Insane Poetry: Grim Reality Album Review!
Music Review:
Back in the mists of time, before a majority of Hip Hop music and culture became a focal point of the media and the powers with money, there was a time where Hip Hop music was made to make people aware of the world, and to just party as well without being a gang of empty headed dicks!
Somewhere amongst the era of real Hip Hop music, certain genres sprung alive and lasted a short time. One such was Horrorcore.
Becoming known in the late ’80s by an energetic London kid who went by the name, Silver Bullet, the genre had floated unnoticed for many years with a chap called, Ganksta NIP from Texas, and hovered into the ’90s with KMC from the Westcoast simmering slowly along. Then a controversial group named the Geto Boys exploded on the scene. In perspective, controversy meant something different then. Nowadays it’s the image, the use of worlds and threats and a lot of artists (??) do it. Back then, in a world where conscious and generally well spoken acts like Public Enemy, Black Radical mk II, X Clan and BDP reigned, like NWA and Ice-T, the Geto Boys took the world by storm with their tales of drugs, violence, and horror movies.
Thus was officially born Horrorcore! Along came quick flash in the pans such as Flatlinerz, Half Pit Half Dead, and Gravediggaz (a sort of supergroup) whilst other big names had a stab (ho ho) at the genre, one such group truly remained at the lowest level and actually (to my ears) made a true classic in any Hip Hop genre. The group were called Insane Poetry, and their 1992 album, Grim Reality, was a shot in the arm to the few who bought and listened to it.
Lead by main man, Psycho — the Angel of Death (who is still working hard on the underground) the LP dealt out two sides. Side A is a fun romp through horror and chiller movies with tales of murder, the occult — all good stuff. Side B, however, really splits Insane Poetry from the others. The real horror of the world is featured. Tracks covering mental breakdown, suicide, H.I.V, and much more.
First thing you notice is Psycho’s voice. Commanding, but almost winking with the joy of Side A’s madness. He laughs and sounds orgasmic at one point as he chops a corpse up. “Be careful with the leg.” he tells his mate and they snigger like kids.
After a music box intro, the bouncy upbeat Angel of Death has a classic old school feel, “I got your daughter’s heart — Was she the one with blonde hair and blue eyes? With lily white flesh? Ohhh yesss…” and a catchy chorus as scratches ‘Here’s the voice of a madman…’ slices in. How Ya Gonna Reason with a Psycho is just as bouncy and has a twisted Psycho theme running through.
One of the best on the side, The House That Dripped Blood, has a cool doll or toy laugh (there’s another awesome one later in the album) contained in the beat, and the beat samples changes every few moments. “Slicing up a nigga with a box cutter...” and “Can it be I love to see blood spill? It’s in my genes I love to kill!” gives you the idea of a certain theme on this ‘Grim’ Side.
‘Reality’ Side opens with news reports on serial killers, snipers, AIDS, police brutality, and throws you straight into the title track. “One of my homie’s shot his girl then shot himself, cause he couldn’t see her with anyone else...” He states he’s telling the horror facts instead of the horror raps.
Til Death Do Us Part tells the tale of a man who has split with his girl and is loading his gun because he’s asked her to pop around to his house. So it’s a complete portrait of the line in the prior Grim Reality tune. There are chilling parts which act out him beating the hell out of her, then finally killing them both. This is followed by the incredible One Careless Moment, a one night stand explicit sex style story which ends with the line, “Welcome to the world of AIDS!” Ha, definitely not 2 Live Crew, then.
Jack Nicholson is sampled from Batman for the low level beat, Raise The Devil, which rips into the police and religions amongst other things. “I can’t see myself going to college to get a PHD, then end up working at Mickie D’s...” However, it’s number 15 on your playlist which absolutely floors everything else. Manic Depressive (with no Jimi Hendrix in sight) is a detailed, almost Nick Cave descriptive track as a man spirals into depression, slowly, as everything goes wrong. He’s haunted by memories of an abusive childhood and prison. Coupled with his life opening into a yawning black pit, he finally walks into a restaurant with a loaded gun. It’s all acted out as well.
Psycho has a habit of rhyming “Nigga” with, erm, “Nigga” and at one point he rhymes “...lasts forever” with, yep, “..lasts forever.” !!!! On the other side of the coin, he has a razor sharp ability to conjure images in your head as he rhymes. His career has been steady since, and he doesn’t repeat words as much. Psycho reached his peak a few years back with his limited edition album, Syco: The Snuff Reels which is so heavy sampled metal it’s fucking jaw dropping and oozes madness from your speakers.
If you like hard old school beats, atmospheric samples, and simple but excellent scratches, Grim Reality is a blood wet dream. This album is the way Horrorcore should have been and it would have been a good longer lasting genre. Yes, there’s still Necro, Gore Hop, Smallz One (to be honest, she is unbelievably talented) etcetera, but, y’know, they aren’t Insane Poetry.
Here’s a sample of the album for the curious victims. Til Death Do Us Part:
Album Info:
Band: Insane Poetry
Album: Grim Reality
Members: Psycho (Vocals, Music) EmDee (Vocals) DJ Streak (Production, Turntables) Joe Cooley (Production, Music)
Year: 1992
Country: USA
Recorded: Stiles Music, Los Angeles
Produced by: Psycho, Joe Cooley, DJ Streak
Mastering: Clark Stiles
Runtime: 55min 53sec
Label: Nasty Mix
Official Website: https://fb.com/InsanePoetrylsp
Track Listing:
1. Welcome to the Grim Side
2. Angel of Death
3. How Ya Gonna Reason with a Psycho?
4. The House That Dripped Blood
5. Choppin’ Up a Body
6. If Rhymes Could kill
7. Bring Ya Daughter to the Slaughter
8. Stalkin’ with the Nightbreed
9. The Horror Facts
10. Grim Reality
11. Six in the Chamber
12. Til Death Do Us Part
13. One Careless Moment
14. Raise the Devil
15. Manic Depressive
16. Exit Reality
17. How Ya Gonna Reason with a Psycho (Remix)
