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Sematary
Birth nameZane Steckler
Born2000 or 2001 (age 23–24)[1]
California, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2019–present
Member ofHaunted Mound

Zane Steckler, known professionally as Sematary, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is the founder and frontman of the underground hip hop collective Haunted Mound, which he started in 2020. He began releasing music in 2019. His distorted, black metal- and witch house-inspired horrorcore songs and deep-fried Internet aesthetic have garnered him a cult following online.[2]

Early life

[edit]

Zane Steckler was born and raised in Northern California and has described his hometown as "redneck-y". His mother is a painter and his father is a record producer who worked on various film scores, including writing a song for the soundtrack to the 1999 film Pokémon: The First Movie while working as a jingle writer. He has one younger brother. Steckler's upbringing, according to him, was "normal", and he has expressed that he hated school.[1] He first began experimenting with music at the age of 11 through the use of GarageBand and Logic Pro.[3]

Career

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Steckler began releasing music in 2019 as Sematary after he graduated from high school, releasing his collaborative debut mixtape Grave House with fellow rapper and childhood friend Ghost Mountain that year. He released a follow-up album with Ghost Mountain, Hundred Acre Wrist, in 2020. Following Ghost Mountain's departure from music, Sematary formed the underground hip hop collective and record label Haunted Mound, also becoming the group's frontman.[4] His mixtape Rainbow Bridge 3 was released in December 2021 and was listed as one of the best hip hop albums of that year by SLUG.[5] Sematary released the mixtape Butcher House in February 2023, with its namesake tour taking place in early 2023. Upon its release, Paste praised it as "easily the hardest-hitting rap record of the year right now", while Revolver's Eli Enis called it "beautifully belligerent."[6][7] Eight months later, Sematary's extended play (EP) King of the Graveyard was released.[8] He also appeared as a guest on Suicideboys' Grey Day Tour in the fall of 2023.[9] His album Bloody Angel was released in March 2024 and his second headlining tour, the Angel Tour, commenced a month later. Bloody Angel was preceded by the post-punk single "Wendigo", released in January 2024.[10] That same month, "Fuck the World", a collaborative single between him, Chief Keef, and fellow Haunted Mound member Hackle, was released.[11]

Artistry

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Chief Keef
Yung Lean
Sematary has named rappers Chief Keef (left) and Yung Lean (right) as two of his biggest musical inspirations

Steckler was inspired by witch house band Salem and rappers Chief Keef, Black Kray, and Yung Lean to start rapping, with the latter motivating him to pursue a career in music after he saw him perform at the Warlord American tour.[1][3] Sematary's music is horrorcore with elements of cloud rap, trap, and drill music.[1][6][5][4] He has described his songs as "crunchy" and largely inspired by black metal and witch house. His vocals are typically layered and distorted with Auto-Tune.[5] For Stereogum, John Norris called Sematary's vocals "snarling" and "slurry" and described his lyrics as nihilistic. Paste wrote that his music was "loud" and "abrasive" with "a ton of distortion" and lyrics that "vary from creepy to ridiculous".[6] Paper's Ivan Guzman called his and Haunted Mound's lyrics "slasher film-esque" and their production style "blaring" and "blown-out".[1] His sound was called "distinctly post-internet" and a "[fusion] of psychedelic SoundCloud-era rap à la Bladee and Yung Lean with menacing horrorcore drums and spooky witch house synths" by Eli Enis of Revolver.[9]

As of 2024, Sematary had recorded a majority of his music in the "Butcher House", an abandoned slaughterhouse built in 1905 where he currently resides in and films most of his music videos. Günseli Yalcinkaya of Dazed compared his music videos to B horror movies. His online aesthetic has been described as deep-fried and defined by its horror influences, including his often holding a chainsaw; he has compared it to that of Chief Keef.[1] Sematary helps design Haunted Mound's merchandise—which, as of 2024, make up most of the collective's revenue—and its mascot, a screaming tree named Harold.[10] He has stated that his marketing of the group is inspired by that of other underground hip hop groups, such as Sad Boys and Goth Money.[12] He has been vocal against the presence of the alt-right in underground hip hop.[1][13]

Discography

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Mixtapes

[edit]
List of mixtapes, with release date and label shown
Title Details
Grave House
(with Ghost Mountain)
Rainbow Bridge
  • Released: November 8, 2019[15]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Rainbow Bridge 2
  • Released: March 20, 2020[16]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming, cassette
Hundred Acre Wrist Hosted by DJ Sorrow
(with Ghost Mountain)
  • Released: July 31, 2020[17]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Rainbow Bridge 3
  • Released: April 29, 2021[18]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming, cassette, CD
Screaming Forest
  • Released: October 29, 2021[19]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Butcher House
  • Released: January 13, 2023[20]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming, CD
Bloody Angel
  • Released: March 29, 2024[21]
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming, CD

Extended plays

[edit]
List of extended plays, with release date and label shown
Title Details
Warboy
  • Released: May 1, 2020
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
King of the Graveyard
  • Released: September 29, 2023
  • Label: Haunted Mound
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Guzman, Ivan (April 30, 2024). "Don't Be Scared of Sematary". Paper. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  2. ^ Morrison, Donald (May 22, 2024). "Notes From The Underground: An Interview With Sematary". Passion of the Weiss. Retrieved September 18, 2024. Sematary's aesthetic has earned the Haunted Mound crew a cult-like status.
  3. ^ a b Gengo, Roger (February 10, 2022). "Sematary & Hackle Interview". Masked Gorilla (Podcast). Retrieved September 23, 2024 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b Wickes, Jade; Lai, Tiffany; Reed, Davy (September 17, 2024). "8 names to keep an eye on right now". The Face. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Hartman, Taylor (December 1, 2021). "Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums of 2021: Semetary – Rainbow Bridge 3". SLUG. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Enter the horrifying world of Sematary's Butcher House". Paste. February 13, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Enis, Eli (January 19, 2024). "6 best new right songs now: 1/19/24". Revolver. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Yalcinkaya, Günseli (September 29, 2023). "5 albums to stream this week". Dazed. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Enis, Eli (January 19, 2024). "Sematary: Hear $uicideboy$ tourmate go goth-punk on new song "Wendigo"". Revolver. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Norris, John (April 3, 2024). "'I Was Blindsided': Sematary On Haunted Mound's Upheaval, New Mixtape 'Bloody Angel,' & More". Stereogum. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Nevares, Gabriel Bras (January 1, 2024). "FTP Records, Sematary, Hackle & Chief Keef Drop New Banger 'F**k The World': Stream". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Yalcinkaya, Günseli (April 23, 2024). "Inside Sematary's chainsaw-wielding, horrorcore universe". Dazed. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  13. ^ ""Fuck a Day Job": Sematary Takes the Proust Questionnaire". Interview. 18 April 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  14. ^ "Grave House - Sematary". August 16, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  15. ^ "Rainbow Bridge - Sematary". November 8, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  16. ^ "Rainbow Bridge 2 - Sematary". March 20, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  17. ^ "Hundred Acre Wrist - Sematary". July 31, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  18. ^ "Rainbow Bridge 3 - Sematary". April 29, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  19. ^ "Screaming Forest - Sematary". October 29, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  20. ^ "Butcher House - Sematary". January 13, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
  21. ^ "Bloody Angel - Sematary". March 29, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024 – via Spotify.
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