The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel is the second studio album by hip hop supergroup Gravediggaz. Released on September 16, 1997, the album has a more socially conscious sound to it and is considerably calmer than its predecessor, and features heavy production input by the RZA and his production team the Wu Elements.

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
Studio album by Gravediggaz
Released	September 16, 1997
Studio	Ameraycan Studios, North Hollywood, CA Firehouse Studios, NY Paul's Coffee Shop Unique Recording, NY Wu Mansion, NJ
Genre	Hip hop
Length	60:24
Label	Gee Street/V2/BMG Records 63881-32501
Producer	RZA (also exec.) Neil Robertson (exec.) 4th Disciple True Master Poetic Darkim Be Allah Frukwan Prince Paul
Gravediggaz chronology
The Hell E.P. (1995) The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (1997) Nightmare in A-Minor (2002)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork	6.5/10[2]
Robert Christgau	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[5]

In contrast to the group's debut album, Prince Paul had less involvement in the production of this album, although he did produce the outro and the skit preceding "Hidden Emotions". He was still billed as an official member of the group, however, and appeared on the cover and inserts of the album. Two singles were released from the album, "Dangerous Mindz" and "The Night the Earth Cried", though neither made it to the Billboard charts.

The vocals in the song "The Night The Earth Cried" was sampled in Raw Man's "Lovers".

Track listing

Track listing information is taken from the official liner notes and AllMusic.[6][7]

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	R. Diggs A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	The RZA	1:16
2.	"Dangerous Mindz"	R. Diggs S. Bougard A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Fourth Disciple The RZA (co.)	4:54
3.	"Da Bomb"	D. Harris A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Truemaster	4:10
4.	"Unexplained"	A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Poetic	2:58
5.	"Twelve Jewelz"	R. Diggs D. Miller	Darkim	2:51
6.	"Fairytalez"	S. Kinchen A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Goldfinghaz	4:46
7.	"Never Gonna Come Back"	S. Kinchen A. Hamilton A. Berkeley B. White	Goldfinghaz	3:48
8.	"Pit Of Snakes"	R. Diggs D. Harris A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Truemaster The RZA (co.)	4:19
9.	"The Night The Earth Cried"	R. Diggs S. Bougard A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Fourth Disciple The RZA (co.)	4:32
10.	"Elimination Process" (Featuring Shabazz The Disciple, Omen and the Aleem Brothers)	A. Hamilton A. Berkeley D. Purkiss D. Collins	Poetic	5:37
11.	"Repentance Day" (Featuring Sunz Of Man and Killah Priest)	A. Berkeley W. Reed C. Smith	Poetic	5:18
12.	"Hidden Emotions"	D. Harris A. Hamilton P. Huston A. Berkeley	Truemaster	6:17
13.	"What's Goin' On" (Featuring 9TH Prince)	R. Diggs T. Hamlin A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	The RZA	4:32
14.	"Deadliest Biz"	A. Hamilton A. Berkeley	Frukwan	3:03
15.	"Outro"	R. Diggs A. Hamilton P. Huston A. Berkeley	Prince Paul	1:17
Total length:				59:38

Notes

• "Fairytalez" features background vocals by Kelis Rogers.
• "What's Goin' On" features background vocals by Blue Rasberry.

Samples

• "Unexplained" contains a sample of "Wild Flower" by New Birth.
• "Fairytalez" contains a sample of "Themes From Montreal Olympics" by The Salsoul Orchestra.
• "Never Gonna Come Back" contains a sample of "Love Serenade" by Barry White.

References

1. Allmusic link
2. link
3. Robert Christgau link
4. Rolling Stone link
5. Yahoo! Music link
6. The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (booklet). Gravediggaz. Gee Street/V2/BMG Records. 1997. 63881-32501.CS1 maint: others (link)
7. "The Pick, The Sickle and the Shovel - Gravediggaz". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2020.