Insane Poetry is an American
hip hop group from
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Formed in 1988, it is considered to be one of the first
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 ...
groups.
History
The group was formed by Cyco, then known as Psycho (born Andrew "Drew" Holiman, on April 29, 1967, in Los Angeles, California), after he was hired as a
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
at a Los Angeles radio station, KDAY. With members DJ Streek and Shakespear the One-Man Riot, Insane Poetry released its debut single, "Twelve Strokes Till Midnight," in 1988.
After replacing Shakespear with Em-Dee, Insane Poetry signed with Nastymix/Ichiban Records through an association with emcee
Rodney O and released its debut album, ''
Grim Reality'', in 1992, which peaked at #98 on the ''
Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart. After Nastymix went out of business, Insane Poetry signed with independent React Records, which released its second album, ''
Blacc Plague'', in 1996, but disagreements over promotion and support led the group to leave the label.
In 1998, Cyco appeared on
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in South Dallas, and raised in Texas and South Florida, Ice released his debut album, ''Hooked'', ...
's ''
Hard to Swallow
''Hard to Swallow'' is the third studio album by American rapper Vanilla Ice. Released by Republic Records in 1998, the album was the first album Vanilla Ice recorded after a four-year hiatus following the 1994 release of '' Mind Blowin''. Vanill ...
'' album, followed by collaborations with M-Boogie,
Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...
, and DJ Revolution.
In 2001, Cyco hooked up with producer Jason "JP Tha Hustler" Pearl and together they formed Grim Reality Entertainment. In 2003, Insane Poetry released ''
Faith in Chaos''. In 2007, the group released ''
Fallen From Grace'' with nationwide distribution through Long Range/Koch Records. It was announced at Black X-Mas 2010 that he was part of Lyrikal Snuff Productions. Insane Poetry collaborated on a song with Las Vegas-based hip hop group War Paint, titled "Wasted", in 2013 on the Bloodstepp track "Underground All-Stars (The Anthem)" from the album ''Bass And Bubblegum'' and in 2014 on Ware-Wolff's "Lycanthropy (TMTM Remix)". Insane Poetry has also been on numerous Grim Reality Entertainment CDs since, including ''Grim Reality Entertainment Music Collection Vol. 1'', ''GRE for the Radio Music Collection Vol. 2'', ''Corporate Takeover'', ''New Breed'', ''JP tha Hustler's 100% Hardcore'', ''VD's Hardcore Hip Hop'', and ''Nekro G's Reel Street Musik''
Discography
Albums
*1992: ''
Grim Reality''
*1996: ''
Blacc Plague''
*2003: ''
Faith in Chaos (Book of Revelations)''
*2007: ''
Fallen from Grace''
*2008: ''Sutter Kain Presents Cyco the Snuff Reels''
*2013: ''Random Acts of Violence (as M.M.M.F.D. With Scum of LSP)''
*2014: ''Killaborations''
*2016: ''Unsubs (as M.M.M.F.D. With Scum of LSP)''
*2017: ''The Snuff Reels Director's Cut: The Birth Of Richard Hansen''
*2018 ''Team Guillotine (as Team Guillotine with JP Tha Hustler of LSP)''
*2018: ''Butcher Brothaz (as M.M.M.F.D. With Scum of LSP)''
*2020: ''Deadly Drug (as M.M.M.F.D. With Scum of LSP)''
*2021: ''Wicked Killagraphy''
*2022: ''Violent Art (The Album)''
Compilations
*2008: ''History: Rare & Unreleased''
*2012: ''The Best of Insane Poetry''
Mixtapes
*2012: ''Insane Poetry Presents Prelude to Edgar Allan Holiman — Creative Destruction The Mixtape''
EPs
*2016: ''Violent Art EP
References
External links
Official Web Site
{{Authority control
Hip hop groups from California
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Hip hop collectives
Horrorcore groups
Underground hip hop groups