Scream

TRACK #226:

Scream by Ice MC

All right. So I think we can all agree He’s Coming Back is a pretty bad Monster Rap.

I mean, it’s a Good Monster Rap, in that it’s a prime example of what these songs are all about and how that usually just goes terribly awry. But it is not a Good Monster Rap. Dig?

So, in an effort to redeem the Monster Rap genre (if that’s even feasible or worthy of attempt) we present to you Scream by Ice MC.

If you’re not familiar with Ice MC, please do not feel the least bit bad. This is no deficiency on your part.

Mostly likely this is because you’re either:

An American.
Not listening to Raggamuffin rap and/or
A regular person doing regular things and not wasting what short time we have on this planet associating with shit like Scream by Ice MC. And I don’t blame you. I sometimes wish I was just that sort of person doing just those sorts things, whatever they may be.

In fact, I was that person until last week. Well, I was those first 2 types of people, anyway. Still an American too. Still not listening to any Ragamuffin rap, either. However, I do know what it is now and I have heard this song and I am quite presently wasting all kinds of precious time with it. But I digress.

I was definitely not familiar with this song until last week. That’s when Shindig super enthusiast and research beast Devin Connors hipped me to this track. And within about 30 seconds I knew he’d discovered gold.

What Ice MC has created here is a more approachable and less Faygo-drenched associative Monster Rap than a similarly themed example from another ice-based rapper.

Ice MC sets his sights and weird British accent to referencing several horror movies amidst the heavy electronic back beat and sample-stuffed rhythms of the Raggamuffin sound; a subset of Dancehall and Reggae music where sampling forms the backbone of the melody.

What unfolds is something somewhat unique in the Monster Rap game; A song strangely catchy, somewhat legitimately fun and yet laughably ridiculous. Boardering on bad while flirting with good, this song rests in a limbo not entirely either.

Run DMC’s Ghostbusters is too crafted to be thought silly. The Chucky Song too white and corporate to be considered real. Or something like last night’s He’s Coming Back, which is a bit too tedious to be genuinely enjoyed.

Scream appears more akin to something like Lovebug Starski’s Amityville or DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince’s Nightmare on My Street: completely independent, straight outta left field, eminently listenable and Shindig as fuck.

So thank you Devin for this wonderful new addition, though mine may be the only thanks you’ll receive.

A few side notes:

Yes, that’s Aliens’ Ripley he refers to as Sgt. Weaver.
No, I’m not sure why he does that.
No, I also don’t know what the hell pumpkin on the telly he’s referring to from Halloween. I assume the credits
I won’t spoil the elephant in the middle of this song, but it’s great, and you’ll know it when you hear it. Enjoy.
And yes, he does say that. Several times.

He’s Coming Back

TRACK #225:

He’s Coming Back by Chris LeVrar

While attempting to pull some samples from Repossessed for its Title Track, I naturally stumbled across this end credit oddity, which can only be called a gem when you host a playlist like the one I’ve constructed here.

A highly referential Monster Rap Sweet Song? Oh, this is going on the playlist for sure, I don’t care how bad it is.

That this is my knee jerk reaction is a bit of a shame, because this song is bad. And I mean it’s bad, so I apologize for that.

So bad in fact, that you happen to be looking at the proud recipient of 1990’s Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Song from a Motion Picture.

I hope you all can understand and appreciate it’s inclusion. My compulsive need to include inclusive (and referential) Monster Raps Sweet Songs prevents me from treating this thing objectively, or considering your overall enjoyment of this playlist. But my hope is you can at least see why, when stumbling upon something of this nature, it has to be included.

Well, either way I apologize.

In fairness, the verses aren’t so bad. It’s really the chorus here that’s dragging this whole track down. But lyrically, you’re getting a heaping helping of allusions to the film, plenty of bizarro lines and a rhyme structure that is off-center, to say the least.

Not helping matters is it’s length. It’s crazy to me to think Repossessed had enough credits to sustain a 4 minute song. For real? That many heads on Repossessed? They must roll at an unnaturally slow pace, cause I don’t know what the hell all those people were doing.

I will say, I wish I had rediscovered this thing earlier so we could have had the chance to really dig into this one on our Monster Raps episodes. Oh well. Perhaps we’ll amass enough new Monster Raps to warrant a Part 3. Fingers crossed.

In closing, I do hope that somewhere, someone listening to this playlist actually likes this song. Or at the very least, appreciates the necessity of it’s inclusion, because I’m fairly sure they’ll be the only one.

The Chucky Song

TRACK #204:

The Chucky Song by Simon Stokes & Joe Renzetti

As we’ve often said here on The Shindig, it seemed like everything and everyone was rapping in the late 80’s. If you wanted to lame something up real quick, you made a fuckin’ rap.

