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NEWS : STORIES
He may not be a witch doctor in the traditional sense, but rapper Erin Johnson, a.k.a. Witchdoctor, comes off every bit as mysterious. The 26-year-old Johnson, who has adopted the curious pseudonym, shared some of his mysterious side
"That's just one of my hidden secrets," he said from his home in Atlanta. "It's just like when you watch cartoons like Spiderman or Captain America. I'm going to try to give you stuff that's completely unexpected, really unpredictable." "Unexpected" and "unpredictable" are words that aptly describe a s.w.a.t. healing ritual, an album that combines Southern-fried hard-core rap with Witchdoctor's own take on voodoo spirituality. In some places, the album conjures images of a big city with snakes rolling down the streets, headhunters riding buses to work and magic potions being hawked at the corner store. A former church choir member and R&B singer, Witchdoctor said that the sound of his album comes from praying as much as his own blood, sweat and tears. "If it's something God wants me to say, I'll say it," he explained. "Being able to do that has provided me with a way to pay bills and give a lot of credit which I couldn't have otherwise." One of the strangest surprises is the first single from the album, the street-smart "Holiday" (Real Audio excerpt), which is musically at odds with the trance-inducing, occasionally frightening songs that populate the rest of a s.w.a.t. healing ritual. "I try to change things up a lot," Witchdoctor said. "For the first single, I just wanted to go straight to the street. But then I give you something like (the foreboding gospel-rap of) 'Heaven Comin',' and that's more spiritual." The album's other 15 songs feature the often haunting production work of Organized Noize knob-twirlers DJ Rob & Emperor Search (Goodie Mob, Outkast). The album also features appearances by members of rap crews Goodie Mob and Outkast that often come across as sermons or ghost stories. According to hip-hop fan and fellow Atlanta resident Mason Jordan, Witchdoctor may be separating himself from the rap-pack by including metaphysical subjects and others that draw from Southern history, African-American culture and civic pride. But, in a sense, Witchdoctor is also continuing in the folk-tale-style rap of Arrested Development, the last big hip-hop act out of Atlanta. "There's a strong storytelling tradition among African-Americans in the South," Jordan explained. "And the church sermons here are legendary for their energy. Arrested Development were the last band out of here to harness those two elements and it seems that Witchdoctor is throwing in the street cred that they never had." And just as Arrested Development pushed hip-hop's envelope by incorporating strong gospel elements, Witchdoctor expands the genre's horizons by concluding a s.w.a.t. healing ritual with the acoustic blues of "Lil' Mama Gone." While claiming that the song may surprise some listeners, Witchdoctor also said that it is "just as deadly as the rest of 'em. It's something to take you out of that other mood, something like me shooting you with a sedative." In fact, Witchdoctor said he thinks that it could become one of his musical signatures. "In the future, that song's going to become the one they remember," he said. "When they hear my fourth album, they won't be surprised." Fourth album? From a man who just completed his debut? "I'm already into the future," he concluded. "My next album will be called Witchcraft: The 9th Wonder and it's from a different planet."
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