House Of Krazees is an American
hip hop group. Formed in 1992 in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, they are most associated with the
horrorcore
Horrorcore, also called horror hip hop, horror rap, death hip hop, or death rap, is a subgenre of hip hop music based on horror-themed and often darkly transgressive lyrical content and imagery. Its origins derived from certain hardcore hip h ...
subgenre. The group consists of rappers
The R.O.C.,
Mr. Bones and
Hektic, the latter of which also perform as a duo under the name
Twiztid
Twiztid is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan, known for both their horror-themed lyrics and rock influenced sound. Formed in 1997, Twiztid is composed of rappers Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo and Paul "Monoxide" Methric. Spaniolo and ...
. After a lineup change and a 14 year break-up, the original lineup reformed in 2013 and is currently signed with Majik Ninja Entertainment.
Biography
1992-1999: Early career
House of Krazees was formed by friends
Bryan Jones,
Paul Methric
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
and
Jamie Spaniolo
Jamie Michael Spaniolo (born November 5, 1975), known professionally as Jamie Madrox, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan and performs as a member of the hip hop groups Twiztid and House of Krazees. Spaniolo's stage name is a reference ...
out of a shared love of
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
s and
hip hop music. Jones adopted the stage name R.O.C., Methric performed as EXP and Spaniolo as Big J. Methric and Spaniolo later changed their names to Hektic and Mr. Bones respectively.
House of Krazees' catalog was only released on
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
until the group signed to Latnem Entertainment.
Problems between House of Krazees and Latnem led the group to leave the label following its 1996 album, ''Head Trauma''.
That year, the group was scheduled to tour with
Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...
and
Myzery
Nene Encarnacion, also known as Myzery, is a Puerto Rican rapper based out of the Bronx in New York City. He was the first solo act signed with Psychopathic Records, and released his debut EP titled ''Para La Isla'' on the label in 1998. Followi ...
, serving as an opening act for ICP.
The tour was cancelled after Insane Clown Posse was dropped by
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...
.
They did tour with ICP and Myzery after the Great Milenko tour finally started after Island records bought the contract from Hollywood records. House of Krazees was only on a select number of dates because of tensions within the group. Methric and Spaniolo left House of Krazees in 1997, due to conflicts with the group's manager, Walter Stepanenko.
R.O.C. continued to perform under the House of Krazees name with rapper Skrapz until 1999. R.O.C. and Skrapz also performed under the name "HaLFBrEEd".
Post-split
Twiztid
After the split, Methric and Spaniolo sent a demo tape to
Insane Clown Posse
Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...
member
Joseph Bruce. The demo contained the tracks "2nd Hand Smoke," "Diemuthafuckadie," and "How Does It Feel?"
Bruce was extremely impressed, invited Methric and Spaniolo to perform on 'The House of Horrors Tour', and signed them to
Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records is an American independent record label headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The label is most associated with the hip hop music subgenres horrorcore and rap rock. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip ...
. Before the tour kicked off, Bruce, Methric and Spaniolo decided on a name that they felt would fit the duo:
Twiztid
Twiztid is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan, known for both their horror-themed lyrics and rock influenced sound. Formed in 1997, Twiztid is composed of rappers Jamie "Madrox" Spaniolo and Paul "Monoxide" Methric. Spaniolo and ...
.
Twiztid was signed to Psychopathic from 1997 until 2012.
R.O.C.'s solo career
R.O.C. later became the
hype man
A hype man, in hip hop music and rapping, is a backup rapper and/or singer who supports the primary rappers with exclamations and interjections and who attempts to increase the audience's excitement with call-and-response chants. The hype man's i ...
for
Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records is an American independent record label headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The label is most associated with the hip hop music subgenres horrorcore and rap rock. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip ...
artist
Blaze Ya Dead Homie
Chris Rouleau, also known as Blaze Ya Dead Homie or simply Blaze (born April 27, 1976), is an American rapper from Mt. Clemens, Michigan. A representative of the hip hop subgenres gangsta rap and horrorcore, his stage persona is a resurrected g ...
