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Necro and Kool G Rap first announced their Godfathers project and collaboration in 2011 and released two mix CDs consisting of fifty previously released songs from the pair, The Pre-Kill Volume I in November 2011 and then The Pre-Kill Volume II in July 2012. They had initially announced that their first official album would be released in the first half of 2012, but Once Upon a Crime officially released on Nov 19, 2013.  The album was executive produced by Necro and Domingo.

Nathaniel Thomas Wilson (born July 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Kool G Rap (or simply G Rap, and originally Kool Genius of Rap) is an American rapper. He hails from the Corona neighborhood of Queens, New York City.  He began his career in the mid-1980s as one half of the group Kool G Rap & DJ Polo and as a member of the Juice Crew. He is often cited as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time as he is a pioneer of mafioso rap/street/hardcore content and multisyllabic rhyming. On his album The Giancana Story, he stated that the “G” in his name stands for “Giancana” (after the mobster Sam Giancana), but on other occasions he has stated that it stands for “Genius”.  He has also been cited as a major influence to some of hip-hop’s most critically acclaimed figures such as The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Eminem and Jay-Z, as well as many underground rappers.

Ron Braunstein (born June 7, 1976), better known by his stage-name Necro, is a Jewish-American rapper, producer, director, and record label owner from Brooklyn, New York.  He is the owner of Psycho+Logical-Records founded November, 1999. He is the brother of fellow rapper Ill Bill.  He was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in the Glenwood Housing Projects, where he lived for eight years from about 6 years old to age 14, when he moved to Canarsie. Born into a Jewish family, he is the son of two Israeli expatriates with ancestry from Israel and Romania.  Necro’s father was a Romanian born Israeli soldier and his mother an Orthodox baalat teshuva.

He began his musical career at 11, playing guitar in a death/thrash band named Injustice. But in due time, he made a transition from heavy metal to hip hop.  In 1988, he started rapping after being influenced by his older brother, rapper Ill Bill. Necro derived his stage-name from the Slayer song “Necrophobic”. Before that he called himself “Mad Mooney”, which was a character from a Clive Barker book. He made his first demo in about 1990 and won a demo battle contest on the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show on WKCR-FM. In about 1993 Necro started rapping full-time and made a demo called “Do The Charles Manson”. In 1995 he proceeded to rap on the Wildman Steve and DJ Riz show WBAU 90.3FM.

Track listing

Teflon Dons

The City

High Tension

Punched Dead In The Face (Skit)

Black Medicine

Omerta

The Pain

Hustler

We’ll Kill You

Crook Catastraphe & The Gunblast Kid

Unsub

I Hate You (Skit)

Gangsta

Trigga 4 Hire

American Sickos

Wolf Eyes Ft Mr Hyde

Heart Attack

Once Upon A Crime

Track by track review and rating

Teflon Dons- The beat in this track is very old school hip hop. It contains a sample from “Citta Violenta” by Ennio Morricone which works nicely here.  The verses are solid and delivered really well.  The hook is simple but effective.  A nice start to this album.  4.5/5

The City- Track starts with a sample from “Summer In The City by The Lovin’ Spoonful then kicks into a hard hitting beat.  Very good verses once again.  The hook is a nice reinterpretation on the hook from the sample.  3.5/5

High Tension- A much slower and dark beat drives this track.  The verses flow inside the beat flawlessly.  The hook is solid and keep with the dark tone of the track.  This track is a nice change of pace compared to the first two tracks.  3.5/5

Punched Dead In The Face (Skit)- A short dialog taken from the film “A Man Apart” N/A

Black Medicine- Another old school beat in this track.  The track starts with a nice female vocal and gives way to Necro and G Rap.  The hook is well done.  The verses are a little too loud here but it doesn’t take away from the track.  4/5

Omerta- A sample from “The Godfather Love Theme” from Nino Rota is placed over a slower beat.  The verses paint a visual crime picture and it works against this beat.  The hook is alright but some listeners will want a little more here.  The track ends with a familiar line from Godfather Part 3.  3/5

The Pain- A hurried piano backs a slow methodic beat.  The verses are starting to sound too much like previous tracks in this one.  The hook is slightly too simple and that brings down the track as a whole.  3/5

Hustler- A smooth 70’s funk vibe in this track, that is a much needed change of pace.  This song is all about hustling.  Solid verses and a well written but simple hook make this enjoyable.  4/5

We’ll Kill You- This beat contains a sample from “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne that seems a little out of place.  The rest of the music that backs the track doesn’t really fit the sample.  This track is definite horror core.  Necro fans will dig it but Kool G Rap fans might feel like his verse is forced here.  3.5/5

Crook Catastraphe & The Gunblast Kid- The beat is very spaghetti western here.  The verses are well written and the wordplay is good.  The hook is a sample from “Ace Of Spades” by Motorhead but stripped way down.  Not a bad track but nothing that really pops here.  3/5

Unsub- The unmistakable riff from “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath is sampled in this beat.  A much slower beat drives the track.  The verses flow well over the beat and the hook is nice female vocals.  4/5

I Hate You (Skit)- A short dialog taken from the film “Baby Boy” N/A

Gangsta- The beat has a nice horn composition that takes a sample from “Italia a Mano Armata” by Franco Micalizzi and The Big Bubbling Band.  Once again the vocals are slightly too loud.  This however does take away from the beat in this track.  The female vocals in the hook here are a little less successful.  3/5

Trigga 4 Hire- A slow pounding beat again in this track.  Both verses are solid and drive the track forward very well.  The hook is solid horror core.  A nice change in pace at this point in the album.  3/5

American Sickos- The music backing here is very much free form jazz.  The music is louder than the verses and makes them very hard to decipher and enjoy.  The idea of the song is really nice but the levels needed to be more evened out.  3.5/5

Wolf Eyes Ft Mr Hyde- A very good dark beat brings this track to life.  Mr Hyde adds a solid verse while Necro and G Rap continue the wordplay with solid delivery and smooth style.  The hook is more complex than others on the album.  4/5

Heart Attack- A solid beat with a sample from “A Taste Of Honey” by The Beatles.  Necro adds a well written and performed verse but Kool G Rap’s verse comes off as a little lazy.  The hook is really nice and works well with the theme of the track.  3.5/5

Once Upon A Crime- The sample in this track is from “Melodiya” by Valery Obodzinsky.  The beat is a really nice blending of strings and hip hop that adds a different flavor to the album.  Great story telling in the verses and a hook that is simple enough to not take over but complex enough to add a nice twist.  A solid ending to the album.  4.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Conclusion:  The first official album from a true horror core pioneer and a seasoned veteran of hip hop is a nice stepping stone for their next project.  Necro fans will enjoy the theme of the album as a whole but most may only know Kool G Rap by name.  KGR fans will enjoy the purity of the beats and hip hop sound but may be put off by the lyrical content.  This album is worth picking up for fans of either artist or fans of old school hip hop and horror core.

Favorite Tracks:

1. Teflon Dons
2. Once Upon A Crime

Length:

• 55 Minutes 13 Seconds

Record Label:

• Psycho+Logical-Records

Release Date:

• 09/19/2013

Purchase:

• Necro Webstore - $7.50

Websites:

• Facebook

Reviewer:

• Juggalotus