Necro

NECRO is one of the most weird and experimental artists out there. Even though he is a rapper, I love most of his works, since he has the guts and the talent to really collaborate with well-known Metal artists (not like several bands that think they have perfectly combined Rap with Metal). NECRO was kind enough to spend some time for an interview and answer to my questions in a calm, pissed off and honest tone. If you think Hip Hop has nothing to do with Metal, then don't bother spending your time here. The rest of you, check this guy out and come across the sickest form of Hip Hop ever!

By Yiannis Dafopoulos

• March 22, 2008

Hello there! I really loved your work on Death Rap and I have to admit that I am a big fan of yours since your earlier works. I have fallen in love with your The Pre-Fix For Death album. How do you always manage to sound so fresh and different?

Thanks! I just work to be original; I have always made music I don't hear anyone else making. I make the records I would like to hear. The brutal aggressive heroin records I could never find or get from some other artist.

I want you to say some things about your past and the story behind your solo career. You were in a Death Metal band back in the 80's if I am not mistaken...

Yeah, I was playing Death Metal when I was 12 years old, opening up for bands like SEPULTURA, OBITUARY, BIOHAZARD etc. and I was a very hungry child searching for respect in the world of music. I was always into the expression. I grew up in the projects of Brooklyn, NY, so my brain was being influenced by all street shit, and I wanted to come with that hard shit lyrically and musically in Hip Hop that was like hard Metal stuff that I was into.

A question that is based on my personal interest. Is there any way I can find any stuff from your old Death Metal band (demos, CD's, cassettes)?

Go to www.myspace.com/injustice1990. You can hear our demo from 1990 there to get an idea of what I was doing as a little kid.

How did you decide to make the turn towards Hip Hop? Growling and MCing are two totally different things!

I just was drawn to Hip Hop. It seemed like the movement of art that I was most into at the time. Metal was awesome, but in a band I couldn't be the frontman. I was in the back and I wanted attention. As an MC, it's all about you. It's your chance to shine and show everyone you are the shit. I'd get put down a lot by my father and sometimes my brother, and just people in the hood. Everyone was so negative, so to become nice on the mic was such a goal, because rappers were larger than life. They ran shit, they had all the respect, all the girls, all the fame. So it's something a kid is drawn to.

Your brand new album Death Rap has been released through your own Psycho+Logical Records and is being distributed with the help of Candlelight Records. How did you decide to trust the distribution of your album to a Metal label?

My management hooked that up, and I have Metal management, Ferret Management. So I trusted them with that, and also I felt it was a great deal. I never had luck with good distro in the UK. A lot of people sleep on NECRO, so it feels good to finally have a legit company reaping my shit there.

I suppose you have fans from both the Hip Hop and the Metal scene. Who are your beloved ones and why? Are Metal fans coming to your live shows?

Yeah, I get the fan that loves Metal and Hip Hop. Of course, I get some that are strictly Hip Hop and maybe strictly Metal except me, but I pull a more open minded fan, as opposed to other genres fanbases. My beloved fan is one that lovesNECRO regardless of what they are into.

You have managed to collaborate with many well-known Metal musicians such as HATEBREED's Jasta, OBITUARY's Tardy, NUCLEAR ASSAULT's Lilker and many more. How have you managed to do something like this? Do you know these guys or you do using the help of the label?

JAMEY was a fan, so I met him through LORD EZEC, who was also into my shit and we all clicked and decided to work together. Real recognized real. Tardy got down through Trevor who was a NECRO fan after hearing Bury You With Satan. That's a very evil track and I guess it caught his goat. Dan Lilker hates Rap music, yet he also hates crooning fake Metal. He is all about the real brutal shit. He heard my lyrics and said they are hard as nails. That was enough for him to join up, plus he is part of the tribe so how could he front? All these guys you mentioned are great guys and I would always consider them to be my friends.

Which guest appearance is your favorite until now and why?

