

The vocals in the song "The Night The Earth Cried" was sampled in Raw Man's "Lovers"

Gravediggaz the pick the sickle and the shovel unexplained the night the earth cried


Reception

  • Rolling Stone (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."
  • Spin (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 Weekly (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
  • Q (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-Tang boardsman moving away from production and immersing himself fully in the power of words....RZA is a master MC."
  • Option (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 Maker (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."
  • NME (12/20-27/97, pp. 78–79) - Ranked #20 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.

    • Songs

    1Intro1:16
    2Dangerous Mindz4:55
    3Da Bomb4:10

    References

    The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA