The ten best independent Halloween rap songs in the last thirty years-only on the ROX-TV website
Welcome back to a special edition of ROX-TV. Tonight we will be checking out a subject that is very near and dear to my heart….Halloween themed music. More specifically, Halloween inspired rap music from the underground. Like so many kids who grew up in Michigan, I always enjoyed the October season and everything that went with it. In the old days, Halloween was a night that you got away with anything. From free candy to just raising hell in the neighborhood, it was one day a year to really revel in the darker side of things and get loose. Obviously as a younger kid, we ran door to door, loading up pillow cases full of free shit. Back then, money was worth a little more, and candy was a vice that few kids could afford to go nuts with. I used to collect beer cans at my father’s baseball games (he played in a General Motors League in Flint. The workers played ball in their off time, drank beer, and had fun) to fund the wild times.
On a good day, I could collect maybe ten bucks worth of beer cans to take back to the store to get some money. Before being old enough to discover sex, drugs, and rock and roll….the money was blown on sugary snacks of the day. I guess what I’m trying to say is that candy was a commodity and when we were given a night to collect as much as we could stuff in a bag, the opportunity was not wasted. Michigan has perfect weather for a true “Halloween” night. Historically it was usually dark, cold, and windy…..and often times raining. I think it snowed at least once or twice as well. But the overcast weather added an element to the spookiness of the season, in a way that the kids in Hawaii could never understand.
As I got older, I cared less about the candy and more about hanging with my friends and getting into or causing trouble. It was a great time to be alive, and the horror movie industry was in full bloom by 1986. New movies were still being dropped from the classic “big 3” of the scene that included Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street. It was something that I guess a person could consider a phenomena now or a new era in horror entertainment. It’s no wonder that the Underground Rap scene in Michigan, which was led by the Detroit God of Gods….ESHAM THE UNHOLY, naturally drifted into that realm as well. It was what was going on in the Murder Mitten, which also seen a pretty unhealthy dose of murder across the state, particularly in Detroit and Flint. Gun violence and murders became pretty common place in Wayne and Genesee County, to the point where you would expect to hear some crazy shit on the local news channels of Four, Twelve, and Seven. Things got so desensitized back in the day, that murder no longer became a big deal and barely got any coverage. Today the news channels simply ignore the violence, so who knows what is really going on. Gun play is definitely hopping in Flint and Detroit, whether anyone is willing to admit it or not. So anyway…
The Murder Mitten became home to Wicked (Wicket) Rap….which fostered a healthy dose of Halloween themed music. From the different factors added up, it seems almost like a natural progression or evolution that was bound to happen. Obviously after ESHAM illuminated the way with the wicked style/acid rap….Inner City Posse aka Insane Clown Posse was there to pick up the torch and create their own brand and take on things. This is where it really begins, at least for me. In 1994 ICP dropped “Dead Pumpkins” for the Hallowicked Show in Detroit, which would become an annual event from then on. Obviously the first of anything has to get props, so it is number #1 on my Halloween Rap release master list. Is it my favorite? No, but its a dope jam and was the first. You can’t fuck with that, no one can. Originators get automatic free rides when it comes to props for obvious reasons. Anyone can imitate, but only masters can create, and do it well. ICP were great at this style of rap, especially in 1994. The gold record “The Ringmaster” was a banger and the horror/wicked styles were hitting on all cylinders, like a motor from GM. “The Terror Wheel” also dropped that year featuring the “Dead Body Man”, so it shouldn’t have been any surprise that ICP would take over Halloween and make it their own.
#2 Mr. Rotten Treats by Insane Clown Posse
After dropping a song like “Dead Pumpkins” it had to have been a challenge to duplicate the success. The show and the single released were both legendary, which was fine, until the Clownz had to do it all over again a year later. I guess they “didn’t have to” but they did and the pressure to deliver must have been great. Sometimes pressure can cause people to crack, fold, and die. Thankfully the Insane Clown Posse was up to the challenge and delivered possibly the best follow up imaginable, considering “Dead Pumpkins” was the original. If there was no “Dead Pumpkins”….”Mr. Rotten Treats” would easily own the top spot. But we respect history at ROX-TV and give props where it is due. Remember your history or fall for anything. I was fifteen when this song dropped and I dreamed about being old enough to go to the Hallowicked Shows in Detroit. It would take me a few years, but I would eventually make it.
