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Once upon a time, RAP stood for rhythm and poetry. Die!, the latest by Brooklyn “death-rapper” Necro, due in South Africa at the end of the month, contains neither. Instead, it sounds like one long WWE entrance theme.
Lyrically, Die! reminds me of a scene from A Hero Sits Next Door (Family Guy Season 1 Episode 5). Walking into the kitchen, Brian Griffin mistakes a police scanner for a regular radio.
Radio: "We have a gang shooting on Third and Main. Three wounded, one dead."
Brian: "Is it me, or is rap music just getting lazier?"
The difference between classic horror films and modern torture porn is subtlety. Good horror films affect us psychologically. Gross out, over-the-top gore fests, like Saw 78 and Hostel 15, give horror flicks (and fans) a bad name. Likewise, Necro’s take on zombies, horror and death is just as insulting. He sounds like a serial killer, not a horror movie fan.
Often, the beats, backing tracks, samples and slick production steal the show. On the title track Necro raps, "beat the shit out of Jesus for being a faggot" over Shocking Blue’s "Love Buzz" (made famous by Nirvana back in the day). And it’s the interesting musical choice that outshines Necro’s meaningless shock value lyrics.
Also, no matter the backing track, Necro sounds exactly the same. Like a thick-necked jock barking threats of violence. The kind that respects a convicted rapist like Mike Tyson over "female activists".
As far as violent themes go, I’m all for artistic freedom and condemn nutcases blaming bands like Slayer (whose song "Necrophiliac" inspired Necro's name) and Cannibal Corpse for their crazy outbursts. That said, doesn’t this sound like the rapist national anthem:
"…your butt and your tits are immaculate. Slut, let’s cut the shit and cut. Don’t act like you ain’t with it. Admit it, you want me to hit it." In other words, "She was wearing a short skirt, she was begging for it". Tom Araya’s way more poetic than that…
Really, Necro’s a pop culture junkie. Die! references everyone from Richard Pryor, Lady Gaga and Van Damme, to M Bison, Apollo Creed and Marsellus Wallace. He’s a well-versed music and film fan as well. And the samples range from Billie Holliday, Bob Dylan and Black Sabbath to Rocky II, Rambo: First Blood and Steven Seagal’s Out For Justice (nice movie selection – not!). The problem is the content’s boring, self-obsessed and repetitive. One topic, beaten to death, fucked in the ass, carved up "real nice".
Lyrically, Die! reminds me of a scene from A Hero Sits Next Door (Family Guy Season 1 Episode 5). Walking into the kitchen, Brian Griffin mistakes a police scanner for a regular radio.
Radio: "We have a gang shooting on Third and Main. Three wounded, one dead."
Brian: "Is it me, or is rap music just getting lazier?"
The difference between classic horror films and modern torture porn is subtlety. Good horror films affect us psychologically. Gross out, over-the-top gore fests, like Saw 78 and Hostel 15, give horror flicks (and fans) a bad name. Likewise, Necro’s take on zombies, horror and death is just as insulting. He sounds like a serial killer, not a horror movie fan.
Often, the beats, backing tracks, samples and slick production steal the show. On the title track Necro raps, "beat the shit out of Jesus for being a faggot" over Shocking Blue’s "Love Buzz" (made famous by Nirvana back in the day). And it’s the interesting musical choice that outshines Necro’s meaningless shock value lyrics.
Also, no matter the backing track, Necro sounds exactly the same. Like a thick-necked jock barking threats of violence. The kind that respects a convicted rapist like Mike Tyson over "female activists".
As far as violent themes go, I’m all for artistic freedom and condemn nutcases blaming bands like Slayer (whose song "Necrophiliac" inspired Necro's name) and Cannibal Corpse for their crazy outbursts. That said, doesn’t this sound like the rapist national anthem:
"…your butt and your tits are immaculate. Slut, let’s cut the shit and cut. Don’t act like you ain’t with it. Admit it, you want me to hit it." In other words, "She was wearing a short skirt, she was begging for it". Tom Araya’s way more poetic than that…
Really, Necro’s a pop culture junkie. Die! references everyone from Richard Pryor, Lady Gaga and Van Damme, to M Bison, Apollo Creed and Marsellus Wallace. He’s a well-versed music and film fan as well. And the samples range from Billie Holliday, Bob Dylan and Black Sabbath to Rocky II, Rambo: First Blood and Steven Seagal’s Out For Justice (nice movie selection – not!). The problem is the content’s boring, self-obsessed and repetitive. One topic, beaten to death, fucked in the ass, carved up "real nice".
