A Hip-Hop group noted for popularizing the Horrorcore style, Gravediggaz primarily consisted of Stetsasonic's Frukwan (The Gatekeeper), Wu-Tang Clan's RZA (The Rzarector), De La Soul producer Prince Paul (The Undertaker), and Brothers Grym's Poetic (The Grym Reaper). Gravediggaz is noted for a high level of Gallows Humor, cartoonish violence, esoteric references to the Nation of Gods and Earths and dark production.
Their first album, Niggamortis (more widely known as 6 Feet Deep in the United States), is one of the most widely appraised Horrorcore albums, and features some of the darkest production by Prince Paul. Their next album, The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel, featured production by RZA and a calmer sound, while the lyrics combined their usual Horrorcore fare with sociopolitical issues. Nightmare in A-Minor was recorded without RZA and Prince Paul, who had left the group. After Poetic's death in 2001, the group remained inactive until recording a new track, "2 More Cups of Blood" in 2010, and announcing a new Gravediggaz album in 2011.
Not to be confused with Grave Digger, a German metal band.
Gravediggaz provides examples of the following tropes:
- All Men Are Perverts: Averted in "Defective Trip (Trippin')"Down the corridor was Old Fat Ned,
Schemin' off a blowjob from a crackhead
He said, "Hey, want a piece, little man?"
I was like, "Yo, I'm better off with my hand!!!". - Censored Title: 6 Feet Deep, originally Niggamortis.
- Conscious Hip Hop: The Pick, The Sickle and the Shovel has a few songs that fit the mold.
- Driven to Suicide: Two of the verses in "1-800 Suicide" are about this, while the third has Rzarector convincing a group of teens to kill themselves claiming that he'll bring them back to life. He doesn't.
- Fake-Out Fade-Out: Occurs in the middle of the Rzarector's verse on "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide".
- Horrorcore: They are the ones who brought the genre to public recognition.
