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October 31, 2006
Jack-O-Lanterns
Posted by docbeezy at 10:07 AM | Comments (4)
October 30, 2006
Detroit Horrocore
It is very easy to say that Detroit Horrorcore, and Horrorcore as a whole genre, was born in East Detroit and cultivated in the suburbs such as Eastpointe. I can with a great degree of confidence say that this song was the main catalyst for Detroit Horrorcore.
Esham-Devils Groove
From His groundbreaking album-Boomin Words From Hell or better known as Esham's boomin
So why was this type of rap such a hit with Detroiters and the kids that surrounded Detroit? Well, it all boils down to one night-DEVILS NIGHT. Devils Night in Detroit is insane, or at least it was. The arson, the crime, and the general crazyness that goes down in that town gives the vibe of evil. I can say from experience that Detroit is wild on Devils night. And it is that craziness that gives Esham's Boomin the luxury of being the soundtrack to the evil in Detroit.
Horror and Horror movie references have always been a big part of Michigan hip hop. The phrase "Jason Steady Chasin me" came to represent death (jason) chasing you. Itt was inevitable that Jason would catch, and kill you before your time, so this came to be the same as the ghetto. Basically the ghetto will get you while you are young- "Jason Steady chasin you". The grinding poverty of Detroit and Flint created a lot of horrible situations, lots of death and murder in neighborhoods, such the same as horror movies, so these themes were adopted in their music. Chainsaws, hockey masks, mental asylums, straight jackets, and devil worship were common themes.
Why devil worship? Well, a lot of young men see the death and poverty in their situation and deduce that God hates them. Its not that they were actual devil worshippers, it was used as a metaphor of sorts.
But back to Detroit. When Esham dropped Boomin, it was a hit, but not just with whites. It was a hit across the board. But especially to the horror movie loving kid who understood the evils of Devils Night in Detroit (like me). The Detroit horrorcore was on its way... but at this time it was called "Acid Rap".
Esham stayed along the path of dealing with Good and Evil, Satanists and Christians. His Judgement Day Vol 1 & 2 albums were chocked full of issues regarding religion. Such as this Scathing condemnation of Detroit Preachers
Esham-"Judgement Day" Taken From Judgement Day Vol 1 1991
Esham-"Wake The Dead" Taken From Judgement Day Vol 1 1991
Esham went on to form the group "Natas" (satan spelled backwards) to huge acclaim and large sales.
Natas-"Dance" from Life After Death 1992
Eventually Esham stayed closer to regular "Hood Anthems", which did not sit well with Horrorcore Die hards (usually white kids). However, I feel that Eshams hood shit is just as good as his Acid Rap was. Also, his sampling was on point, he was one of the first to sample RAMP (Roy Ayers Music Project).
Esham-"Sunshine" Taken From KKKIll the Fetus 1993
But he did still try to go for the acid rap steez, which I feel was falling off, going for more of a shock value type thing.
Esham-"666" Taken From KKKIll the Fetus 1993
Esham seemed to have the horrorcore business locked down...but some people were starting tomake some noise.
Enter Insane Clown Posse.
I know everyone thinks they are corny, and with good reason. Once ICP broke and became known outside of Detroit they were mad cornball and the content and quality was not there anymore.
Insane Clown Posse-"Psychopathic" taken from Carnival of Carnage 1992
Insane Clown Posse relied on stories of Ghetto generated horror and the upliftment of ghetto dwellers by killing the rich. Eventually the settled into horror stories that could just as easily be horror movies, even writing a song using Edgar Allen Poe poetry and giving him writing credits.
Insane Clown Posse-Dead Body Man Taken from The Terror Wheel EP 1994
Insane Clown Posse (Edgar Allen Poe)-Ol Evil Eye Taken From Riddlebox 1996
Insane Clown Posse-"The Killing Fields" (narrative about what they believe hell is.) Taken From Riddlebox 1996
Insane Clown Posse-"12" (Story of killing 12 wicked men who sat in judgement of other men.)Taken From Riddlebox 1996
Insane Clown Posse started the freshest tradition. Horror Themed Shows.
It started with the Hallowicked Clown Show on Devils Night In Detroit. Super Fresh stage sets and everyone got a limited edition cassette with a concert only track. THe first year was Dead Pumpkins
Insane Clown Posse-"Dead Pumpkins" Taken from The first Hallowicked Clown Show 1994
Insane Clown Posse-"Mr. Rotten Treats" Taken from The second Hallowicked Clown Show 1995
Insane CLown Posse went on to have other themed shows. The last one I went to was the Prom Night Massacre Show. Held at St. Andrews Hall In Detroit, MI. The main area is an old Gym, such as schools would have dances in. People arrived in limos, tuxes, all while looking dead. It was really dope.
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The thing about Insane Clown Posse and Esham that made them the Kings of Detroit Horrorcore is this: MYSTERY
You never saw Esham or Insane Clown Posse unless they were performing. They never were visible before the show or after. And more importantly, they were never out of character. Because of this fans had literally no interaction with them. This made their characters seem real, this also made rumors grow wildly, Esham having red eyes, driving a hearse (which he did eventually), etc..... Their entourages had the same mystique. ICP had a group of people who wore Detroit TIgers jerseys and wore the same clown masks ALL THE TIME. They didnt talk to you either. People didnt know where they lived, where they shopped, who they were... This made them seem larger than life, actually insane, out of socieity. This also helped them get larger and larger.
I can say that I have never seen a group who only sells locally, is only known locally with no radio support sell out large venues 3 nights in a row that national groups cant sell out one time.
