[3] Poetic then joined Wu-Tang Clan's leader RZA, former De La Soul/Stetsasonic producer Prince Paul, and Frukwan from Stetsasonic in the hip-hop supergroup Gravediggaz.

Concerning the origins of the supergroup, he said: Prince Paul was going through a period in the business where he was, number one: not getting acknowledged for his talent, and two: not getting his monetary situation... when he owned his label, Dew-Doo Man through RAL and Def Jam, they owed him a lot of money and he really got stuck into a position as a producer where he wasn't producing for a couple of years because he was waiting on Russell Simmons, waiting to do some things.

So he called on people that he was working with: myself, Frukwan and RZA as vocalists who he felt had the same opinion of the industry and how they were being treated unfairly... he put it together for that express purpose.

"[5] This proved to be an impressive change, as his offbeat rhyming style quickly gained attention as the group's first album, 1994's 6 Feet Deep (also known by its original title Niggamortis outside the US), garnered positive reviews and strong sales alike.

In 2010, an interview was done with Poetic's former DJ Freddie "Kaos" Cox, in which the DJ discusses the early career of the rapper, and an unreleased album of Poetic's music prior to joining the gravediggaz entitled Drop Signal (which was supposed to be his debut album on Tommy Boy, before the deal with the group fell through) has surfaced on the Internet, which includes 14 tracks.

[5] Poetic died of colon cancer on July 15, 2001, 1:45 pm EST at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, five weeks before Nightmare in A-Minor's scheduled release.

An intimate memorial service for him was held at the Riverside Church in Harlem on August 4, 2001, attended by his family and close friends, including bandmates Frukwan and Prince Paul.