Which is apparently exactly what composer Joe Renzetti and songwriter Simon Stokes did in 1988 for Child’s Play. Only problem was that someone above their pay grade said “Yeah, I dunno about this bullshit, fellas.” And like that, the The Chucky Song was shelved.

Now, while that person may have had half a brain, they were also a goddamn communist. How the fuck do you axe this track? In 1988? As a Sweet Song playing over the end credits? I mean, I understand why maybe it makes some logical sense, if you’re attempting to keep up the appearance of a legitimate horror film, but c’mon. This shit is gold, and not just because it’s ridiculous. I mean, it is, but all playing aside, this is a legit song, and not a half bad one.

Sure it’s goofy, but it’s catchy as shit and the lyrical content is on point. There’s tons of direct references, Good Guy Doll phrases, a Chucky voice, kids singing, and they even toss in Charles Lee Ray’s voodoo chant. C’mon! There’s a lot of bad monster raps out there, and this definitely isn’t one of them.

As such, I’m stoked (pun firmly intended) that this escaped. I don’t know how, why, or who’s responsible for this ultimately seeing the light of day, by they deserve the goddamn Noble Peace Prize.

This could easily have never graced the public’s ears. Or worse yet, we could have quiet rumors of it’s existence with no actual proof. But we are a fortunate people, and for that we bestow upon it the highest of honors we can…a spot on The Shindig.

Hidee-Ho!

Lep In The Hood

TRACK #203:

Lep In The Hood by Warwick Davis

When it comes to Monster Raps, I’m a huge fan. A legitimate fan. I legitimately like these songs.

That’s not to say I don’t see why they’re ridiculous. But I like them. I bump them in my car. In a lot of cases, they’re actually good songs.

I can not say the same for this particular Monster Rap.

Don’t get me wrong, I love The Leprechaun. I love Warwick Davis. I have the box set. Vegas is awesome. Space is fun as well. Leprechaun in the Hood is a particular joy, and even Back 2 the Hood has its moments. But Lep In The Hood is not a good song.

I enjoy it. I love that it exists. It’s hands-down playlist material, but it’s a bad song, to be sure.

It could have been good too; with a better beat, some more inspired lyrics and a little more commitment than the halfassery on display here, this could have been a great Monster Rap.

But I’m not one to stare a gift horse in the mouth, and any Warwick Davis rapping as the Leprechaun is better than no Warwick Davis rapping as the Leprechaun, so hats off to the producers on that account.

Thank you for giving this to the World, even if the World doesn’t really appreciate it.

Rapula

TRACK #202:

Rapula by Dean Cameron

We’re gonna gonna keep the Monster Rap train rolling here for a bit with a Monster Rap performed by an actual Monster, Rockula.

This (essentially) 80’s Monster Comedy gets a little extra love from The Shindig for:

A.) Starring Francis “Chainsaw” Gremp, Dean Cameron.
B.) Taking place on Halloween and
C.) Featuring lots of music for use on the playlist.

Our next selection, perhaps the most sweaty of Rockula’s catalog, is his attempt to do what everyone was doing in at the in 1989…bust a rhyme.

It’s not as bad as you might think. It’s certainly not great, but it’s all in jest and there’s some funny lyrics, which is more than I can say for,…well it’s coming up at #203.

So, before you curse us for posting perhaps the worst Monster Rap in existence, give it a track or two before making any snap decisions.

Kick it!

On Our Own

TRACK #201:

On Our Own by Bobby Brown

Yeah, I think it’s gonna be another one of those funky ones…

Ghostbusters 2, the definitive statement on Monster Raps, continues its genre dominance here with perhaps its most popular track, Bobby Brown’s On Our Own.

Featured during a montage of the GBs kicking it into gear and revving up for a final showdown with Vigo the Carpathian.

Total side note here, but if you’ve never heard the skinny on Vigo’s painting, definitely check this out.

This track’s especially relevant in that Bobby Brown actually has a cameo in the film! His excitement at seeing the Ghostbusters emerge from ECTO-1a is a great moment. He asks Egon and Ray if he can get a proton pack for his little brother. Naturally, Egon flat out rejects this ludicrous proposal, while Ray halfheartedly agrees.

“I guess he’s right.” Ray responds.

You guess? Really Ray?

Am I to believe that if Egon hadn’t been there, then Ray would have seriously considered giving Bobby fucking Brown a proton pack? For his kid brother, no less?

I’m not sure if Ray should be allowed to handle such dangerous equipment if he doesn’t know well enough not to just hand it over to random citizens, or fucking children. Maybe dickless Peck was right all along.

