Review Summary: Completely Unique
5 of 5 thought this review was well writtenThere are few rappers out there as extreme as Necro. Originally part of a teenage death metal band named Injustice, the 36 year old New-York born rapper took his inspirations into a new field of music, influenced by his big brother Ill Bill, marking his foray into the hip hop genre. Taking his stage name from the Slayer song Necrophobic, Necro has released 6 albums to day, coining the term Death Rap along the way. Necro's style involves gory imagery and extremely violent and sexually explicit lyrics, influenced by such bands as Death, Obituary, Slayer and Metallica, using far heavier beats than those found on any ordinary hip hop album out there.
Necro's style is definately not for the faint hearted, and his fourth album, The Pre-Fix For Death, is possibly the most extreme of his discography. This was the first time Necro ever fused death metal with hip hop truly, using far heavier beats than usual, and guest vocals and instrumentals from such revered metal stars as Jamey Jasta, John Tardy, Dan Lilker and Sid Wilson. This really was to be Necro's most boundary stretching, psychologically challenging release to date. If listeners had been shocked by I Need Drugs or Gory Days, then The Pre-Fix For Death was about to push this even further.
The Pre-Fix For Death is, in my opinion, Necro's crowning achievement. Some would claim Death Rap or I Need Drugs, but The Pre-Fix just found a whole new style, featuring his most explicit and tight rhymes to date, an unheard of style of fusing metal vocals with Necro's rapping, and some very nice flows to go alongside this. This is his opus, despite only receiving mixed reviews from critics.
Throughout this release, there are various references to Necro's metal idols, such as in the title track. This song has references to Master Of Puppets, Kerry King, and heavy metal itself, and these are all well integrated. This is one of the albums finest factors, the way it seamlessly integrates very unique rap lyrics with some much heavier beats than usual. The lyrics are undeniably well constructed, with incredible multi syllabics on permanent display here, and some catchy enough choruses.
The albums finest song, Beautiful Music For You To Die For, was my introduction to Necro, and served its purpose well. Anybody not familiar with Necro, this may as well be a go-to song, featuring some dark, morbid lyrics, great beats and a nice flow to it. Following the intro track, this pounds in, and straight away crushes your skull with just how unique it is compared to much of the hip hop out there. The real genius behind this album is that it manages to retain its shock value throughout the entire album, and that every song will have at least one moment to surprise the listener.
The Jamey Jasta contribution on Push It To The Limit does exactly what the song title says. As well as being one of the best lyrical songs on the album, with an incredibly tight flow and a nice beat to back it, the screaming heard during the chorus is bound to shock any rational human being. The idea of screaming in a rap song is undeniably a fresh concept, and it is the sort of concept that many people would write off immediately. I urge people to listen to this song, as it is nearly perfectly written, and every element of the song is masterfully put together.
Empowered remains one of the most unique songs in hip hop history, containing an intensely dense beat that is seldom heard in hip hop. This has some incredibly tight rapping from Necro, before, at around the 1 minute mark, who should pop up? The legendary John Tardy of Obituary fame. The way these growls are featured on the song could not have been done any better, and gives this song such a dark, unheard of styling, that it deserves a listen from everyone.
There is a lot more that can be said about this album, and all of it would be positive. This album is completely unique, and there is not a single rapper out there as interesting to listen to as Necro. Some of the ideas featured on this album are so ridiculous that they work perfectly, and the guest stars are all incredibly well integrated to the album. This album is a masterpiece, and is one of the few rap albums that manages to be astounding start to finish. 5/5
