A Forgotten Classic: Witchdoctor's A S.W.A.T. Healin' Ritual

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I write today to muse on a hip-hop album that received far too little attention upon its release, and which has been largely forgotten, despite its high quality and its innovation. That album is Witchdoctor's A S.W.A.T. Healin' Ritual. This is an album that I purchased in my youth amidst my burgeoning obsession with all things Dungeon Family. Having recently been absorbed by Outkast's Aquemini and Goodie Mob's Still Standing, I began to seek out all things Dungeon Family. Witchdoctor's debut was one of my first acquisitions.

At the time, I was struck simply by the 'Doctor's smooth flow, the dark and murky quality of the music, and the numerous excellent guest appearances by other members of the family: Cee-Lo, Andre, Big Boi, Big Gipp, and others all drop in for some great verses. Witchdoctor was not a rapper whose skill lay in his ability to rhyme multiple syllables, to rap especially fast, or to say anything particularly mind-blowing. Rather, his talent lay in his delivery. Like contemporary favorite Young Jeezy, the thing that made the music so listenable was the smoothness of the rapper's voice; the particular inflection he brought to his speech; the ad libs that he used as rhythmic devices.

Withdoctor's raps were emotional and compelling. Far from glamourizing the drug trade, the "thug life," etc., Witchdoctor brought a sullen realism to his descriptions of these oft-romanticized elements. There was a sadness in his voice. The beats that accompanied his raps had a certain melancholy quality. Even when he seemed to relish in crime, drugs, and sex, he sounded less like a cocky, self-assured promoter of these things, and more like a downtrodden, wise-to-the-world veteran, reminiscing over the things that he once loved, though he knew they had nearly destroyed him.

This was made all the more compelling by the almost self-unaware quality of the record's tone. Witchdoctor never came across as the "conscious rapper" type, trying to teach the youth a lesson about his mistakes. Rather, his tone was a realistic one; you heard in his voice that he had been there and done that, but also that he knew that others would go there and do that, and while there will be some pain involved, its something that we all do, and its a part of life, and that's somehow beautiful.

Another key element of this album, and one that I have only begun to appreciate now, is the acoustics of the music. If you listen to old Goodie Mob and Outkast records, and read the credits, you'll realize that much of the music was produced acoustically (as opposed to digitally), via a live bass player, pianos, guitars, etc. While there is certainly a fair share of drum machines and sampling on these records, the use of live instruments adds a certain openness and airiness to the sound. A certain dynamic, organic quality. This is an often-unrealized and unappreciated fact about Dungeon Family records at the group's peak. A S.W.A.T. Healin' Ritual bears all the signs on this phase in the group's sound. It's something that is lost of later releases from the now-defunct family, such as the debut records of Slimm Calhoun and Killer Mike. But its all there in the Witchdoctor record.

Based on a look at his myspace page, Witchdoctor has apparently continued to make music, first on a small label, producing sounds that seem as if they came right out of someone's garage, and more recently recording an album with the Cartoon Network's record label (strange, yes). Some of these new songs sound pretty good to me. But there was a certain point-of-view on that first record that can never really be reproduced. You can feel the energy and the spirit of those early Dungeon Family recordings on that album, and for someone who takes something from that sound, A S.W.A.T. Healin' Ritual is a rare and precious gem.