. R.O.C. appears on Blaze's 2007 album ''
Clockwork Gray
Critical reception
''Clockwork Gray'' is the third studio album by American rapper Blaze Ya Dead Homie. Released on August 21, 2007, it peaked at #14 on the ''Billboard'' Top Independent Albums chart and #34 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
...
'', on the tracks "Ill Connect", "Inside Looking Out" and "E.O.D." R.O.C. signed to
Hatchet House
Hatchet House is the sub-label of independent record label Psychopathic Records, based in Royal Oak, Michigan, Royal Oak, Michigan in the United States, which was formed in 2007 by American hip hop music, hip hop group Insane Clown Posse.
History
...
in 2008
and released an EP, ''Welcome To The Darkside''.
In 2009, R.O.C. announced that he was retiring from music. In 2012, he came out of retirement and appeared on
Prozak
Steven T. Shippy, better known by his stage name Prozak, is an American independent rapper and film director from Saginaw, Michigan. He's a member of the group Project:Deadman with Mike E. Clark as well as the group Bedlam with Madness and Stap ...
's EP ''
Nocturnal
Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...
'', contributing a verse on "Knuckle Up". R.O.C. also appeared alongside Methric and Spaniolo on Psychopathic's fourth "Psypher", released in October 2012, marking an unofficial reunion of House of Krazees. In 2013 R.O.C appeared on Twiztids mixtape ''
A New Nightmare
''A New Nightmare'' is the first mixtape (or extended play) by American hip hop duo Twiztid, and is their 11th major release overall. It was self-released on July 30, 2013, marking the group's first project since leaving Psychopathic Records in ...
'' on the track "Monstrosity" which was labeled as a House of Krazees song. A greatest hits album entitled ''Casket Cutz'' was released on October 23, 2013.
2013-present: Reunion
In 2013, The R.O.C appeared on Twiztid's ''
A New Nightmare
''A New Nightmare'' is the first mixtape (or extended play) by American hip hop duo Twiztid, and is their 11th major release overall. It was self-released on July 30, 2013, marking the group's first project since leaving Psychopathic Records in ...
'' EP on the track "Monstrosity", which was labeled as a House of Krazees song. A greatest hits album entitled ''Casket Cutz'' was released on October 23, 2013 and features 12 songs from all previous releases plus a bonus song previously unreleased from the vault. They also had an appearance on the song "Disgusted" off of The R.O.C.'s third album ''Digital Voodoo'', which was released on April 14, 2017. On February 12, 2018, they released their comeback single "Death 4Any1 Who..." on Twiztid's official YouTube channel.
In a mid March 2018 live video on facebook
Jamie Madrox
James Arthur Madrox, also called the Multiple Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Len Wein, he first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Giant-Size Fantastic F ...
said that he,
Monoxide
A monoxide is any oxide containing only one atom of oxygen. A well known monoxide is carbon monoxide; see carbon monoxide poisoning.
The prefix mono (Greek for "one") is used in chemical nomenclature. In proper nomenclature, the prefix is not ...
and
The R.O.C. have been working with Fritz Von Kosky (aka Fritz The Cat). Not saying it was for HOK, but hinted at it saying "since FTC produced Death 4 Any1 Who we've had a few more songs he's been working on for the 3 of us". Which at that point FTC told Jamie not to say anymore, creating speculation that HOK would be releasing a full length album in 2018. It was announced on September 7th, 2018 that the House of Krazees will release a limited edition cassette box set including all 5 original HOK albums, both Mr. Bones solo releases, and The R.O.C.'s X-Posed on December 1st, 2018.
Discography
* Home Sweet Home (October 1, 1993)
* Home Bound (1994)
* Season Of The Pumpkin (1994)
* Outbreed (1995)
* Head Trauma (October 1, 1996)
* Collector's Edition '97 (1997)
* The Night They Came Home (1999)
* Evolution (2001)
* Casket Cutz (2013)
* Post Apocalyptic World (2018)
References
{{Authority control
Detroit hip hop groups
Horrorcore groups
Majik Ninja Entertainment artists
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups disestablished in 1997
Musical groups reestablished in 2013
Rappers from Detroit
Twiztid
Underground hip hop groups
1993 establishments in Michigan