Ron Raphael Braunstein, (Born June 7, 1976), better known as Necro, American rapper, record producer, business owner, actor, and director from Brooklyn, New York. Necro is known in the hip hop community for his exceptionally explicit lyrics. He has rapped about murder by torture, Charles Manson, and devil worship. Necro is regarded as an influential star of death-rap.^[1][2]

Necro was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the Glenwood Housing Projects. Necro is the son of two Israeli expatriates. He's of Israeli and Romanian ethnicity.^[3][4] Necro's father was a Romanian born Israeli combat soldier and his mother an Orthodox baalat teshuva.^[5] "In the PJ's and everywhere I looked there was a wolf. The projects was like a maze for a little 5 year old and it gave me a lot of freedom to be around different cultures", Necro says. He lived there for eight years from about 6 years old to age 14, when he moved to Canarsie. He derived his name from a Slayer song called "Necrophiliac". Before that he called himself "Mad Mooney", which was a character from a Clive Barker book.

Necro began his musical career at 11, playing guitar in a thrash metal band. But in due time, he made a transition from metal to hip-hop.^[5] In 1988, Necro started rhyming after being influenced by his older brother Ill Bill, who would constantly kick rhymes in the house. Fiending for props Necro realized he had something unoriginal to contribute to Hip Hop. He would rhyme in the lunchroom everyday until he was kicked out of South Shore High School for fighting. He made his first demo in about 1990 and won a demo battle contest on the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show on WKCR 89.9FM in speacial ed school. In about 1993 Necro started rapping brutal full time making a demo called "Do The Charles Manson". He started getting a rep for rapping rugged. At this time in Necro's life he was young, angry, not smart, usually armed and a drug dealer in Canarsie. He's been influenced by rappers like the Geto Boys and Kool G. Rap plus anything that has had an impact on the Hip Hop generation. In 1994 Necro hit up radio stations and dropped rhymes that are considered legendary by fans on the Stretch and Bobbito show. In '95 he proceeded to drop rhymes on the Wildman Steve and DJ Riz show WBAU 90.3FM with verses that earned the man a large following and to this day kids are still trading his freestyles.^[6][7]

Necro says of his style, "I'm into experimentation and trying new scenarios. If you listen to my verses, I change the flow on every line. No line ever repeats in a Necro verse, like some rappers. I don't write in a format. My format, if there is one, is to be unpredictable. The words create the path and flow, as they are written." ^[1]

Necro lists Kool G Rap as his principle rap influence in terms of rhyme structure and cadence. In an interview with Planetill.com he explains, "G. Rap influenced everybody. There wouldn’t be Nas, there wouldn’t be Prodigy, there wouldn’t be Pun, there wouldn’t be me, there wouldn’t be a lot of people. Anybody that says they wasn’t… really it’s the four. You want to come down with it? Top four. Kane. KRS. Kool G Rap, Rakim. Those four. A little bit of Slick Rick in there, but those four were for me. I come from that. I’m a mixture of basically Ra, Kane, Kool G. Rap, KRS, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth, all that. That’s how you get Necro." ^[8]

Necro invented the term "death rap" to describe his style of ultraviolent hip hop and to set himself apart from other genre labels created by the media. Part of the style was inspired by death metal. The sub-genre of rap combines death metal-esque beats with explicit raps about violence, death, the occult, and sex. Death rap can be thought of as the musical equivalent of slasher films. Many of his lyrics can be just as easily used in thrash or death metal which is why many metal enthusiasts can appreciate this style of rap.^{[2][9][10][11]}

Necro is a self-taught musician and has been playing instruments since the age of ten. Necro says of his production, "I started in 1989. I started looping up records." He bought an Ensoniq EPS in '91 and started producing music everyday developing a morbid sound. The first record he produced that got airplay was "No Tomorrow" by Non Phixion in '96 put out on Searchlight Music/FatBeats distribution. He started producing beats for groups like Non Phixion, Cage, Krist, and Missing Linx, who all released independent singles. The Cage single he produced, "Agent Orange" b/w "Radiohead" is an underground classic and received a lot of airplay on college radio. Unlike other hip-hop LPs with a different producer on each track, the albums released on Necro's label were entirely self-produced. Necro produced 7 tracks for Non Phixion's debut album.^[1][6]

Necro produced one track on Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II titled "Gihad" and featuring Ghostface Killah.

