GRAVEDIGGAZ - "Niggamortis" (Promo Tape) [Alt.]

[claaa7]

here's a lil' gem for all Prince Paul / Poetic / Wu heads. As I'm sure you are well aware of, Gravediggaz' debut album "6 Feet Deep" was originally called "Niggamortis", and the first EU pressings even bore that name. It turns out that this is a very interesting alternative version of the album, my homie Rusty_WU_Chain apparantly came across it on SoulSeek some years ago so thanks to him for the upload!

* alternative RZA verse on "Constant Elevation", plus skit outro
* skit @ end of "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide"
* includes "Freak The Sorceress" which was missing from all releases of the album, but released as a B-side to "1-800 Suicide" 12"
* there are some different background vocals and sound fx on various tracks not heard on the retail
* includes a titled skit called "Who is this Bitch" that was not on any other release
* following the ordinary "Rest In Peace" outro there's a moment of silence then Poetic comes with some crazy acapella freestyle skit type shit, it's short but hilarious
* the album closes with "Pass The Shovel" which was dropped on most versions, and on no other version was it included as the final song
*total playing time 49:59


SIDE A:
01. "Intro"
02. "Constant Elevation" (w. Alternative RZA verse)
03. "Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide"
04. "Defective Trip (Trippin')"
05. "2 Cups of Blood"
06. "Blood Brothers"
07. "360 Questions"
08. "1-800 Suicide"
09. "Diary Of A Madman"

SIDE B:
01. "Mommy What's A Gravedigga"
02. "Bang Your Head"
03. "Here Comes The Gravediggaz"
04. "Who Is This Bitch (Skit)"
05. "Freak The Sorceress"
06. "Deathtrap"
07. "Rest in Peace"
08. "Grym Reaper Acapella Outro"
09. "Pass The Shovel"


I UPLOADED IT TO SOUNDCLOUD SO YOU CAN BOTH STREAM AND/OR DOWNLOAD
https://soundcloud.com/losttapesclaaa7/niggamortis-promo-tape

[claaa7]

some more notes:

* i always wondered why "Freak The Sorceress" wasn't on the album despite it being mentioned on "Rest In Peace" amongst all the other tracks featured on the album that was being shouted out.. now we know why, it was a last minute exclusion from the retail for some reason

* notice that the two tracks missing are "Graveyard Chamber" and "6 Feet Deep", these are also the songs that RZA produced for the LP. he did produce the foundation of "Dirary of A Madman" together with RNS, but Prince Paul really oversaw it, scored the courtroom break and added a lot of other things. just like he did with the other songs not produced by him on this album (or even something like Souls of Mischief LP).

* the verse that RZA spits on "Constant Elevation" is the original verse, i don't have my records here but this version was featured on Prince Paul's "Hip Hop Gold Dust" and if i remember right he said that he always prefered this version/verse a lot but RZA wanted to go with the other. which do you think is the better mix?

* funny thing about this tape, Prince Paul was asked in an interview about it - and he didn't even know it existed. it's not a bootleg but rather something the label put out as a promo before the album was completely fnished I guesm but who knows?

[vaporized2]

Nice. Hope soundcloud leave that up.

Always thought 'freak the sorceress' and 'pass the shovel' were 2 of the best GD tracks, not sure why they left them off. ('Don't be afraid of the dark' as well, but I see that's not on here either )

[claaa7]

^ agreed about "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark", i love that song... and i was so mad bc apparantly some versions of Prnce Paul's "Hip Hop Gold Dust" included that song.. well mine don't :/

i wonder when that were recorded, '93?

[fat rhymin]

dope shit, thanks

[bbatson1]

thanks claaa7. You stay blessing us with treats.

[Stieflkater]

thx, but shit is unlistenable...

[claaa7]

Stiefkater: you really think so?
i thought it was quite decent for an obscure rip of some old cassette. had no problem listening it through

[step one]

Interesting. Freak The Sorceress (and the instrumental) is also on this UK promo of Nowhere To Run that I've got...

http://www.discogs.com/Gravediggaz-Nowh ... ase/136226

[claaa7]

^ true, i always loved that track... that EP also has a cool little skit called "Reincarnation of Freud", knowing Prince Paul's love for skits it's an interesting listen. check it out:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/rbo76g



another interesting thing about Prince Paul and The Gravediggaz is that on "The Pick, The Sickle & The Shovel" (the 2nd album) he pretty much had left the group, but he was credited for producing the outro though... however he did produce two additional minutes of the record - which wasnt "exactly" credited... you know the skit before "Hidden Emotions", where a thug is beating the shit out of someone that owes him money over a rugged beat, and then he get a phone call and his baby mama is in labor - that skit is 100% Prince Paul

[Stieflkater]

Yeah, man way quieter on one channel which sucks. Could maybe fix that though - nothing essential on the promo version anyways...

