Like many of the hip-hop heads who attend this university, Kira Sender, a sophomore letters and sciences major, is thrilled that veteran rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah is performing Sunday at a free show in the Stamp Student Union sponsored by Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.
But while the Grand Ballroom’s doors will open at 7 p.m., Sender won’t be arriving at the show until 8 p.m. – specifically so she won’t have to sit through Ghostface’s opening act, fellow rapper Witchdoctor.
“I [have] never heard of him, so I don’t really want to sit through his set,” Sender said. “I’m just going for Ghostface.”
Other ticket holders for Sunday’s concert seem to share Sender’s idea.
“I haven’t ever listened to him,” junior English major Lesly Julien said. “Maybe I should, though, because sitting through an unknown act when you’re anticipating someone as big Ghostface can be an agonizing experience.”
Although he is a mystery to most students, Witchdoctor said his upcoming album, Diary of an American Witchdoctor, set for release Oct. 23, will free him of his “underground, underrated status” and propel him into fame as one of hip-hop’s best lyricists.
“This album could be Grammy Award winning because it’s a full circle, lyrically,” Witchdoctor said. “I have spiritual songs, street talk, talk for the ladies, stuff to make people listen to this album for 10 years.”
While most of the album’s producers are unknowns, the musical styles on the album vary frequently so the group of diverse international listeners he is hoping for won’t get bored, Witchdoctor said.
Though the 36-year-old Witchdoctor (born Erin Johnson) predicts Diary will be an instant success, he has been perfecting his craft of complex lyrics over abstract beats for more than 15 years. He is an original member of the legendary Atlanta hip-hop collective Dungeon Family, which includes the group Goodie Mob (friends of his from high school), production team Organized Noize and the Grammy Award-winning duo Outkast.
The rapper adopted the name “Witchdoctor” in the early 1990s after waking up to a song lyric with the word. His sound is experimental and funky, with lyrics that combine tales of the hard-knock life with spiritual philosophies.
Despite his thoughtful work, Witchdoctor has not achieved the mainstream acceptance of his Dungeon Family affiliates. He released his 1998 debut album, A S.W.A.T. Healin’ Ritual, on Interscope Records, but it was dropped from the label due to poor sales. After that, he spent nearly 10 years unsigned.
“For most of my career, I was left for dead,” Witchdoctor said. “It’s preposterous that I could walk around, and no one would sign me. Everybody in Atlanta could have reached out to me, but no one did.”
Witchdoctor said he does not like to speculate about why he remained unsigned and is not bitter toward his signed fellow Dungeon Family members because he is “a team player.” Instead, his faith in God and in himself motivated him to create his own artistic opportunities and enterprises, he said.
“I was thrown to the wolves, but I’m still here and stronger than ever,” Witchdoctor said.
From 1998 to 2006, Witchdoctor pushed four albums and a mixed tape through the label he founded, Dezonly 1, a slang term for God, he said. Over the years, he sold the albums through his MySpace page, signed a two-book deal with Publish America, Inc. and released a seven-chapter book of poetry and prose called Diary of the American Witchdoctor.
And Witchdoctor’s plans for the future don’t just include music. He will release a magazine in January called Who’s Who Monthly Ranking Magazine, and the publication will feature Witchdoctor’s lists of top performers in various, obscure categories, including “hip-hop trailblazers, party rappers, hated-on entertainers and industry dime-pieces,” he said.
“It’ll be shocking to see who my picks are,” Witchdoctor said. “I’ll shed light on people who deserve it and take away light from people who don’t.”
This year, Witchdoctor signed a deal with Adult Swim’s Williams Street records after an executive purchased the albums on his MySpace. Williams Street will distribute Witchdoctor’s upcoming release as well as his 2006 album, King of the Beasts .
But opening for Ghostface is his greatest career opportunity so far, Witchdoctor said.
“I’m drooling out the mouth to be opening for him,” Witchdoctor said. “I know that since Ghostface is headlining, I’ll attract a crowd that appreciates real emcees.”
Witchdoctor will open for Ghostface Killah on Sunday night at the Adult Swim National College Tour’s stop in the Grand Ballroom of the Stamp Student Union. The show is free for students with an ID. Doors are at 7 p.m.
arush@umd.edu