"Suffocated to Death"

An example of Necro's blend of Hip Hop and Metal.

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"I was playing death metal when I was 12 years old, opening up for bands like Sepultura, Obituary, Biohazard etc.", Necro says. Speaking about one of his metal hip hop fusions, "Rapping over Grind was monumental! I might never get the proper credit for that contribution, because people are sleeping, but I think I did something unique." ^[12]

Injustice was Necro's first death metal band, formed in 1986, before he was a teenager, playing guitar. With this band, alongside his brother Bill, he played live shows with some of the most legendary death metal bands such as Napalm Death, Sepultura, and Obituary at the world famous Brooklyn club L'Amours. Injustice recorded two demos before splitting up in 1990 due to not securing a label contract. "The Injustice "Inhuman Conditions" demo from those days carries a lot of credibility with it and I'll go so far as to say I think it's better than some of the bands who have made a name for themselves in that era." - MetalUnderground.com ^{[11][13][14][15]}

Since the inception of his rap career Necro has been tied to the genre of heavy metal, and more specifically death metal, which has altered his path into hip hop. Having played alongside such acts as Napalm Death, Sepultura, and Obituary with his band Injustice, Necro gained insight to the morbid underworld of death metal. He has been quoted in interviews citing death metal as a key influence for his sadistic rhymes, Chuck Schuldiner's Death in particular. Necro's adoration for death metal is apparent in many of his lyrical themes such as the Cannibal Corpse-like glorification of gruesome violence, the Deicide/Morbid Angel-tendency to discount and persecute Christianity, and the Bolt Thrower/Slayer-proclivity towards narrating the horrors of war.

Necro has also been known to reference underground metal acts in their rhymes as well. For instance on "Underground" Necro states he will, 'penetrate your skull like a riff from Obituary's "Slowly We Rot"' and quotes Metallica's "Master of Puppets" by saying "taste me you will see, more is all you need, dedicated to, how I'm killing you". Over the years Necro has increased his referencing and collaborations with underground metal acts, as evidenced by his 2004 album The Pre-Fix for Death, which features many references and collaborations with heavy metal musicians from Obituary, Hatebreed, Slipknot, and Voivod. In addition, Necro created his own supergroup known as The Circle of Tyrants, which is also a song by Celtic Frost which is covered by Obituary on their album Cause Of Death. The Circle of Tyrants album also contains collaborations with artists from Testament, Exhumed, and Sepultura as well as song titles named after 80's thrash metal classics such as Slayer's "South of Heaven" and Metallica's "The Four Horsemen".

Necro founded the independent record label Psycho+Logical-Records in November 1999 in order to maintain complete control over the conception and distribution of his music. In seven years, Psycho+Logical-Records has released over 23 albums, moving over 300,000 units and grossing over 1.5 million dollars. This was done without any major label support following the DIY method independently.^[2] Necro says "I started the label with my own money, from the ground up. Sold a beat for $1,000 and invested in it. Boom! Kept it moving, started making my fans hustle for me. I had over 100 kids hustling CDs for me all over the world." ^[1]

Necro has gained much of his popularity through the Internet. Necro's fan base is worldwide and this is evident by the 100+ million hits he has received on his official website. Every day the website receives 10 unique user sessions and the numbers grow every week. With an online merchant account the website has received orders for Psycho+Logical-Records and Necro Films merchandise from places as diverse as Australia, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Iceland and the United Kingdom. Necro is quoted as saying, "Necro Hip Hop means Death Rap. I created NecroHipHop.com in 1999. I knew I needed to create my own portal on the web and my website is the place for the most brutal hip hop on earth, kids still come to it religiously after 8 years. I can find out news about everyone in the business just by checking my message board, the kids on my board are in touch with everything in culture. That's why I have always nurtured my website, through ups and downs, it has always been a home to sickos online."^[6][7]

