Over Twitter this morning, MC Frontalot announced a cancellation of his Denver show—however, he also said, “On the sunnier side, looks like we'll be able to add Wichita on 4/24.” His website still lists this show as tentative, but fans here are excited. So, you may be wondering who MC Frontalot is, and why this ties into a Video Game column:
MC Frontalot is generally considered the founder of “nerdcore” hip-hop in video game culture, for naming the “nerdcore” sub-genre, and performing at Penny Arcade's annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). In 2000, he released the song “Nerdcore Hiphop.” This became a hit among the geek and nerd communities. Nerdcore is defined by themes and subjects that relate to the interest of nerds. Rappers rhyme about anything and everything, but some favorite subjects include; Star Wars, World of Warcraft (WoW), science, fantasy, and computers. Nerdcore artists are self-defined. MC Frontalot, like most from the genre, publishes and releases some singles of his work free online.
Free? Yes, free. In a world where most artists want to charge the listener for every song downloaded, this culture gives it away. Why? I talked with Mad Hatter, head of Scrub Club Records and local resident, about why they offer their music in this way. “We offer our music for free because we believe that music should BE free, at the core of it all,” he replied. “ It also allows people that can't afford cds or online purchases to have access to our entire online catalogue, and this also helps speed up the process of spreading our music and message worldwide - There's no buck to stop our progress.” Scrub Club Records was started in 2001, and by self-description is a mutated version of Hip Hop. Since that beginning, artists also made references to video games, comics, super-hero style themes, and more. Not only a nerdcore label, other genres are featured--like electronic and rock/funk groups. None of the artists currently on the label began making music because of nerdcore, but that doesn't mean they don't love and support that scene. One of the artists that this writer listens to, Zealous1, is rich in video game rhymes and slams out a good beat to bounce your head to. Another artist, Kabuto The Python, had an internet hit with "Those Minerals" which directly references the Mass Effect 2 game.
I also asked Mad Hatter what he considered to be the main drive behind the genre. “The heart of Nerdcore is the spirit of the community that it takes place in. It's a constantly evolving group of listeners that, often, also become artists themseves, and everyone is very supportive of each other. The fact that it's a genre made of nerds also shows the ultimate promise of having people savvy with web design, graphics, and technology that helps them record and promote media online. The heart is community and innovation, always improving.”
Nerdcore hip-hop and other similar genres--like geek-folk--are growing popular in Wichita. Powerlifter is a band that classifies their beats as “party music”. Their genre of music is typically called chip-tune because it is made with old video game systems. The group has quite a following in the local area. Dustin Deckard (Naked City) did an article covering the group's style recently. When Dustin asked the band to describe their sound, they said: “It’s like the best video game you’ve ever played with all of your friends over. And you can get completely drunk and it’s still fun. You’re at the best party ever.” You can read the rest of his thoughts here.
MC Frontalot, born Damian Hess in 1973, is from San Francisco and proclaims himself to be “the world's 579th greatest rapper.” With 27 albums and 11 years of performing under his belt, there have been rumors of retirement. Some of his song titles include: “Goth Girls", "I Hate Your Blog” and of course, “Penny Arcade Theme”. You can find lyrics and downloads of his music on his website. He also had a starring role in the documentary/concert film “Nerdcore Rising”. He's been illustrated in a comic book (“The Walking Dead”) and seen in commercials for G4TV. He's been at every PAX event since 2004. When at PAX East this year, local journalist Dustin Deckard informed him that Wichita would love to have him perform in our city. Dustin then asked his fellow tweeters to show support and let MC Frontalot know we wanted him. The power of Twitter? It seems to have worked. This writer plans on attending once official details are released to see just what all the hype is about.
When you play video games what kind of music do you like to listen to? It's been said that art imitates life. Playing music that mirrors your interests would seem to make sense. For nerdcore, spitting rhymes that detail our interest in games, computers, and all things geek is a niche that has been filled.
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