As I'm sure you're aware if you've read, say... anything I've ever written, I've never been much of a death to false metal guy. The exact opposite in fact. Death to authentic metal, because that shit is awful. The same, as we talked about recently in this post Lil' Debbie and the hip hop authenticity problem, is true of my approach to hip hop. The less real the better, because nothing is real, so let's at least have fun. Patrick Kay, on the other hand, has what you might call good taste. I wouldn't call it that, but you would. He wrote about for us a while back, and today he talked to actual New York hip hop guy Necro, who has a new album or whatever.
If you’re into underground hiphop (and why wouldn’t you be?) you know Necro. The Brooklyn MC and producer is a one-man juggernaut of and sick – in all senses of the word - self-produced that BUMP. He’s teamed up with legends of metal for which defy the odds by being amazing. His Psycho+Logical Records has been a mainstay of east coast underground quality for nearly twenty years and has featured raw classics from , and Necro’s older brother . He’s also produced seminal jams for the likes of and . Necro’s stuff shows a bone-deep appreciation of a huge range of music - classic rap and metal in particular - alongside crazy rhymes dealing with conspiracy theories, the occult and organised crime. In a world where mainstream hip hop is dominated by throwaway synth beats, he still maintains a dedication to the original hip-hop ethos of digging for dope, obscure samples from the most unlikely sources.
Necro’s been making power moves recently: he provided the legitimately bananas beat to Mr Muthafuckin eXquire’s “” last year and has a new solo album dropping soon. Add this to his upcoming project with legendary Queens MC Kool G Rap and the man is busy. He took some time out of his hectic schedule to answer my slightly breathless fanboy questions. Necro is a refreshing interviewee because he’s more than candid; read on to find out about being sued by lesbians, why Koch are cocks and how sampling is his life.
Mr Muthafuckin’ eXquire had a huge hit with “Huzzah”, using your beat for “”. Raekwon also used one of your beats for “Gihad” on Cuban Linx part 2 – that’s part of hip-hop history! When people take a beat you’ve done previously do they get in touch and ask you to send the masters for mixing the album properly or what? Or do they just rap over a CD rip or something? What did you think of Huzzah and the remix?
EXquire just took the beat for Scumbags, but he was respectful about it. Now that he has a deal, I’m getting paid very nicely for the usage of my beat so it was a blessing. I wish Ex the best, ‘cos he showed love to my beats - a lot of rappers are sleeping on my production but he used it for a mix CD type thing. That’s love. I’m gonna do a song with me and him both rapping over a Necro production soon.
A song with the two of you rapping is gonna be insane! Can you tell us a bit about the new EP, Murder Murder Kill Kill? It’s dropping next month, I believe.
It’s a new double EP with 15 tracks I am releasing and it’s brutal as fuck, all different flavours, like candy vag, you know what I mean? Hot pussy to be fucked in a strip club with dirty crevasses.
What about the album you have coming out with Kool G Rap? Godfathers?
It’s still being worked on, and it’s coming out insane.
Gangster style stuff? Because Kool G Rap was one of the first to come with the streetlife style rap…
It will pulverise all competition, motherfuckers ain’t ready for such a lyrically powerful record. Fuck the haters! I bang their mothers. [laughs]
On your album Die in 2012 you used a sample from an Ani DiFranco for “ .” Then she sued you. I was reading a thread about the sample on a feminist songwriter’s forum which called your song a cover! That made me laugh. Did you deliberately choose to make it a porno song because Ani DiFranco is a pretty staunch feminist? As a bit of a fuck you?
No, I meant no disrespect to her. Her sample was awesome so I used it, it was on some assholes shit, and it made sense. The way she handled it was some loser shit! She should choke for being such a hypocrite in the indie game…
So you were pissed off with the way she went after you?
You know what? Her lesbian butch wife can bang her ass with Ellen Degeneres’s decapitated skull attached to a rubber dildo. [laughs]
Yikes. As far as I know I don’t think you have ever commissioned beats from anyone for you to rap. Would you ever pay someone else to make a beat for you to flow over?
Hells no, what for? [laughs] I am too dope. As a rapper I am so dope these beat makers should be getting at me to spit on their beats, follow me?
Yeah. It was actually kind of a stupid question I suppose! The Pre-fix for Death, What’s Wrong With Bill, Secret Society, Circle of Tyrants, now Murder Murder Kill Kill – lots of the stuff you put out has amazing artwork from top-notch comic artists. Do you read comics? Have you got time? I remember reading an interview with you a few years ago where you said you don’t really have time for computer games so I’m wondering if it’s the same deal with comics…
I don’t read comics unless it’s the nonsense posts from idiots on Facebook daily. I don’t even got time to wipe my ass. But I manage to do it.
Who do you listen to these days outside of your own label Psycho+Logical, if anyone? Still listening to classic metal? Any newer stuff?
