Review Summary: Boondox' "The Harvest" is one of the most original rap albums you'll ever hear.
Richmond County-born rapper (and former metal bassist) David Hutto--Boondox to the rest of y'all--has concocted an original blend of hip hop, southern rock and horror-themed lyrics, tearing it up over everything from banjo and harmonica loops to drum beats, crisp guitars, and bass drops. 2006 marked the release of his debut album,
The Harvest, described as follows in the album's booklet:
Every wall that you've ever had to climb, every struggle that you've eer had to endure, every ounce of pride that you've ever had to swallow and every piece of negativity that has ever been thrown your way. All of these things are merely seeds, seeds of hate, anger and pain that have been planted over time in this very large field called Life. But after all of the rain has fallen and all of the dark clouds have been removed from the sky, there is a reward, a bounty, something given back to you for all of the scars left on your life and your very soul. This reward, this bounty. The Harvest.
The Harvest is told from the point of view of a maniacal voodoo-practicing killer whose soul has been transferred into a scarecrow through supernatural means. Hutto effectively evokes fear in a similar manner to Southern-fried splatter flicks like
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
The Hills Have Eyes,
The Devils Rejects and
Wrong Turn. Things could go in various different ways with this scarecrow. He could invite you in for a little moonshine, or slit your throat if you cross him. "Seven" starts up the album and introduces Boondox as the demon-spawned bastard son of a seventh son, cut out of the womb with a dull pocket knife.
"Out Here" sees listeners delving deeper and deeper into the South where "
We have darker nights / We like starting fights / Know as the wheat grows, we rising / Dirt roads and passageways / Swamp hills and massive graves / Know as the wheat grows, we rising." "It Ain't a Thang" pairs a banjo-based track with Boondox imagining life with a city girl and having her "pussy hole spitting out 15 kids". "Diggin' Myself Out" is a dark, guitar-based track about the possibilities of what could happen after death:
"
So many times I sit and ask myself, / "Why are you afraid to die? / What is this fear that blinds you? / Is it the thought of uncontrollable pain or / Suffocating loss of oxygen to your brain? / Is it the people you have in your heart? / The ones closest by your side when your soul departs?" / It's just a question that haunts mankind / Where am I going? Is there an afterlife? / I sit and think about it and my blood runs cold / The mysteries of life and all the stories untold / Why we here? Where we going? Why do I exist? / Is there a point or any answer to all of this? / Will my spirit walk restless amongst the grave? / Haunting generations in a vile of rage? / Or will my body just rot for maggot feast? / Gnawing on my bones while I rest in peace?"
The album's single, "They Pray with Snakes", probably best defines Boondox' style. Low-down Southern elements play effectively - the beats and old school synth lines lay the atmosphere for Boondox' tells of hillbilly heathen snake-handlers:
"
In the belly of the beast, the place is miles away / In a deep southern town where the devil comes to pray / A quiet seems with a ride stone shut / By a string of children playing in water flowing with blood / The pastor stands on his pulpit while preaching the hell / On the hilltop church with demons ringing the bell / They told twice for the missing and the recently departed / In the pews the congregations' just a 100 days rotted / Suffering is all around us, stench of death in the air / Nobody seems to notice or nobody seems to care / It's just an everyday life an a normal routine / People walking right by but never notice the screams / A backwards philosophy passed down in the ages / Generation of murder written down in these pages / Of a book overlooked and forgotten in history / A place where the secret is surrounded by mystery."
"Rollin' Hard" has Boondox at a club looking for a woman to *** and kill; he meets up with a suicidal female. The country-flavored "Sippin'" has Boondox mixing up moonshine with water from a well cursed by voodoo and using it to raise the dead. "Lake of Fire" brings to mind a nightmare that no doubt many of us have had - what if you woke up and walked out your front door to find yourself standing over the flames of Hell? Effective rock track with some good singing and a great rap. "Angel Like" pairs an acoustic backing track with a tale of meeting a beautiful girl in a lake, and is ignored after several encounters when she becomes popular, and then murdering her.
Obviously, an album of horror-themed rap tracks isn't for anyone, but those of you that are open-minded in your taste in music will find much to like in an album that crosses rock, hip-hop, and country in a way as unique as Boondox has, even if the lyrics can be raunchy and violent at times. If you had look past these elements, there is an excellent album here with some deep, intelligent themes.
A fan of
Iron Maiden,
Metallica and
Sepultura, David Hutto was a member of the bands
Savage Instinct,
Revel Cove and
Stainless Steel, and previously released recordings as "Turncoat Dirty". He is a member of
Psychopathic Rydas under the name "Yung Dirt".
