''South Of Hell'' is the third solo studio album by American underground rapper

Boondox David Hutto (born September 4, 1975) is an American rapper from Covington, Georgia. A representative of the hip hop subgenres rap rock, horrorcore and country rap, Hutto is most commonly known as Boondox, whose stage persona is a killer scar ...

from Georgia. It was released on May 11, 2010 through Psychopathic Records accompanied by a DVD documentary directed by Paul Andreson about Boondox's life and the making of the album titled ''Southern Bled''. Produced entirely by

Mike E. Clark Michael Earl Clark (born December 25, 1962) is an American record producer and DJ from Michigan, best known for working with Kid Rock, Insane Clown Posse, Prozak and Mickey Avalon. Clark has also worked with George Clinton, Patti Smith, R.L. B ...

, it features guest appearance from

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 ...

. The album debuted at No. 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200, No. 6 on the Top Rap Albums, No. 9 on the

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...

and No. 13 on the Tastemakers in the United States.

Production

Clark completed the album's music in his Fun House Studio in

Sterling Heights, Michigan Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 134,346. It is the second largest suburb in Metro Detroit, and the fourth la ...

. Boondox felt more comfortable writing and recording the vocal tracks in seclusion, resulting in Clark moving the production to a cabin in the woods that he owned. Boondox wrote the lyrics by setting up large loudspeakers in the cabin and writing the lyrics while Clark played the unfinished tracks through the speakers. Clark describes this method of lyric writing as being "pretty scary ..it definitely affected the music a lot".

Music and lyrics

According to producer Mike E. Clark, the lyrics were strongly influenced by the album's unusual production, and the seclusion of being in the cabin in the woods, describing the album as "music to get murdered by". The lyrics of ''South of Hell'' strongly derives from country music themes, touching on "love gone bad, family issues, and internal struggles with vice". The music combines elements of country with hip hop beats and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

-derived grooves, and includes live instrumentation, including

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

s. "We All Fall" features the use of Auto-Tune. The title of the album, ''South of Hell'', is a reference to the

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

album ''

South of Heaven ''South of Heaven'' is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on July 5, 1988 by Def Jam Recordings. The album was the band's second collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, whose production skills on their previo ...

''.

Reception

Kik Axe Music reviewer James Zahn gave the album 3.5 out of 5, writing that "Boondox is at his best when keeping the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

flowing throughout." Zahn describes "We All Fall" as the album's weakest track.

Track listing

Personnel

*David "

" Hutto – lyrics, lead and backing vocals *Joseph " Violent J" Bruce – vocals (track 14) *Joseph "

Shaggy 2 Dope Joseph William Utsler (; born October 14, 1974), known by his stage name Shaggy 2 Dope, is an American rapper, record producer, DJ, podcast host of Shaggy and The Creep Show, and professional wrestler. He is part of the hip hop duo Insane Clo ...

" Utsler – vocals (track 14) *

– backing vocals, composer, producer, programming, recording, mixing *Jake "Cleetus" Polzin – backing vocals *

Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a ...

– backing vocals *Jim Kissling – mastering *Paul Andreason – director

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Boondox albums Psychopathic Records albums Albums produced by Mike E. Clark