a +1 Bag of Nerdcore Hip Hop
A few years back I was introduced to the genre of music called Nerdcore Hip Hop. It is Rap music created by geeks. Unlike the parodies that are common on Dr. Demento and at Sci Fi conventions Nerdcore consists of original works done in the old school Hip Hop style. The type of music made by Run DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Back when the songs were carefully constructed masterpieces of sampling because turn-tables were the only instruments available. When the rappers took pride in their skills not in their material possessions. When fame meant dominating the niche market that was rap, not the national Top 40. They understood that they were making music for a small audience. It gave them a sense of humility, even if they were always rapping about how great they were. Nerdcore artists share these traits. Computers have replaced turn-tables, and the target subculture has changed from urban youth to the geeks on the Internet.
“Famous in inverse proportion to how cool I am.”
– MC Frontalot “Indier Than Thou”
The leader of this genre is MC Frontalot. He started in the crucible of Songfight, a competitive song writing site. He dominated opponents to such an extent that the sites organizers were telling him to “Get a label!” He also created the theme song for the widely popular game site Penny Arcade, and performs yearly at their Penny Arcade Expo. MC Frontalot, being a generous soul, has released many of his songs to the Internet, free for download from his site.
Last year he finally released his first album, Nerdcore Rising. The majority is cleaned up versions of some of the songs on his website with 6 new tracks mixed in.
New Stuff
The first track is “Charity Case”. It is an exploration of the conflict in herint in being both an artist and a professional. The second is “Goth Girls”. One of my favorites, it is a catchy tune that describes Frontalot’s obsession with “any sister with wrist scars and black eye goo”. Also his lack of success with the same. The third track is called the “Pr0n S0ng”. It is a listing of some, maybe all, of the seedier things found on the Internet. A nice song but it can get a little uncomfortable if you start trying to sing along. The fifth track is named “This Old Man”. It is the lament of an aging rapper. The following track is “Nerdcore Rising” which brings in fellow Nerdcore artists Jesse Dangerously and MC Hawking. Together they relate the history of Nerdcore and its possible future. The last of the new tracks, track 10, called “Hassle: the Dorkening”. It is a lyrical assault on Magic: the Gathering, focusing on its overly complex rules.
Old Stuff
The one that improved the most is a remake of an old Songfight song called “Yellow Lasers”. It is a much better version of this song than the free or live versions. “Which MC Was That?” and “Special Delivery” also benefited from remixing. “Floating Bridge”, “Message No. 419”, “Braggadocio”, “Penny Arcade Theme”, and “I Heart F*gs” were not significantly improved. They are as good as they ever were. “Crime
Overall I would say that Nerdcore Rising is well worth the $12. It is even available thru itunes now. The new songs are great and most of the old ones are at least as good as the free versions.
Who else is Nerdcore?
For quality of music MC Chris is one of the best. He has created one of the best Nerdcore songs ever with “Fett’s Vett”. Unfortunately he is being seduced by the music industry. His latest album Eating’s Not Cheating has very little “nerd” in its Nerdcore. Sure he still runs his entire show thru a Mac but the songs are all about women now. They are good songs, and his live performance was fantastic, but not particularly geeky.
Using a computerized voice to rap about science over gangster rap music, MC Hawking walks the line between Parody and Nerdcore.
I have only learned about him recently. I’ve heard a few of his songs and they were good.