Nobody represents “Hardcore-Rap” like Ron “Necro” Braunstein for twenty years. He has built up his own label (Psycho+Logical Records) and gained an audience that most other artists (who are more commercial) would dream about. This november he has achieved the next step in his career: the “King of Death Rap” released “Once Upon a Crime”, the long-awaited project with inventor of “Mafia Rap” Kool G Rap. We talked with Necro about working with G Rap, racism in HipHop, horror movies and many more. Whether you love or hate him, you clearly have to consider: Necro is the type of person who really says what is on his mind – and who gives no damn if you like that (or not).
Interview: Thomas Kiebl
Fotos: LTE Strategy; YouTube
I want to begin with something that happened few weeks ago: Bill de Blasio won the New York City mayoral election. He promised to improve people’s life and to fight against the rising gap between the rich and the poor. Can you tell us how the situation on the streets changed over the last years?
Necro: I could f*cking care less about some deblasio, I wanna get a blowjob from a sexy h**ker.
As you possibly know, Bill de Blasio lives in the same borough as you – Brooklyn, which also changed a lot under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Have you ever made any experiences with the problems New York City has to cope with?
This bullshit doesn’t effect me. In Necro world what affects me is how I handle my business.
Kool G Rap and Necro can be described as “Rap Veterans” –Kool G Rap is an integral part of the game for centuries and influenced so many other rappers like Eminem, Nas or Jay Z. You dropped your first solo LP, called “I Need Drugs” 13 years ago. You are in the game for a very long time. Can you tell us how the scene changed during all the years?
It sucks now, music is horrible and the new rappers show no respect to legends. The difference is back then there was some sort of respect, now it’s a new game of tight jean wearing f***ots, I’m last of a dying breed.
Something that significantly changed our daily lives is the internet. How does the internet influence your work process and what are your thoughts about social media like Twitter and Facebook?
I love social networks, because I get to interact with fans and set up meetings with sexy groupies, then I get to f*ck them in their a**es on tour.
Are they a useful tool for communicating with the fans? Or have you ever experienced something negative?
The negative is all the shit talking done by haters, the rest is positive.
Can you tell us when you heard about Kool G Rap at the first time?
I heard of Kool G Rap as a little kid watching music video box, when “Road to the Riches” video dropped.
And after all the years in the game, are there things you can learn from him?
Kool G Rap is very mature, so I learn how to not take all the haters so serious. He has a smoothness about him that I learn from.
Is there something like a competition between Necro and Kool G Rap about who has the best verse on the album?
I respect Kool G Rap too much to compete with him, I just want his approval as a legend to agree I destroyed it and he gave me that respect, you can’t compete with Bruce Lee, friendly sparring maybe at best, Tyson wouldn’t disrespect Ali like that.
One thing that is very typical for Necro are shocking album covers. Can you tell us something about the idea behind the artwork of “Once Upon a Crime?” Why is the “Holy Mary” on it?
I definitely feel the covers need to be striking, the cover for “Once Upon A Crime“ is depicting the made man ritual, where the trigger finger is cut and it drips blood onto the holy card, then I wanted to show the fire that is lit turn into a demon to showcase the evil side of crime, and the gangsters in the background, also this cover is like Necro being made a made man by Kool G Rap and all the goons in the dark are the past rappers that Kool G Rap has worked with and did legendary work with like Nas or Prodigy.
Are there any other rappers you would really like to produce for?
Honestly I’m not sweating any other rappers to produce for, if someone dope asks me then cool but im content doing this with Kool G Rap, my next productions will be for Necro solos, I feel I stepped out of the Necro solo world to make this record but I am comfortable building my rep for my fans, working with Kool G Rap was a lifetime goal and super hard project to complete since he is the greatest of all time, it was an honor to do this record, now I gotta get back to being Necro the solo artist, got me?
What’s about the idea to build a supergroup with Alchemist, Kool G Rap and Prodigy? Do you think that this could happen? Have you talked to them?
I tweeted ALC about it and he ignored me, I guess Necro isn’t important enough to get a response, considering I influenced that dude and he was trying to find out my samples in ‘98.
Can we expect something new with rappers you have already worked with?
Nah probably not, not sweating anyone, maybe my brother HYDE of course, but not anyone else.
As somebody who likes to provoke, what are your thoughts about so many of the young cats – like SpaceGhostPurrp, Tyler, The Creator or Gunplay – use Swastikas as a sign of rebellion? Especially for you, who has a jewish background?
That’s f***ot shit and they are ignorant dudes, jews don’t stick up for themselves in HipHop, but those dudes are f***ots for using the swastikas, but what is new? So many people in HipHop been racist, it’s not a new trend.
Racism is still a big problem in our society, you talked about it in several tracks. Do you think that things are getting better? Or isn’t there any change?
Things change but not in HipHop, I notice in the world amongst regular common folk there is progress, but in HipHop, especially New York, racism is still poppin‘, thank God me and Kool G Rap are showing that there is a difference and you don’t have to be an ignorant sh*thead.
Last month, Owadia Josef, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, died. He was a very controversial person – what is your opinion of him? Does the situation in Israel interests you?
I got no interest in it because it doesn’t effect me currently and anytime I speak on it I just get a barrage of “Free Palestine” comments and “Israel are nazis” – its like people cant have a normal convo about the middle east. So I don’t need to speak with people, whoever it is, that can’t have an intelligent convo – I’d rather avoid the subject especially since I am not from there. I got family from Israel but I am not close with them, I am from Brooklyn, New York.
As a big metal fan: what is the main connection between Metal and Rap?
I grew up hearing both so I fell in love with both, I am very openminded, a lot of people are not, so this makes me different, I felt both music styles were rebellious.
Do you generally think that the Hip-Hop-scene got more open-minded in the last years – especially for collaborations with artists from other genres? Has the music business changed?
The music business that most of the world knows is horrible, the underground has some dope shit like The Godfathers, the underground is where you can find cutting edge art.
You mentioned in an interview with “Pigeons and Planes” that two tracks on “Once Upon a Crime” could be considered “Death Rap” – “Unsub” and “High Tension”. The last one is named after the famous horror movie by Alexandre Aja. Were horror movies a big influence for that album?
Not for the album, for those tracks, this album was more gangsta, mafia, thug influenced.
Can you tell us which horror movie everybody should have watched?
“Blood Sucking Freaks”!
Have you listened to the “Morlockko Plus remixes Necro LP” by German producer Morlockko Plus? What do you think about it?
He did a good job, he has obscure beats, it was a pleasure to listen to.
What are your favourite albums at the moment? What music are you listening to right now, what was the last CD you bought?
I have listened to only The Godfathers for the last 6 months because it was my focus, but I usually listen to tons of stuff, but lately mainly this, a few songs from Metallica and some Police, but mainly this project and of course stuff I see on YouTube, anytime someone drops a single, I see the video, but I don’t hear their full projects because I don’t have interest on that level.
What are the projects next to “Once Upon a Crime?” Can we expect a second part of it?
I don’t know about that, before that would happen, this record must be hailed a classic, and we must tour the world for it, to make another record and not even tour for it, would seem like a waste, touring will happen if the demand from the fans is there, so we shall see.
One last question: is it true that you work on “Sexorcist Part 2”?
Yes, I wanna drop “Sexorcist 2” next along with “Death Rap 2” and my thug album.