Necro has been performing live since the age of 11. Necro has headlined and sold out 1,000 capacity clubs in New York City, Los Angeles, London and Toronto. In 2007, Necro played The Download festival at Donnington.^[14] Some of the groups he has opened for include Run DMC, Beatnuts, Sepultura, Kool Keith, Napalm Death & Biohazard. He has headlined sold-out shows in all of NYC's mid-sized venues such as Brownie's, Wetlands, The Knitting Factory & SOB's. Necro's live appeal continues to grow. His shows have grown more turbulent with the audience stage diving and starting mosh pits.^[6]

On Saturday March 21, 2009 Necro had an appearance scheduled at a Vancouver, Canada nightclub. When promoters announced that the show was canceled at the last minute after concert goers had been waiting for hours, fans became violent and chaos broke out. Necro had been forced to cancel the show due to travel delays. Police were later called to the club when people began to throw bottles, chairs and tables at the stage and at the venue's DJ.^[16]

During the summer of 2009, Necro was a featured artist on the Rock The Bells tour appearing in Toronto, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and San Francisco.^[17]

In 2007 he toured with Sounds of the Underground. On July 25, 2007, Necro decided to leave the Sounds of the Underground tour. After fans in Columbus Ohio had nearly booed him off stage while throwing bags of vomit and feces on stage during the performance. Necro commented, "I decided to leave the tour because I felt the tour's demographic was not receiving hip hop well. I was facing hostile crowds and was returning the same energy back by being more aggressive than them. It was making a lot of people in the tour crew nervous. It was also being suggested that maybe I tone down my live show and not antagonize the already antagonistic crowd. I couldn't roll with that. We finished every show with middle fingers up and a big fuck you to the crowd. We ALWAYS got booed OFF the stage. Yes a ton of emo kids booed us at every show, but we had a twenty-five minute set every night and we stayed on stage for every minute of it. Every show had at least 10 to 20 NECRO fans in the pit tearing it up. I'm thankful for the opportunity to prove I can murder it in the worst of situations"^[18]

On June 5, 2009, Necro was fined $3000 after fracturing the cheekbone of a man who challenged him on the street in Perth, Australia. Necro pleaded guilty to the assault. Perth Magistrates Court was told the victim was punched several times by Necro after Police were called in by eyewitnesses. He was arrested at his hotel later that day, forcing the cancellation of his show before 40 fans at Perth's Hyde Park Hotel. After being fined, Necro was greeted by a small group of fans when he left court. When asked if he had any ill feelings towards Perth as a result of the incident, he said: "I love Perth." ^[19]

His media persona has done little to quash the controversy surrounding Necro. A recent interview with Music Feeds illustrates his outspoken opinions.^[20]

Necro confirmed he is releasing his 6th studio album entitled, "DIE!", in early 2010. He said it will be the most rugged brutal original hip hop album of 2010.^[21]

On the title track of the I Need drugs LP, Necro rhymed from a junkie's point of view over the beat for LL Cool J's "I Need Love." ^[1]

"Gory Days was "sinister, original, and cinematic, every beat hard-hitting." His signature sound began to form as he earned respect in the production field.^[1]

The 'Brutality' compilation featured "White Slavery". The video (included on his porn "Sexy Sluts: Been There, Done That" DVD) featured imagery of women used as coffee tables. "Hardcore bondage" and "lit flicking" were only 2 of the video's multiple dark themes and references.^[1]