#3 Halloween on Military by ICP
After “Dead Pumpkins” and “Mr. Rotten Treats” someone would have to wonder how anyone could top or even match the greatness of the first two Hallowicked anthems? When I was a teenager in the mid nineties, we used to debate (wow, who does that anymore) about what ICP songs were the best, why, and then do our best sales job in persuading others to agree with us. Just saying that makes me miss the fucking 90’s so much. People weren’t trying to cancel everything they didn’t like. If you consent in cancelling something out, just know that those same powers could be turned against you someday, depending who is in power. Anything you engage in has consequences and if you hate on something, there is a good chance it will create hate back. Who needs all that shit. If you don’t like something, ignore it until it dies. Word to the wise.
Topping the list at #3 is “Halloween on Military” and just like the first two songs, it achieved a level of Halloween themed greatness that really is pretty impressive, considering the time line ICP was cranking shit out. All three of these songs are “perfect” examples of Halloween Indie Rap and have earned their places respectively in the top three slots of the Halloween list.
#4 Trick or Treat by H.O.K.
I remember buying this album at Wyatt Earp Records in Flint Town back in the mid 1990’s. “Season of the Pumpkin’. This was a compilation of Halloween Themed Indie Rap and I would be lying to myself if I didn’t give this song props. I remember House of Krazees as a small time group hailing from Detroit. By the time I came across them ICP and ESHAM were already my favorites but I was always looking to expand the library. The cassettes were pretty affordable back then, and I decided to buy up all the HOK cassettes because they were cheap and available. In those early days people weren’t really going there with the group, but I was a collector and seen how things had gone with ICP merch and albums. I decided to get in early with HOK and buy up as much as possible in anticipation of collectability down the road. The schism in the last few years has really been a bummer and so I just don’t have much to say about anything other than the Halloween songs. Nothing could beat the top three already listed, but HOK had some victories in the matter.
#5 The Mask by H.O.K.
The “Season of the Pumpkin” album was a pretty dope situation and I knew as soon as I heard it, that I would be fucking with it for a long time. I was really embracing the horror movie scene by this time, so, to have a Halloween Movie series type release was great and ahead of its time, by more than a little bit. Obviously H.O.K. was on Latnem and having issues with Walter and that whole scene. The things that probably needed to happen for the House was never going to go down with Latnem, but it is what it is. History can not be changed. Perhaps with more resources this album might have done better, but perhaps the world wasn’t ready for this type of music on a complete album type of situation. Unlike today, where I think it would have done better, perhaps making a bigger splash. The H.O.K. was early in the concept album with Halloween themes and for that, they have earned their spots on the list, regardless of modern feelings.
#6 The Night They Came Home H.O.K.* (2nd incarnation of the group with R.O.C. and Skrapz)
This was an interesting release and it came out in 1998 when I was a senior in high school. I remember ads being placed for this release in a free newspaper in Detroit called “Root Canal” or something like that. I also remember this album being available at Wyatt Earp Records in Flint. There were some free stickers and promo pics for this version of H.O.K. after two members left for Psychopathic Records. Skrapz was brought in and together with the R.O.C. aka Sol, this is what they came up with. For a group to lose two out of the three members can be a death blow for any group. Oddly, this version of H.O.K. is just as good in my opinion as the original lineup, and the sound of this release is perfect for the Halloween Themed rap list. It only came out on CD and wasn’t around very long. The group was officially disbanded after issues at the label. The R.O.C. changed his name and I believe he did another release with Skrapz after this (see Halfbreed) but nothing really happened. The magic had come and gone, like a wicked night of trick-r-treating.