Bobby Brown gets in on the action all the same, proton pack or not, serving up a Ghostbusters jam to beat all. Yeah, yeah, you know it.

Tryin to battle my boys? That’s not legal!

Born On Halloween

TRACK #200

Born on Halloween by V. Ice (feat. Violent J)

V. Ice, as the horror-core iteration of Robert Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice) refers to himself, was actually born on Halloween. October 31st 1967, to be precise. That’s pretty awesome as far as The Shindig is concerned. What’s more? He cut a referential Halloween track about it.

Double bonus.

Depending on your perspective that is.

From The Shindig’s perspective, it’s an all around winner. First and foremost, its a Referential Halloween Monster Rap. That’s pretty special. Referential Halloween tracks are a rarity, and the few others that appear on this playlist are weakly included in either direction. Not V. Ice’s jam though. Born On Halloween a card-carrying referential Halloween Monster Rap.

This is not a good song though. I love it. At times it fills me with Halloween joy. At other times it makes me laugh. I rock out to it in my car. Genuinely. I don’t change it at red lights when cute girls or tough guys pull up next to me.

It’s on The Shindig, hands down, no question, but it can’t really be called good. I love a lot of things genuinely that are not objectively good. Go scrolling randomly through this playlist; the evidence to that fact is compelling. Many things about this song are not good.

Starting with it’s absolutely ridiculous chorus. Random weirdo’s chant “Born On Halloween” in a manner that sounds suspiciously like This Is Halloween from A Nightmare Before Christmas. Fitting then, 100 songs after posting that track, we’ve finally decided to post this one.

Add to that some of the weakest referential rhymes to hit The Shindig since The Maniac Cop Rap, and it’s hard to make a strong case for the quality of this song.

“Some call him Psycho
the Norman Bates of Hip-Hop.
The ladies call him Alfred
Cause they’re all over his Hitchcock”

Wow.

No one calls V. Ice that, full stop. I doubt anyone calls him V. Ice for that matter, but hey.

I’ll also set my watch and warrant that no woman anywhere has ever referred to Vanilla Ice as “Alfred” for the sole purpose of alluding to his cock.

There’s no fucking way that’s mathematically possible. The amount of cognition involved in devising such a reference, divided by the relevance and knowledge of Alfred Hitchcock to any ladies within shouting distance of Robert Van Winkle on any given night, produces a probability that could only be visible through a high powered telescope, so fucking insane is it.

The kicker is that this incredibly juvenile rhyme…doesn’t even rhyme!

All of the above would be completely forgivable (as with most ridiculous rap boastings) if the lyric was actually clever. This one is not. And I fucking love it for that.

Violent J (not in fact born on Halloween, as he [perhaps] suggests) shows up to add some much needed street cred to the whole affair. I’m sorry, what?

When a rapping Clown from the Posse Insane is noticeably stepping up your track’s game, something is fucking broke. J quite honestly puts V. Ice to shame on this song with better rhymes, better rhythm and a tone becoming of the subject matter. It’s a breath of fresh air when J steps up to the mic. And that’s not a joke, either. That’s my sincere assessment.

The weirdos will intermittently spout off “With my mask I trick or treat, spooks and freaks all over your street” and “born on Halloween” to everyone’s delight, giving the song it’s air of Halloween spirit.

My research suggests that most listeners will find that all of this nonsense adds up to about 4 minutes of Halloween torture they’d rather have no part of. Can’t blame them for that. The more masochistic audiophiles however or any undercover Juggalos in your crowd might actually enjoy this business. Can’t blame them either, except maybe the undercover Juggalos, for well,…being fucking Juggalos.

I’ve been hard here on V.Ice here, as has the world as a whole for the last 25 years or so. Most of that is completely reasonable considering the seemingly disingenuous output of Robert’s career.

But seriously V.Ice, if you’ve somehow miraculously stumbled across this blog and are reading this, The Shindig loves this song, both genuinely and ironically, all at the same time. It loves that it exists and hoists it proudly among the ranks of Halloween rockdom. We wouldn’t change a thing about it. Your references, as weakly constructed as they are, jam-pack the front end of this track and the Halloween quotient is undeniable, right down to the cribbing of Danny Elfman and the good people of Halloweentown.

Please accept my apologies if I have made you feel, through any of the above criticism, that I am anything less than a fan of this track. There’s a lot of Halloween music I hate (there’s a few ICP songs that come to mind here) that I roundly refuse to include on this playlist. Born On Halloween is not one of those tracks. Born On Halloween is a Halloween song for the ages.

The Haunted House of Rock

TRACK #148:

The Haunted House Of Rock by Whodini

Trick Or Treat – what more can you possibly give The Shindig? Haven’t you given enough already? Surely there are no more Halloween delights under your thin candy shell.