"The Pre-Fix For Death" Lp" was a hip-hop album with a heavy metal backbone. The album featured collaborations with heavy metal groups (Slipknot, Hatebreed, Obituary, Voivod, Nuclear Assault, and Skarhead). More than a rapper and a producer, Necro played many musical instruments on the album. "I have been playing guitar since 12. I play live bass, guitar, Fender Rhodes, et cetera." Necro says "The Prefix For Death" was the most rugged album last year. The most severe brutality for the sicko cats who want more than what Hot 97 has to offer."^[1]

"The Sexorcist" is Necro's "porn-rap masterpiece." ^[1]

• 1998: Necro (Vinyl EP)
• 2000: I Need Drugs
• 2001: Gory Days
• 2002: Gory Days: Special Edition CD/DVD
• 2004: The Pre-Fix for Death
• 2005: The Sexorcist
• 2007: Death Rap
• 2008: The Sexorcist: Special Edition CD/DVD
• 2010: Die!
• 2011: The Sexcorsist Part II

• 2001: Rare Demos & Freestyles Vol. 1
• 2001: Rare Demos & Freestyles Vol. 2
• 2003: Necro Presents: Brutality Pt. 1
• 2003: Street Villains Mix CD: Vol. 1
• 2003: Rare Demos & Freestyles Vol. 3
• 2005: Street Villains Mix CD: Vol. 2

• 2005: The Circle of Tyrants

Necro went to Brooklyn College 2 years for film where he had access to film making equipment. His movie "187 Reasonz Y" had an anti-cop theme with a police officer getting shot in the head at the end of the film. The film department was repulsed by Necro's visions and he received no support from them.^[6]

Necro's film company has already released three direct-to-video features ("187 Reasonz Y", "The Devil Made Me Do It" and "The I Need Drugs music video"), all of which have received acclaim in publications such as The Source and Vibe magazine.^[6]

Necro has been taking classes on acting and honing his skills in the acting department. In May 2009, he premiered in a short video-film titled, "Triumph Of The Kill" acting the role of a serial killer clown. The short film was premiered on YouTube and Myspace.^[22][23][24]

Necro's music video for the song "Whos Ya Daddy?" has received over 3.3 million plays on the urban hip hop site WorldStarHipHop.com.^[25]

The very original video for "White Slavery" is about kidnapping women and selling them, with many scenes featuring S&M "'White Slavery' was about the white slave trade. I was telling a true story" says Necro.^[1]

• 2000: I Need Drugs (from "I Need Drugs")
• 2003: White Slavery feat. Ill Bill (from "Brutality Part 1")
• 2005: The Prefix For Death (from "The Prefix For Death")
• 2007: Mutilate The Beat (from "Death Rap")
• 2008: Who's Your Daddy (from "The Sexorcist")
• 2008: I Wanna Fuck (from "The Sexorcist")
• 2009: The Human Traffic King (White Slavery Part 2) (from "DIE!")

• 2004: Chasing The Dragon - Ill Bill feat. Necro (from "What's Wrong With Bill?")
• 2004: The Crazies - Mr. Hyde feat. Ill Bill, Goretex and Necro (from "Barn Of The Naked Dead") [unreleased]
• 2007: Mechanix - Danny Diablo feat. Necro, Prince Metropolitan and Skinhead Rob

• 1996: 187 Reasonz Y (a short film directed by Necro & starring Chris Stanger)
• 1998: The Devil Made Me Do It (a short film directed by Necro & starring Gene Milman)
• 2003: Sexy Sluts: Been There, Done That (a pornographic DVD directed by Necro hosted by Jerry Butler and starring Lanny Barbie, Uncle Howie and others)
• 2009: Triumph Of The Kill (a short film directed by Bryan Andre starring Necro)
• 2009: Personal Justice, a new crime re-enactment show airing on Investigation Discovery during the summer of 2009 (late July to early August). Necro will be in 3 upcoming episodes in 3 different roles.^{[needs update]}

• Necro production discography

• Official website
• Official website archive
• Official MySpace
• Official Soundclick
• Necro at Allmusic
• Necro at IMDb
• Template:Last.fm