#7 Trick R Treat by Daniel Dahmer
I just recently came across this artist and started digging on his “Terrorvision” album release. It was fucking dope and I became an instant fan. Daniel is a cool cat and I recently met him while he was in the studio with Tre LB. Daniel and I talked for awhile about the music, history, and “Terrorvision”. My greatest disappointment was that I wanted a physical copy and apparently there weren’t any pressed up. Fucking digital age…..it’s ok but there are pitfalls. For the artists out there, you have to make physical copies, so that fans can collect the shit, drive up the price, and also have a relic to periodically get out from time to time and remember why the music is so important. I still have my box of ESHAM and ICP, and I do get that shit out all the time, just to look at it. You can’t put your arm around a memory (Thank you Johnny Thunders) or a digital copy of anything. I need a physical copy of this album Daniel. The world depends on it.
#8 All Hallows Eve by Daniel Dahmer
Congratulations Daniel, for scoring two spots on the greatest Halloween Themed Indie Rap. This song is tight and has all the samples that make me go crazy, including the Silver Shamrock commercial from my favorite movie (Halloween III: Season of the Witch).. This is a correct type of package (art, lyrical content, delivery) and people should buy the album, especially for the Halloween season that is always just around the corner. Everyday is Halloween, but that’s just me. I love the album graphics on “Terrorvision”, nice work.
#9 Pumpkin Carver by ICP
The cool part about this song is that I was there in person (1998 10/30), at Harpo’s when this show went down. I went alone because no one would go with me, but I was not afraid to venture down to Motown for this event. I was 18 years old, had been listening to the Clownz for six years and finally was going to see a Hallowicked Concert properly. I remember the night like it was yesterday. Maybe it was because I was so geeked to be there, or smog in the air, whatever it was, this night is permanently burned into my brain. I remember when they finally let us in, I was handed a copy of Pumpkin Carver by ICP’s manager Alex. I couldn’t believe it was him, working the door, but it was, or at least that’s what I remember. GWAR opened up for ICP that night and the mixed crowd was really wild and out of control. People were rocking each other in the mosh pit.
I was on the main floor when GWAR was finishing up their set. When I had arrived it hadn’t been too crowded but by the time the Clownz were set to come on, shit was absolutely a madhouse. The lead singer of GWAR shouted to the crowd “everybody kill each other during this next song” and he meant it. I turned to get the fuck to safety but as I looked back at the three levels of Harpo’s, it was a sea of bodies fighting to get to where I was standing. Fucking nightmare. I climbed over the railing to safety, and narrowly avoided being crushed by the raw energy of a 90’s show on Devil’s Night. The CD came in a carboard sheath and I worried all night about it getting fucked up. When the concert emptied, the guys that had parked behind me, had their car stolen during the show. All that remained was a pile of glass. They were from Canada and they did not look very excited about that. The DPD cops were everywhere and on edge. If I remember correctly a chopper was in the air somewhere, hovering around as well, but whatever. This song is dope and for me, it seems to have a been a plateau for the Halloween material. There was more to come and all that, but how perfect can perfection be perfected? At a certain point, all you can do is add it to the list of dope tracks and move.
#10 Michael Myers Rap-(Halloween 2018) featuring Bonecage and Daddyphatsnaps
Obviously, things had come a long way since 1994 and “Dead Pumpkins”. Now it seems that Halloween Themed music had become just as popular as the movies and the season. I came across this song while putting together the list. The lyrical content is good and I can’t complain. As far as a song goes, it does what it needs to do. Check it out. I don’t know much about these guys, but hopefully we can change that with some research.
Well, that concludes the top ten Halloween songs of indie rap, at least for tonight. Don’t be surprised if we re-visit this subject an awful lot because my black heart belongs to October. Thanks for stopping by ROX-TV and spending some time with us tonight. Until next time…..
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
shepard2909@hotmail.com
kidvicious810 on IG
