3rd 4 t3h NRRD: June '12

Should Oceania ever rise to power, these guys will be among the many to be put to death, as they are unashamedly . . .
Thoughtcriminals

JOKE!

Like some previous Bosses, this crew is a buy one get more free setup as a several bright lights keep this group aflame! They have been a fixture on the scene for some time now and continue to produce fantastic content.

Either individually,
as founder Mikal kHill has a smooth steady pace with occasional super speed realms vocally that compells the listener to concentrate and really hear what's being said, this provides an excellent contrast and compliment to fairly consistent partner Sulfur.
This cat provides a snarl, a dark, bouncy and poignant emphasis with rhythm that pulls you in with visceral intent.
Combine this with masterful mixing and pro-level beats. The only reason to NOT listen to them would be lyrical content.

All about those roots, son! Know your references!

And that would be silly as they cover a wide swath of topics form the fantastically nerdy to the painfully real, as well as throwing down collab. after collab. to keep the sound itself fresh.
They have often worked with Tribe One, Romero Shaw, Shane Hall & Adam Warrock, just to name a few. 
If that last one seems familiar in context, well you would be right as there was an EPIC BROWNCOATS MIXTAPE born of that union.
And this particular focus is timely in that apparently some of the last touches on the Slyhtherin Mixtape are being finished.

Recording final mixes for Slytherin Mixtape. So boring. Saying hooks 28+ times for one song.
— Euge (Adam WarRock) (@eugewarrock) June 6, 2012

I can't wait to snag that! Bang it while reppin' that Hogwarts crest!

3rd 4 T3h Nrrd: July '11

Microsoft W3RD N3RDS! I got another Original Gamer of the Nerdcore Crop For ya . . . .

Mega Ran Or, Random, Random Beats or Big Ran!
This dude is mad prolific. He's been hustling beats and raps for just as long as anyone else in the game, because, like many great Nerdcore cats, he's a musician first.
Excellent production value keeps all the sounds clear and bumpin, a smooth flow and steady rhythm to beats keeps his lyrics running through his music.
I consider him an O.G. of the scene not just due to his longevity but because I have seen him all over the culture since I first heard him in a Collab with Front, all the way up to his contributions to Nerdcore Now. Did I mention he also has mad connections to video games, check the wiki. Mad Nerd Cred.
One of his most recent projects was an amazing collab album based entirely on Final Fantasy VII

Hot, right? Hit him up, pay some of his bills, enjoy!

You Better Save

Cause I don't know if you've got the gear for these . . .

Bossfights!

So, I had this huge elaborate well thought out post about how I blog and where my influences come from . . . Screw That!
I have Been Waiting for This Album, SO HARD!
Today, the 21'st, they're Debut album is out. Why are you reading this!? Go get it, NOW!
Okay, downloading? good.

I had been head banging super hard to the first three songs they put out back when their site was still part of Z1's Site, and have put them on 3 different mix-CD's. Upon glancing over the track listing for this new album I see "Eye of the Rising Sun" and "Left For Dead" But I am a little disappointed not to see "Frontalots" as I love that anthem. I wonder why. Well, maybe they just forgot, considering . . . some of the things they do . . .
I've been listening to the sample tracks up on their site and OOH BOY! This is definitely a unique, amazing, professional garage band, super group sound and mix that takes all of the artists influences and makes them flow and coalesce into audio awesomeness. And you can quote me on that. I will be a few bucks poorer in wallet, but many times more rich in art as I will be bumpin these tracks all over. Oh, and here's a tickler that you cant get no-where . . .

Best rest up at the Inn, cause in the mornin, there will be Bossfights!

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: April '11

'Ello Droogies, raz 'as come for another bloke!
Who and what's with the terrible accent and Burgess reference?

Milk-PlusI have heard this name mentioned countless times over the last five years, associated with projects and even dropping songs here and there, dude is after my own heart as a Nerdcore Playa in the UK. Peep his site HERE, I know I will be checking in for info on a regular basis.
For some sound sampling he's on a few diff sites, like Reverb Nation, Last FM, Myspace, ya know.

OR, one of my fave-most recent songs is a slick hit off of Nerdcore Now 1 . . .

OR OR Ore, if you have 6 minutes to kill I HIGHLY recommend THIS SONG about some hoopy froods you may be familiar with, collabed with a couple other artists we are familiar with.

I have pulled down his free stuff and thuroughly enjoyed his previous collabs, and look forward to blasting his raps all over. I also love how he is an avid supporter of other artists and tries to help promote (like likes like?) . Cheers Mate (if those colloquialisms are still valid) and Rap on Net Geeksta, real Horrorshow!

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Jan. '11

I do my best to represent the ladies, because they do exist! Contrary to popular beliefs there are females on the internet and they can do all the things boys can, better.

