Broken Frontier

I remember when I first fell in love with hip-hop. I was a pre-teen in a small town, struggling to fit in in a middle school where as a white kid I was a minority. I found myself drawn to the rebellious nature of gangster rap. I was convinced that Snoop Dog’s Doggystyle was the voice of a new generation, and I very much wanted to be a part of it.

But as I got older, I found myself drifting away from hip-hop. I began to understand the lyrics and not only did I realize I didn’t relate with them, I didn’t agree with them. Sure, it’s a broad generalization, not all hip-hop degrades women, promotes drug use, or focuses on becoming rich beyond belief after growing up in a ghetto. But sadly, the majority of mainstream rap is, and was at the time. Would all hope be lost for my love of hip-hop? I didn’t know the first thing about drive-by shootings, crack houses or cars with hydraulics. I grew up in a condo in Connecticut for christ-sake. Even though I moved on to other genres like punk and ska, my love for hip-hop never really went away.

Surely there must be a form of hip-hop that I could identify with. There couldn’t possibly be a group of rappers out there focusing on topics such as comic books and video games could there? There is, my friends, there is.

Allow me to introduce… nerdcore.

What’s nerdcore? Well let me enlighten you, true believer. The term was first coined by rapper MC Frontalot in his song “Nerdcore Hiphop”. It refers to musicians that rap about typically nerdy topics like movies and science. There are several noteworthy nerdcore rappers out there. MC Frontalot as I mentioned earlier, 2 Skinnee J’s, and my personal favorite, mc chris.

When it comes to writing for nerdcore, nothing is off limits. One of MC Frontalot’s songs, Yellow Lasers, is about a girl who dresses like Princess Leia and gives him a golden shower. mc chris’s lyrics go all over the board too. In one song named Townie, he raps, "I roll back my eyes, clear my mind and proceed, paint a picture-perfect world called the house of mc.” which is of course a reference to the popular Marvel mini-series House of M. mc chris rocketed to internet fame with his song “Fett’ Vette”, which is about the infamous Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett.

But it’s not just what’s heard in the lyrics. One of the major ingredients to hip-hop music is sampling. Taking riffs from other songs and looping them over and over. Nerdcore artists have an enormous wealth of things to sample from. Nerdcore artists are known for sampling movies, TV shows, and even video games.

Nerdcore is not just an idea and a sound. Keep in mind; we’re dealing with nerds here, so internet skills are usually mandatory. Many of the rappers aren’t on labels and self-produce the music all on their own. They also have a tendency to put the music up on their sites and offer it to fans for free. Being without a label also gives these artists quite a bit of freedom to do pretty much whatever they want. And since the music is typically released non-commercially, they usually escape the watchful eye of the RIAA.

So, what we have here is a grassroots genre with no rules and a passion for all things geeky. What’s not to love?

Not all artists are willing to fall in line with this label though. Some would just prefer doing what they do and not be lumped in with the other nerdcore artists, which can be understandable. You’re certainly limiting your audience when you accept such a title, and if you’re trying to get signed to a major label you might be making yourself a bit less marketable.

Is this the hip-hop you grew up with? Definitely not. Is it a glimpse into the future of rap? It just might be. But with the freedom to do as they please, and the army of fans rallying behind them, one thing is certain: nerdcore is here to stay.

For free mp3s from any of the artists mentioned in this column, be sure to visit any of the following sites:

http://frontalot.com/index.php/
http://mcchris.com/
http://www.bedoper.com/nerdcore/