Oh, but there is – a thick nougat center of Monster Rap awesomeness.

In between all the Fastway rocking of the Trick Or Treat soundtrack, tucked away so’s you might not even notice, is this curve-ball of horrific proportions. From 80’s Hip-Hop maestros Whodini comes one of the finest Monster Raps featured on The Shindig, The Haunted House of Rock.

Played during the Halloween Dance sequence, just before Roger turns the speakers over to Sammy Curr’s backwards metallic cassette, Whodini rocks a rhyme about the monsters and mayhem taking place at the titular haunted abode.

What is this song doing on this soundtrack? What is this song even doing in existence? I don’t have an answer to either question, but in both cases I’m sure glad it is.

Succeeding in just about every way L ovebug Starski’s Amityville fails, The Haunted House of Rock features an actual Haunted House propagated by a multitude of real ghouls with no sign of any Starship Enterprise crew members in sight.

Amityville only outshines it for a brief moment when Dracula raps. That’s pretty huge and should not be ignored. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Amityville and it’s ridiculously unhaunted tale, but Whodini delivers the goods in way Starski only aspires to and they remain the champs of the Haunted Monster Party Rap game.

The Haunted House of Rock may even be the champ of the Monster Rap game in its entirety. But it does have some stiff competition.

If you Iike your Monster Raps a bit more specific, Are You Ready For Freddy might be your speed. If you like them a bit more ridiculous, then maybe The Maniac Cop Rap is the winner. Or if you like your Monster Rappin a bit more whack, then The Monster Squad is just what the doctor ordered.

But for my money, when it comes to legitimacy, Whodini is holding it down with this old-school hip-hop horror hit and its inclusion in Trick Or Treat just ups the ante.

I saw everybody there, except you. Let’s change that this year.

Amityville

TRACK #143:

Amityville by Lovebug Starski

In 1985, rap pioneer Lovebug Starski (best known widely for, well this song) decided it’d be a good idea if he just recorded some random track about Amityville. Not for any Amityville movie mind you, but rather during a 5 year lull in the franchise (3D having been released in ‘83, and Curse not for another 4 years.)

Hell, he didn’t even make it in reference to the movies really, but just cause he thought it’d be fun I guess and maybe even a hit.

And he was right! This sucker broke the Billboard Top 20 in ‘86, which means that, for a period of time in America, people were legitimately rocking out to this song. Which is totally understandable. This song is awesome and weird as shit.

Starski uses the real Amityville legend (I guess?) as a sort of jumping off point for some crazy-ass song about a vaguely Haunted House where nothing much happens, but everybody visits.

A Karloff-esque butler greets Starski upon his arrival, then later Dracula shows up for no good reason and raps. Now, that alone is plenty of reason for Amityville to make the cut for every Halloween party playlist ever created.

And as if that wasn’t bizarre enough though, just for the hell of it, Captain Kirk, Scotty and Spock arrive at one point to talk about Starski over the spooky beat. I’m sorry, what? Why? This song is fucking nuts.

Apparently, looking at the 45 sleeve above, you’ll note the record came complete with a “Free Black Hole,” ya know, for all the “time-shift special appearances.” I guess at least they tried to justify this nonsense with some kind of acknowledgement. Not sure if that makes it more or less weird, though.

So take a drive out to Amityville. You know, the house on the hill. You just make a left, then you make a right and……Amityville!

Ghostbusters

TRACK #134:

Ghostbusters by Run D.M.C.

Since everyone got so pissed off this summer about the Ghostbusters remake, and even more pissed off about the new song by Fall Out Boy ft. Missy Elliot (definitely not featured on the Shindig), I thought we’d take a look at another Ghostbusters Theme reiteration that surely pissed off purists in its day.

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but when it comes to Monster Raps, no movie’s got that shit on lock like Ghostbusters 2.

A prime example of this is Run D.M.C.’s Ghostbusters, which (as sacrilegious as it may sound) I actually enjoy a little more than Ray Parker Jr.’s seminal theme.

Don’t get me wrong, Ray’s original Title Track is an unrivaled classic, both for Halloween playlists and just generally speaking. It also serves as the basis for Reverend Run and Co.’s sonic sequel. This jam however is way less played-out, awesomely 8o’s in its own distinct way and just plain old fashioned ridiculous in the best way possible.

Sampled up with tons of clips of the boys bustin’ and schillin’.

You can click this glowing text to watch the official video. It’s pretty great.

So, who you gonna call?

You call the Ghostbusters, well that’s who you call!

Halloween Shindig

The Horror Fans Halloween Playlist

monster rap