So of course on the heels of all the wicked success of Esham, Natas, and Insane Clown Posse, more wicked groups popped up.
JP the Unknown
Evol
Down Boys
Lunacy-"Untitled" Taken from Mental Warp EP 1994 (My information may be incorrect on this one, but I know the group is called Lunacy)
and many others
Most of these groups were not good at all. Then, a gem emerged.
House of Krazees
They put out the Halloween Detroit Horrorcore Masterpiece Season of the Pumpkin This album has the best series of songs dealing with Halloween
House of Krazees-"Hallows Eve"
House of Krazees-"The Mask"
House of Krazees-"Trick Or Treat"
House of Krazees-Haunted House
p.s. LOL @ "uncle creepy"
House of Krazees suffered from one major problem; They recorded at The Disk in Detroit. They enjoyed mild success but could not capture what ICP and Esham had done years before. Mainly becuase there was no mystery surrounding them. Their pictures were in the albums (2 of them looked like Frat Boys), they hung out at shows and did not stay in character.
Mr. Bones from House of Krazees left the group and put out an LP titled Sacrifice , which is a masterpiece. The production is top notch and he has clearly developed themes. The stand out is "Why the Children". A great horror story about him digging up his little brother whom he killed to bring him back to life.
Mr. Bones-"Why the Children Taken" from Sacrifice 1995
1996 signaled the end of good Detroit Horrorcore. Insane Clown Posse was becoming a national act, Esham was getting smoother, and the House of Krazees had broken up. During all this extremely sub-par horrorcore groups from all over the midwest began to take over and churn out tons of crap that younger generations eagerly snapped up. And I was all done... Especially when I heard this.........Cykosis. Easily the worst "horrorcore" group ever. I keep it around for a chuckle every now and then.
Cykosis-"Come Inside" Taken from Cykosis 1996
Cykosis-"Organ Grinder" Taken from Cykosis 1996
+++A lot more can be said about all of these groups. I shortened it to fit and give you a short history of Detroit Horrorcore. Esham and ICP could easily be broken up into 2 very long posts.+++
Oh and one last thing. How fresh is this? ICP did a song and video dedicated to their fans, with pictures of their fans all through it! I mean the song blows, but how excited do you think those fans are? that is just a cool thing to do for the people that support them
http://www.insaneclownposse.com/media/video/the_people.mov
Posted by docbeezy at 3:02 PM | Comments (10)
October 16, 2006
Quality Product
I know my blog has been geared towards stuff I buy. I would hate everyone to think that I just buy shit wily-nilyly. I love quality product, no matter what it is. That being said, here are some quality things I been feeling lately.
Artful Dodger Hoodie. Just picked it up All City Kicks . This was the most expensive hoodie I have ever purchased ($132.50 total), but it was worth it. The material is so nice and solid, the print is on point, the tag and zipper are super nice quality. Artful Dodger is doig their thing!
It was my sons birthday party yesterday and he got the new Tickle Me Elmo. The packaging to this is super nice. Handled box with a voice box that says "No peeking" when you flip open the top flap. THe doll itself is incredible. It flops over, stands up, kicks it legs, and asks you to give him a break when you tickle him too much.
Detroit New Era, brown camo w/suede. I know I mentioned this in my last post but I wanted to throw it in the quality post. This hat is so nice. The stitching is in all the right places, the material they used is thicker than the regular New Era's, and the Embroidery on the D is so thick and heavy. They really did a nice job. And surprisingly enough, it was not anymore money than the regular New Era's.
Blackberry Pearl. My office has been testing these to see if we are going to get them. I havent got to play with it too much but I can say that this thing is incredible. Real quality device here. I want one.
Posted by docbeezy at 10:40 AM | Comments (2)
October 13, 2006
Dress Shoes?
Seriously, I know my posts have just been about shoes. I been busy. And I have a really cool post lined up but I cant do it until a Specific day.
The other day was my 3rd Wedding Anniversery, so the wife and I went shopping. To show you fools I aint all about Sneakers, here are some dress shoes I picked up. Well, not fully dress shoes, but close enough.
Black Aldos
Brown Aldos-Both Pair come with a nifty shoehorn.
And of course, I had to cop a new New Era fitted. Brown Camo with suede. Detroit. word. Best quality hat I own. Its really thick and the stitching is incredible on it.
Oh and of course, what shoe buying trip would be complete without sneakers? Yes, those are ghosts on the laces!
Halloween Edition Superstars (shell toes)
side
Adidas is killing it with their soles lately!
Inside the shoe!
These are so fresh! I cant wait for Halloween.
Posted by docbeezy at 11:02 AM | Comments (1)
October 6, 2006
More shoes
I have been wanting to blog lately, but my life has been busy (with boring things like school and work) that I havent had anything interesting to blog about. So once again, here are some shoes I just bought.
Nike Zoom Air
Not the type of shoe I normally buy, but I needed something for running.
These are seriously the most comfortable shoes I have ever bought. They are so light I dont even notice that I am wearing them. I think I am going to get another pair just for wearing out and about.
Posted by docbeezy at 1:00 PM | Comments (5)
October 3, 2006
A blog post about shoes.
I have been very busy lately with school, family, and Urban militia, so I havent put together anything to blog about. So I have decided to blog about some shoes.
I recently picked these up because I needed some black and white shoes and my other 2 pairs were getting a little dirty. I didnt want to wear them until I cleaned them, and I needed black and white shoes that night. I ran to the mall and copped these. They were $45 and I love them.
I love heel graphics
Even the soles are fresh!
They are very similar to the Bill McMullen BK5's that I have.
Posted by docbeezy at 9:55 AM | Comments (9)