[claaa7]

true, this is more for the super fans of Wu/Paul/Gravediggaz, but of little interest to everyone else i would imagine... for me, "Niggamortis" is one of my all time favorite albums, and it hold a lot of nostalgic value too, so to find out that "Freak The Sorceress" was a last minute deletion from the LP was pretty incredible info for me, the same with that alternative RZA verse on "Constant Elevation" which i think is superior to the album version.

[dirt_dog]

^ agreed about "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark", i love that song... and i was so mad bc apparantly some versions of Prnce Paul's "Hip Hop Gold Dust" included that song.. well mine don't :/

i wonder when that were recorded, '93?

From what I remember "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" was only on the promo version of HHGD, not the retail.

[Mark 563]

Interesting. Freak The Sorceress (and the instrumental) is also on this UK promo of Nowhere To Run that I've got...

http://www.discogs.com/Gravediggaz-Nowh ... ase/136226

It's on the US version of the 'Nowhere To Run' 12" also (and the cassingle and CD single).

I've never seen it on the '1800 Suicide' 12".

[stanR]

still needs work but i've been able to fix up a lot of problems from this rip. too bad side b is lower quality than a...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/237 ... ogress.mp3

such an awesome album - thanks for the link claaa7. will post the full deal (along with the cleaned up demo) when i finish.

[bbatson1]

thanks stanR. Looking forward to it. Sounds good.

[Verge]

Interesting. Freak The Sorceress (and the instrumental) is also on this UK promo of Nowhere To Run that I've got...

http://www.discogs.com/Gravediggaz-Nowh ... ase/136226

It's on the US version of the 'Nowhere To Run' 12" also (and the cassingle and CD single).

I've never seen it on the '1800 Suicide' 12".

Yeah, my boy always had the Nowhere To Run 12" and that's where I know Freak The Sorceress from, never saw it on any other 12".

Also, I never heard Dont Be Afraid Of The Dark, just hearing it now, pretty ill.
Thanks.

[Thereallex]

Hi Fam, any chance to get the Freak the sorceress instrumental please ?
Thanks J, shit is amazing

[Boothe]

Thanks for sharing.

Regarding RZA's verse on Constant Elevation, I like this version less.

[unheard78]

I'm working on a pretty heavy tweak of this tape. I'll post it up when I get it done later this week.

[dilla7]

Thanks for this Claa7

[claaa7]

Thanks for sharing.

Regarding RZA's verse on Constant Elevation, I like this version less.

yeah same here, but still it's very cool to hear a totally different verse from RZA here... this version, "1800 Suicide" (RZA Remix) and "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" w. Craig G was featured on Prince Paul's compilation "Hip Hop Gold DUst"... in there he breaks down eahc song, unfortunately i don't have the record here, can't remember if it was RZA who wanted it changed himself but i think so

[unheard78]

Sorry I haven't posted the version yet. I promise, this weekend, I'll get it online. It's not perfect, but it does improve on some of the volume issues.

[dilla7]

Thats kool take your time i look foward to it should be dope regardless

[dirt_dog]

Here's my attempt at a real big improvement. It's still FAR from perfect, but a lot easier on your ears (and some nice, clean new cover art).

Props to claa7 for the original!

https://mega.co.nz/#!b9ozDTjb!MNiLJEyOl ... PsgcygA2Co" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[claaa7]

ill, many thanks for that, gonna give it a spin later... "Niggamortis" is one of the illest albums ever.

a question for y'all, did you think it was a wise choice for them to drop "Pass The Shovel" and "Freak The Sorceress"

[Verge]

Freak the sorceress was always my shit. Not sure if it really mattered if it was on the album since its widely considered a classic lp anyway, but it was always cool to people to have a non album b side like that. Like a little reward for still buying 12"s back then instead of only tapes or cds.

[dilla7]

[claaa7]

^ that "House That Hatred Build" is INSANE!! i believe that is the first thing they ever recorded as The Gravediggaz, Prince Paul posted it on his Soundcloud and i think that's what he said... the Gravediggaz demo tape is pretty damn ill.

this one's cool too, from the "Tales From The Darkside" soundtrack, about 1995 -



also Dirt Dog as i said in PM, great work on the updated promo sound, listening to Side A as i'm writing!