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Cover Art Gravediggaz
The Pick, The Sickle and the Shovel
[Gee Street/V2]
Rating: 6.5

Like some kinda hip hop horror show, the bleak and stabbing beats of the Gravediggaz are much like (and I'm guessing here) their entourage. You can look in awe, but you can't get inside. Not that you'd want to. These guys take the gangsta attitude to the spiritual side, where even God wants an uzi.

The 'Diggaz are able to match the beats with their caustic, blunt (metaphorically, aurally, and herbally) delivery. The Pick has plenty of way cool, head bobbin' moments, like "Never Gonna Come Back," "Elimination Process," "Pit of Snakes," and "Deadliest Business." But, as you can see, it's also a little too one note. I don't wanna see these guys lighten up, because it would be farcical. But maybe, just maybe, they could have weeded out a few tracks for a more solid release.

-Jason Josephes

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RATING KEY
10.0: Indispensable, classic
9.5-9.9: Spectacular
9.0-9.4: Amazing
8.5-8.9: Exceptional; will likely rank among writer's top ten albums of the year
8.0-8.4: Very good
7.5-7.9: Above average; enjoyable
7.0-7.4: Not brilliant, but nice enough
6.0-6.9: Has its moments, but isn't strong
5.0-5.9: Mediocre; not good, but not awful
4.0-4.9: Just below average; bad outweighs good by just a little bit
3.0-3.9: Definitely below average, but a few redeeming qualities
2.0-2.9: Heard worse, but still pretty bad
1.0-1.9: Awful; not a single pleasant track
0.0-0.9: Breaks new ground for terrible
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