The First Lady of Nerdcore is the unstoppable MC Router. This rad chick has been rockin' it nerdy-nice since 2004 at least. One of the founding members of L337 G34k B34t, and more recently a solo artist she's prolific and represents hard. Throwing down at shows, touring with other Nerdcore luminaries, a featured interviewee in both Nerdcore For Life & Nerdcore Rising, Router is a loud and proud Nerdcore Player.


This babe is not just a pretty face with some alluring 8-bit breasticle ink. Not only can she throw down mad flow and quick lyrics she is a consummate musician, knowing how to play like 800 instruments.








Not satisfied with being an internet celebrity she has reached out to the international audience as well. Some nerds like to wear the "big in Japan" shirts, well Router can claim acclaim in Europe! Her music video below was even featured on an actual television network. I don't think more than a handful of Nerdcore artists can claim that outside public access, and she is one of them.


Even if you're one of those people who don't like her voice, even if you have beef about the Nursehella conflict, you CAN NOT deny that MC Router deserves mad respect, was doin' it first, doin' it longer, and has been doin' it more, Livin' & rappin, Nerdcore!

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Nov. '10

Serendipitously, I once again feature a XX chromosome for our November focus!




















MC Diabeats!!

This slick chick with the sick music creds has only been in the game so far for less than three years. She has managed to put out a few pieces under the guidance of many Scrub Club Vet's in that short time and I imagine it wont be long till she puts out her own solo album.

Loud and proud about many aspects of herself, she is a; healthy, white, young, college student, insulin pump-diabetic, musician, Spanish/English major, nerd.

All of these aspects have influenced her Nerdcore quality in positive ways. It appears her musical background has led to an excellent ear and of course she is "one of us" if her material is any indication, which, she just did a collab album about a gaming system that has been out of date for a few years now.

I saw her on the Scrub Club roster earlier this year and heard one of her songs on a compilation somewhere, or maybe just listened to her Myspace songs, don't remember right now, but kept my ear open. Lo and behold, I looked her up again recently and she has been moving along at a good pace in the Nerdcore community.

If her freshman material is any measure of quality, her progress should be phenominal. I await the next injection of sweet rhymes from Lady Diabeats, but until then, hopefully these live performances can hold us over.

3rd 4 T3h Nrrd: Oct. '10

Let us declare that 2010 was the 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd Year for Doctors, with

DocPop!

Doctor Popular is a groovy Bay Area resident who I've been following for some time now. Not only has he been a constant contributor to the Nerdcore Scene from early on, he is a Renaissance man of Geekery.
He is a pro yo-yoer, craftsman, musical and visual artist, and connoisseur of local cuisines throughout the bay area, having many different food items around the The City named for him.

HERE you can dive into all that is DocPop and his goodness.

As for me, I love how quirky his style is. There is a very fun and proud vibe to all of his projects that keep me enthralled. Though he is by no means mute about controversial issues, the majority of his work that I enjoy is very loud and proud, and nerdy.

(Quick shout out to art/geek couples. His girlfriend UNWOMAN is also a musician and has some very awesome musical ability. Check her out if you're anything like my fiance who digs ladies with alternative musical outlets and production sensibilities.)

Below is just one of many videos and music projects the Doc has been involved with. Although often assumed, I was NOT in chess club, but I think, like many of us, it was not outside of the realm of possibility.


As much as I enjoy his music, I really dig DocPop because he is very visible in many communities close to my current home. He's almost always down at Mission Comics and his Tweets and Flickr read much like my own in that they're very observational throughout the day to day adventures. He is yet another guy who is living and surviving in one of the most expensive areas in the world and doing what he loves.

Mad props, DocPop!

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Sept. '10

This month we take a look at documented Nerdery, with Nerdcore Rising & Nerdcore For Life. Two very different movies that I believe really looks into the heart of Nerdcore Hip-Hop, the light and the dark.

I've spoken about Nerdcore Rising before and can more or less point to it as the catalyst that got me into the genre. I have had some small email interactions with the head of the project, Negin Farsad, and follow her on twitter, this lady has a lot of hot brands in a lot of fires, one rad comedian.

As for the film itself, it is a banner waving piece of media to which I can point and say, this, this is what Nerdcore can be. It chronicles MC Frontalot's U.S. tour which ends at PAX (spoilers) and follows their misadventures. It also does try to answer the question of what is Nerdcore Hip-hop, what is it's purpose, is it a parody, racist, niche? Not only does it have a great amount of polish to it it tells a cohesive story with a beginning, a middle and an end. This not only helps bring most viewers along it gives an uplifting climax to the story.
If you only watch one of these films, make it Nerdcore Rising as it will give a great explanation of the genre, tells a great tale and shows Nerdcore and NerdLife (in my humble opinion) at it's pinnacle.

