The Beginning
In early 1994, Prince Paul, former deejay/producer for daisy-agers, De La Soul, along with his fellow Stetsasonic alumni, Frukwan, joined forces with Wu Tang statesman, RZA, and the late, great Poetic, to embark on a unique, musical journey. Calling their sound, ‘horror-core,’ the group dubbed, The Gravediggaz, set out to make hip-hop history. With their critically acclaimed, ground-breaking debut, ‘Six Feet Deep,’ the quartet did indeed leave an indelible stain on rap music, yet it’s less than stellar follow up, ‘The Pick, The Sickle, and The Shovel‘ (1997) couldn’t sustain life when music unfortunately ushered in it’s new sound, the “bling bling” era. Their label at that time, Gee Street Records, quietly dropped The Gravediggaz, and members, RZA & Prince Paul, left the fold to pursue other endeavors leaving both Poetic and Frukwan with nowhere to turn.
The Rebirth
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Fast forward five years later, and only one man remains. Sadly, founding group member, Anthony “Poetic” Berkeley lost his lengthy battle with colon cancer shortly after the completion of the group’s anxiously awaited, recently released new effort, ‘Nightmare In A Minor’ (Empire Musicwerks). HipHopDX recently caught up with Frukwan, ne’ Arnold Hamilton, where he was holed up in a NY studio putting the finishing touches on his soon to be heard, much talked about solo joint, ‘Life.’
“(We chose calling our album ‘Nightmare In A Minor‘ because) when we were doing this album out in New York, me & Grym (Poetic’s moniker, Grym Reaper) pretty much came to that conclusion for the simple fact that I had to see him go through his pain” Frukwan solemnly recalls. “I seen him go through his pain, and at the same time it was a nightmare because my man had cancer. There is only so much I can do. Just be there for him, pray for him, and hope that the he’d be alright. Just so he wake up inhaling and exhaling the breath of life. Pretty much it was a nightmare for both of us.”
Following the demise of his partner in rhyme, Frukwan decided to trudge forward and release the project, not only in memory of his best friend, but also as a tribute to Poetic. “Gravediggaz is gonna exist as long as I’m still carrying the name, you know? There are tracks that me & Poetic done that we haven’t even put on this album. There’s already preparation for another Gravediggaz album. Gravediggaz is definitely gonna be Gravediggaz,” he proudly announces.
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As an original member of hip-hop’s first live band, Stetsasonic, Frukwan has sustained over two decades in this business of music. So, how has the art form evolved? And, is this true innovator of rhyme happy with the current state of rap music? “Right now, there’s not enough leadership going on ’cause everybody wanna make money and bow out,” Frukwan angrily replies. “I grew up from the first dynasty of rap and I’m already in the third going on the fourth dynasty. Even though I ain’t had records coming out back to back to back, it’s all good ’cause it shows me that I am still doing something good. If I was doing something wrong I still wouldn’t be here.”
The Future
“In my off time, I am spending time with my daughter, and getting into this first solo album. It’s like I’m overdue.” Further elaborating, “I was always with the group thing, pretty much convincing myself that unity is in strength. But, I’ve been through certain things with groups and stuff, and it’s like, yo, that’s not the move right now.”
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So, for the true diehards, is there any possibility of a Stetsasonic reunion anytime in the near future? Frukwan cautiously offers, “Actually, I don’t know, man. There was so much talk about it but until I see some paperwork or something, or see brothers really serious about it and still have the kind of skill they had back then, then I’m not gonna involve myself in something.” Reiterating, “Stetsasonic was classic, so I’d rather just let that classic stay suspended. You can’t come better than that. But, then again, it could be a possibility.”
In closing, the classic wordsmith sums everything up like this, “Frukwan don’t have too many friends in hip hop. Frukwan deals with the science of life. Frukwan loves life. I love nature. I love my people. I don’t want to see no one hurt my people, and I don’t wanna see my people hurting each other. What makes Frukwan different is Frukwan wants to make the difference. I don’t wanna follow what everyone else is doing. I’m not a follower.”
