There is a constant battle in the music world to remain clean and clear of any classifications. Everyone has a new twist, fits a few different genres and is of course, unlike anything anyone’s ever heard before. Norselaw dodged the multi-genre classification and made a genre for himself: Viking rap.

Musically, Viking rap is the combination of Black Metal and rap. Lyrically, it strives to use language as an art form. Norselaw actually won a poetry award for his lyrics.

“I hope my work is intellectually stimulating,” said Norselaw. “Something totally different and provides for a cultural revival in it’s classical aspects.”

With such an interesting hybrid of concepts, Norselaw is concerned about being taken seriously. His past endeavors include tongue-in-cheek Blood Hound Gang kind of shows. These were just about getting up on stage and having a good time. He stopped when he realized these performances were not doing anything to build respect for his talent.

“I hope people aren’t like, ‘Oh this guy’s way out in left field,'” said Norselaw. “I want to contribute culturally.”

Along with using black metal with diverse elements, Norselaw also uses black metal differently than its Norwegian roots. Now there is a black metal movement in Scandinavia producing church burnings and murders among its members.

Even with a funk beat egging on the fact that there is indeed a twist and no demonic dwellings in the content, throaty growls producing Shakespearean verses make the positive messages a surprise.

The irony came full circle for Norselaw last February when his real-life heroic efforts contradicted the historic dark intent of black metal. He spotted smoke coming from a rural home on his drive home. Concerned, he checked out the situation and found that the home was actually on fire.

As the fire spread, he knocked on windows and doors to make sure no one was trapped inside. In the process he ended up waking an elderly lady, ultimately saving her life. The irony is the police reports found the culprits were disciples of black metal and had been using a black metal Web site with detailed instruction of how to commit arson.

“Because of my direct involvement with black metal, I was a suspect and interrogated,” Norselaw said. “When no correlation between myself and the culprits was found, I was actually awarded a certificate of bravery at a city council meeting.”

Norselaw wants his positive take on such a radical genre to become a valued part of the society so he can share something creative, something “outside-the-box.”

Contact ALL Reporter Carissa Bowlin at [email protected].