Nerdcore For Life is the Documentary you MUST WATCH if you want to seriously know anything about Nerdcore Hip-Hop the scene, the roots, and the players. Dan Lamoureux does an excellent job delving into the nuts and bolts of how the scene lives and breaths and struggles in the day to day. Not only does he cover the OTHER heavy hitters of the genre the movie looks at the larger internet cultures developed around the music and how they evolved.
This documentary is much more gritty, much more honest and as I said, if you want the movie that is going to set you on the path of a greater understanding of the genre as a whole, not just The King, The Godfather, and the other antediluvians, this is the documentary that needs to be viewed.

3rd 4 T3h Nrrd: May '10

Unleash the Dragon with this Slammin-smooth, super-sized, Samoan.

Zealous1

Like most of the rest of the intarwebs I was introduced to this So-Cal rap-wright through hearing "Level Up." I wont lie, I wasn't overly impressed but the beat was steady and the content spoke to me.

After hearing him on a couple collab's since, I decided to track down his tracks and give his library a good hard listen.

Hell-to-the-yeah! On one of my irregular road trips to deal with family affairs I listened exclusively to Zealous1's albums and continued to for a couple days after.

A proud member of Scrub Club Records, a member of Boss Fights and a driving force of the unofficial So-Cal Nerdcore crop, this dude is really chill.

His music is true, keeps it real, his flow is slick no matter what the tempo, his beats are varied and feel well thought out. Although many of the Scrub Club artists espouse a free music, free life, make music for life is freedom, mentality, I think Zealous is among the few who could and should get paid for their art.

Seek him out in any number of his net haunts and get down.

Hard Core Nerds Who Aren't "Nerdcore" prt. 2

MC Chris is nerdy. He has also been busting his ass for about a decade or more establishing himself as an artist musically and a writer, being heavily involved in a lot of "Classic" Adult Swim. As most of us should know by now, this runs in a nice parallel time line to Nerdcore Hip Hop's early years. This seems to lead to a lot of linkage between him and the greater Nerdcore movement. This is inaccurate, however. Similar to MC Lars & YTCracker, he was simply a musician trying to lay his business down and when Front put a name to it, human nature took a hand in things and Chris was lumped into Nerdcore as his -rap- was -nerdy- and quite a few other Nerdcore artists were surfacing around Fronts Nerdcore Flag.

It seems to me after a few years of hearing "oh yeah, you're nerdcore," and I can only imagine what else could be said after those few words, Chris got fed up with it and put up a heated post on his Myspace Blog about his association with the Nerdcore scene. He distanced himself from many Nerdcore artists, even dropping shows with some of them, and there was a backlash.

So, dropping a gig/an opener is a big slap in the face, so I don't agree with that, regardless if he "sent a mixed message" by having Nerdcore acts in his show while saying he himself was not Nerdcore.
But, I don't think anyone should blame him for wanting to be recognized as an independent performer. For better or worse I've never seen him ride anyone's band wagon and I can respect his desire to be a unique entity.

I love his music and his sense of humor, it just seems like he lets the circus get to him. He attempts to distance himself from things he enjoys and it gets convoluted and twisted, there's a reaction and misunderstandings all around.
So, MC Chris is not Nerdcore, and that's okay with me. If he wanted to be, that would be okay with me. BUT, he's not and so I shan't feature him in my monthly Nerdcore focus. QQ, i'm sure so many people care.

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If you do like any of the artists I have written about on my 3rd 4 T3h Nrrd articles DO check out MC Lars & MC Chris, as they are very professional, very good, very rappery, very geeky, perhaps even hard core nerds, and tend to be liked by people who are into Nerdcore Hip Hop.

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P.S.
I would like to officially apologize to Canadian rapper, Jesse Dangerously for featuring him in one of my monthly posts as he does not self identify as a Nerdcore Artist. Thank you for your good humor and replying to my (not always) humble blog. Mr. Dangerously (you see that? I used his performing name as if it were his real full name, I'm like the New York Times, it's clever) has been a really cool collab on a lot of Nerdcore tracks and I believe just likes to feel the love throughout the hip hop scene regardless of Nerdcore or otherwise and smartly welcomes the positive attention. Thanks JD, keep on rappin'.

Hard Core Nerds Who Aren't "Nerdcore" prt. 1

(Lords of Nerd . . . and other kinds, of Rapping)

It has come up a couple times when talking about my Blog (Mr. W. Awesome, I'm looking at you) that I do a monthly focus on a Nerdcore artist, you might have even read one or two, and when asking others who I should focus on next, the names MC Lars and MC Chris have been mentioned.

No, I will not do a 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd on either of these artists. Why? Because they are not Nerdcore, they do not self identify as Nerdcore, and although I enjoy both artists and may do a normal update about either of them, they will most likely never be a focus of my monthly spotlight.

