6 Feet Deep’s intro track. Gravediggaz producer Prince Paul (the Undertaker) went in depth behind the purpose of the intro track:

Oh yeah, my whole thing when putting an album together, and I still feel this way, is I like having an introduction to what the album is about. This is when people used to listen to albums; I don’t think people really listen to entire albums as much any more, they kinda skip each track. I tried to set up the mood and I wanted to let people know what they were getting in to before the whole album started.

6 Feet Deep is the debut album of the 90’s Brooklyn-based rap group Gravediggaz. It was released August 9, 1994. The original title of the album was “Niggamortis” which ended up being the name the album would go by for the European release, which also contained the bonus track “Pass the Shovel”.

The Gravediggaz describes different states of substance intoxication AKA getting high (Trippin'). The Gatekeeper describes smoking cannabis and getting stoned. The Grym Reaper is sniffing glue and smoking Sodium Pentothal (one of the components of the toxins used for lethal injections) whilst the RZArector is taking PCP (angel dust) and drinking wine.

The Undertaker (Prince Paul) would later go on to talk about him coming up with the idea to rap about tripping off drugs and the process of creating the song

With some of them the guys would hear it and be like “ok I’m thinking this,” like RZA with “Nowhere To Run, Nowhere To Hide”. With “Defective Trip”, I had that idea; I was like man “let’s talk about trippin’, drugs.” And I thought the beat kinda fit the vibe of trippin’ you know? Kinda spacey a little bit, still funky. I gave them the concept and they just ran with it. That was the cool thing about working with them, we were all able to talk to each other and express an idea without feeling nervous you know, everybody was open so if it was a stupid idea they’d tell you it was stupid… but respectfully, haha. So I came with the concept, they wrote to it and I just added all the stuff around it.

The third track from Gravediggaz‘ debut album 6 Feet Deep and the second single to released from it. Gravediggaz member Prince Paul (the Undertaker) later detailed the creation of the song and how RZA originally planned on using the beat for a Wu-Tang record:

RZA came in and I remember at the same time he was recording with Wu-Tang. He heard the beat and wanted to use it, originally that wasn’t the beat I wanted to use because I had another idea but it worked out. He came up with the hook; he was like “yo I’ve been having this idea in my mind – nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide.” OK let’s do that, we recorded it and everybody laid the vocals down, RZA did a rough take and right at the point where he messed up at I put the little “daaa daa da da” (sings the Kung-Fu riff from the beginning of “Protect Ya Neck”) to cover up the space where he messed up, because “Protect Ya Neck” had just came out. He was like “yo I’m coming back to redo my vocals,” when he came back he heard what I had done with it; I think Method Man was with him too. He was like “YOOO! That’s crazy!” I was like “yeah I didn’t have time for you to come back and fix it; I just wanted to get on to the next song.” He was like “yo that’s crazy; I love how you came up with that idea.” So it was a mistake that I covered up. I liked his delivery; it’s just that he kinda forgot what he was going to say at the time so I covered it up.

Single from OutKast’s 2003 double disc album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.

7th track from 2Pac’s 1995 album Me Against the World. Over a funky beat (sampled from the S.O.S. Band’s 1983 single, “Just Be Good to Me”) Pac raps about hustling successfully.

Song from Trick Daddy’s debut album Based on a True Story. It would later become known as one of Trick’s signature songs, along with “Nan-Nigga” and “Shut Up”.