I can't pick a favorite. They are all special. I would say the newest song with Mike from SUFFOCATION is my favorite. Rapping over Grind was monumental! I might never get the proper credit for that contribution, because people are sleeping, but I think I did something unique on that track and it's so hard, so violent. Only for the sickos!

What would you play if you were not a rapper (and a metalhead)?

I play guitar, but I'd also wanna do vocals. James Hetfield is the sickest frontman in Metal ever in my opinion! Just for the classics of their first 4 albums, I salute them forever. Changed the whole game.

Are you still keeping an eye at the Metal scene? Are there any latest releases that have attracted your attention?

Not really. I'm so focused on my shit, I got no time for anything but listening to 70's shit. I think what I did on Suffocated To Death By God's Shadow is some of the sickest Metal out today, so I'm in touch with the hotness.

You own an independent film productions company. What have you filmed until now?

I filmed one porno and some videos for myself, and 2 low budget movies in college, and a DVD with footage in it, but I have yet to make a full length movie. Soon...

Which bands/artists have influenced your music?

So much, METALLICA, RAKIM, SLAYER, KRS 1, BIG DADDY KANE, ANTHRAX, GETO BOYS, MEGADETH, OBITUARY, SEPULTURA, KOOL G RAP, The List is long...

Your lyrical themes feature violence, porn and many other extreme stuff. There are times I feel like I am listening to a Grind song! Has this fact caused you any trouble? How do people face you regarding your lyrics?

People talk shit in reviews, but to my face people respect me or they get hurt. I like the extreme, that's what gets me off. I'm more brutal than Grind, cuz you can understand what I'm saying vocally.

What is the craziest thing that has happened to you during a live performance? I suppose you will have come across many weird situations.

Just disrespect, where myself or HYDE have beat the shit out of the person. Seeing tits is not shocking, that's the norm, so it's usually violence created by us to make a point to someone being disrespectful. Don't come to my show to insult me, come to support!

Who is the artist that you would like to play with and you haven't had the chance yet?

Anyone in METALLICA or SLAYER would be a treat. OZZY, SABBATH members... There are some legends I'd love to create with in the studio!

What are your plans for now? If I am not mistaken you are on a tour until the end of October.

Just touring for Death Rap, pushing it hard. I wanna sell 100k! I'm touring with ICP now. Tour ends tomorrow night in Detroit on Halloween. Then I do Europe for all of November. Then I come back and chill and tour with HATEBREED at the end of the month. Then in January, I'm rocking all of Canada with some crazy package for my tour. Then more shit until the fall of 08. I am already working on my NECRO 09 album, while on tour getting shit ready. It will be insane of course, so for now, while I work on that I will tour like a nutcase, like METALLICA for Death Rap!!!

What do we have to expect from the next Necro album?

The sickest beats on earth, hottest shit on earth, craziest lyrics, more thug shit, and some new porno shit! I'm gonna mix it up on the nest album! It will not just be Death Rap, but all of NECRO's styles on one record!

Since you are something like an outsider to the Metal scene, I want you to tell me your opinion on the current trends that exist in our music (Metalcore, bands with female singers etc).

I'm not an outsider! I was playing Metal before most people doing it now, so I have always been Metal! I don't like the corporate shit! I like Metal to be like Hip Hop, original and hardcore and not censored!

I would like to thank you for your time and for the chance to speak with you. I know that many metalheads will be bitching about me interviewing a Hip Hop musician, but I always say, Try before expressing your opinion. I have already converted a friend of mine into a NECRO fan! I wish you the best for the times to come and I am looking forward to your next album. The last words are yours...

Thanks for the love! I appreciate it, and fuck any haters! They are just ignorant! You have to feel bad for them, then you have to split their fucking faces open with an axe! I don't worry about haters whether metalhead or Hip Hop dead! If you hate you can go fuck ya self!

www.MySpace.Com/Necro

www.YouTube.Com/NecroVideo

www.NecroHipHip.Com

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