Some hullabaloo has circulated around both rappers about their stance on & as Nerdcore rappers, and being a dutiful rumormonger I made sure to root around and hear the words from the horses mouth. Below are MY impressions of what occurred, I might be off, neither of them have EVER talked to me about the subject and I can only hope that if you have any doubts or suspicions about what is addressed here that you go seek out the events yourself. They are still very well documented around the IntarWebs.

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A while back MC Lars put up a post on his blog titled "RIP Nerdcore 1998-2009" and proceeded to expound upon how the "wave" of Nerdcore hit the shore and began to recede. Also saying how many fledgling "Nerdcore artists(I use the terms loosely)" have been sending him horrible, cheap, copy cat samples. Understandably this was disheartening and did not impress him as legit musicianship in the Nerdcore world. He then listed a few rappers (Nerdcore and otherwise) who he thought make great artists as well as his favorite hip hop influences. All throughout asking starting musicians to strive to pioneer and move the music forward.

A backlash swept through the nerd rap community and well, shit exploded, more like it. Eventually there was a 6 page thread on MC Frontalot's BBS (some very mature and thought out arguments there) and a few threads on Rhyme Torrents Forums as well. Some not as well articulated, but definitely vocal. Hipster Please also put up a take on what Lars was talking about, and after a few days Lars chimed back in to clarify his intent.

Apparently the title was a joke off of another hip hop album, that combined with the less than flattering content that sounded like it was aimed at the entire Nerdcore Community, the damage had been done. The apology helped, but less people on the Nets care about "sorry" than thinly veiled geek bashing.

While I'm on the subject, Mr. Horris has been hosting a discussions on his site as to whether or not Nerdcore is racist. This was in reaction to an off the cuff comment he made in Metro (yes, NorCal-south bay readers, OUR Metro) and he wanted to clarify his statement. A 5 page thread ensued with some cheap shots from both sides of the argument, I think both sides took the jabs in stride, and finally, The Great MC Front, came to the rescue, again, and helped Lars go over some key points on the issue and better clarify his opinions.

MY SUMMARY: I agree completely with Lars in that it is ignorant, and even potentially racist for the CONSUMER, the LISTENER, (and not the Nerdcore artists themselves because every artist I've ever looked into has at least a working knowledge if not a fanaticism for traditional hip hop) to dismiss roots of an art based on it's current popular incarnation. I assume, why he said that Nerdcore was, was a goof on his part.
I agree that you need to continue to move forward, and continue to develop as an artist, regardless of your genre.
I DISAGREE with the idea that Nerdcore compares itself to traditional(or otherwise) Hip Hop hardships. NEVER!, NNNEEEVVAAARR!! have I heard a song from a Nerdcore artist that even came close to this. but . . . . oh yes, I have a but . . . I like to think it is a big, budonkadonk butt, yeah . . sorry. (I'm paraphraseing here, shoot me, but my readership is so small I don't really care, if I blow up because -I'M RIDING THE COATTAILS OF NERDCORE AND MC LARS- well then, sweet, i can start paying some bills and write 2 blogs, do an interview with metro and have 3 5-page threads to explain myself, eh? (sorry, its late and I'm getting snarky) " comparing getting a wedgie to having the south Bronx ruined by an entire train system." anyone who has taken a basic critical thinking class can see this is a fallacy in gross generalization. To be honest, I love them and have used them. But to use it as part of your explanation on CLARIFYING the intent of your statements, not a great idea. So, Let me expound, okay, nerd life is no where comparable to the African American experience. No argument from me, that isn't the point.
*takes a second to collect thoughts*
Let me try again. Have Nerds/geeks/dorks been persecuted on the scale African Americans have? NO, not at all, I'm not drawing that parallel. However, fuck you (that's a "fuck you" in general, not to anyone specific) if you don't believe we don't have hardships. Where the hell did all those nerd empowerment films come from. Where have all the stereotypes and jokes originated, if not from actual events. Social disorders, estrangement, depression, suicide!? These are not legitimate issues for one to address in their chosen art form because someone who has come before you had it worse? Well damn, than only the ancient Greeks have license to produce art as I'm not sure how much worse you can get than slavery, incest, rape, wars and the disenfranchisement of peoples. Does this not fit the argument?
Because the plight of the African-American is on such a grand scale, the plight of nerds will always pale in comparison. This should not belittle the experience of the minority, it is just as real and just as influential. To use an analogy, its like saying a rape victim shouldn't be so upset because she's not a Jew that suffered through the holocaust.

To be fair, I don't think Lars had that in mind at all. But that would be me putting words into Mr. Horris's mouth, and I'm sorry. It sounds like he is a real cool guy, always kind, but he's not naive by any means either. I think the popular consensus at this point is that he needs to think before he speaks, but then, what fun would that be?