I watch a lot of Metallica and Howard Stern on YouYube, and I scan around and check shit out here and there, but I don’t got time to listen to other rappers. Everyone thinks they the best. I’m the best!
Everyone who hears your beats agrees that your production is superb. I have friends into indie rock and house music and stuff and they’ve loved the beats I’ve played them. Lyrically though, people either seem to love you or hate you. But I kind of think you’re having a bit of a laugh when you rap about sick stuff, particularly the porno stuff… sort of like ODB used to. I mean, the album had some of the most explicit lyrics you could imagine, but the beats were really catchy, much poppier than your normal style… are you always 100% serious?
Yeah look, people like what they like, at the end of the day you can’t control what a person likes. Some love me and some hate me - if everyone loves my beats then that’s what’s up. Music isn’t like lyrics, lyrics can offend, music doesn’t really offend like that… as for me being serious, when I’m rapping death rap and thug shit I am very serious, and when I rap porn I am having more fun. It all depends on the subject - I can joke around all day and then flip like a schizo.
I’ve got so many questions just about the samples you use. The thing that always strikes me about your productions is just how far and wide you cast your sampling net. The Bee Gees, Italian horror flicks, 50s surf rock, 80s pop… I’ve even found out about some good films from samples in your stuff, like [sampled on “”]. Where are the film samples from on “” and “”? How do you come across the really obscure stuff you sample?
I dig deep, it’s my life, I don’t just do this for a hobby. It means everything to me, and also I can make dope shit from anything so there is always one hundred beats waiting to be made from the Necro style. It’s never ending, Nirvana is from a gore flick, and so is Carnivores. I don’t wanna reveal where, that’s giving away info - let people search. That makes the art more intriguing.
I went into the post office to pick up a package a few years ago and I had “ ” on my headphones. I had to take them off to speak to the guy and just as I did the “Necro wants to abuse you, Necro could never be abused by you” bit was blaring out. Everyone in the post office was looking at me like I was a maniac. I hadn’t shaved for a few days and I was working on a building site at the time so I looked pretty dirty, like a drifter or something. That’s the price of being a Necro enthusiast!
That’s not strange to me though, some douche working in the post office, that’s weird, think about it, he has to dress in some stupid outfit and sit there day and day out and send mail! That’s boring, he should have been envious of you. Society can’t say shit about anyone, when most people are puppets.
When I listen to your brother Ill Bill he has moments when he’s uncertain, he’s confused, he’s introspective… but your verses never have a single moment of anything except one hundred percent aggression and bravado. Do you ever have doubts? Will you ever show any vulnerability on record?
I guess, I feel like being a white kid that raps in a black hiphop world, I always had to show power and that I was just as good. All the rejection I have taken, it made my music brutal and hardcore, so I do what I feel needs to be done in a world that seems to attack me anytime I try to be nice. I can’t get a break so my music is gonna reflect that brutalness; my life is mine and I don’t care how other rappers do their shit because they must be happy with their art in the end. I feel like this is a life long therapy for me.
Can you tell us more about Koch, why it didn’t work out with them? [Psycho+Logical Records had a short-lived distribution deal with independent kingpins Koch records back in 2007.]
The head guys there were really scumbags, they have no honour and that company can burn to the ground for all I care. Real shady people that have no souls. Most record label people are like that, that’s why I had to start my own shit so I would have the machine to release my own visions.
Necro’s Murder Murder Kill Kill! EP is out at the end of July. Godfathers will drop later on in the year. Keep up with him at www.necroproduct.com, on and on .
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9 comments:
Wow, what a cultured young man. I heard some of his old shit and was OK with it. His new material reminds me of Biohazard (it stinks).
Nice work as always, PK.
"cultured"?
@anon: fair enough if you don't like it (his beats in particular are legit though!). I think he deserves respect because he's made a success of himself 100% independently. Plus the samples he digs up are bananas. But like I said I'm a massive fanboy so whatever.
Hah, just went to post this on his fan page on facebook and the tag on the thumbnail is your comment saying "his new material reminds me of Biohazard (it stinks)"! Had to delete it.
Hells yeah, cultured as fuck yo.
Sorry about messing with your facebook adoration old man. All valid points just not feeling the new stuff. I'll go back to listening to Bubba Sparxxx to get my double chin rap fix.
"How else can I say it? I don't speak no other languages." The romantic in me wants to believe that Bubba made a pile of loot and is livin' large. The realist concedes that he's probably working at a Sonic Burger.
Also - Luke's point about realness in music is one I agree with; "realness" is a stupid idea. I just like the music Necro makes, I couldn't care less about credibility or stuff like that. I likes what I likes.
What did I do now?
This is legit.
Eh, just agreeing that "realness" in music is something only 14 year olds should care about.
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