| Necro has always been a rapper obsessed with death, violence, sex, and the darker themes of the human psyche, all of which defined his first three proper albums. In 2005 he released an outrageous concept album entitled The Sexorcist which – as the name would suggest – was exclusively about sex. The lyrical content on that record was so explicit, putrid, and borderline-nauseating that even GG Allin would take offense to Necro’s treatment of women and the “colorful” language he used so liberally.
Additionally, Necro abandoned his trademark dark production which has been the cornerstone for his work with Non Phixion, Ill Bill, and his own albums – and replaced it with stagnant white boy funk. Most of the beats were dull sounding, and the only interest on that record gripped with what outrageous things Necro would say next. The Sexorcist would have deserved as much a 5 star rating as a 0 star rating. As terrible as most of the songs were, and as ridiculous the choruses, the novelty of a pornographic rap album of that caliber was so ridiculous that it almost made the record endearing. Even though it is one of the worst albums I’ve ever heard, I still consider it one of my favorites.
Death Rap is only marginally better. Necro’s 2007 release finds the rapper/producer revisiting his violent horrorcore themes of past, and is far closer to his more iconic releases of past. The album actually starts of somewhat strong. “Creepy Crawl” has solid production before regressing into a sing-songy chorus of “stab you / stab you / stab you / until you die.” Necro has never been the most prolific rapper of the Non Phixion family, but occasionally he flows well given the right production. A listen to The Sexorcist’s “Whose Ya Daddy?” which pins Necro’s sex raps over the Zombies’ “Time of the Season” is fantastic – in its own way – and proves that Necro has skills.
There are a few tracks on Death Rap which recall his best flow, including “Keep on Driving” and “Some Get Back (Revenge).” Otherwise Necro tends to be as stale, ranging from being unremarkable to completely unlistenable. On numerous tracks Necro taps into his metal influences, and makes an ungodly metal-rap hybrid that lacks any of the accessibility of the sound’s mainstream equivalent. Granted, listening to “Belligerent Gangsters” is probably better than listening to the likes of Limp Bizkit, but not by much. Several tracks on Death Rap are frankly painful to listen to.
At the end of the day there is simply no reason Death Rap should have been made. All of the themes explored here have been beaten to death (no pun intended) in every past Necro release. Even though The Sexorcist was the album where porn stars sang hooks to songs like “Horney Honeys” – the record still managed to be enjoyable, and at the very least a change of pace. I’m not sure exactly where the market for Necro’s brand of metal-laced death rap comes from, but he keeps making it and presumably people keep buying it. Chances are if you liked the previous Necro albums you’ll like this one, but if you haven’t heard of the man just stay as far away as possible. Reviewed
by: Vadger1
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