First, “Nerdcore”. Refers to a genre of hip hop born from the minds of nerds! Pretty self explainitory, instead of raps about bitches, hoes, tricks, rims and general thuggery, you get more common topics you’d hear from a nerd. Star Wars, math, candy, bullies, anything sci-fi/fantasy related and yes, girls! Some topics don’t deviate too far from their source regardless of musical genre.
Nerdcore is a newer phenomenon, in this great documentary we hit the road with MC Frontalot on his first tour. Considered the godfather of Nerdcore, MC F (Damien Hess) is your average white boy nerd. Growing up he listened to rap and then found that he had a knack for it. Rapping about what he knew, he put his music online and slowly built a following. It got to the point where he though, could I do this full time? Would people show up and pay to see me? He finds that it’s time to pull the trigger and see if his career life is more than an IT job.
MC F piles into a van with his 3 friends and bandmates for a tour around mostly the East Coast (12 dates or so) that ended at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Whether it was a crowd of 12 in a bar or a flocking mass of fans at PAX (2-4 thousand) he brought it everytime. It’s what rap started out as, taking the unbeaten path and rapping about what you felt, a lone voice coming up to inspire others. A community as grown around this music.
It’s a fascinating story of an average guy really making something of himself musically. Some guy who, through the power of the Internet, found people who thought like him and were willing to listen. He started a movement that has slowly and steadily gained momentum, helping this sub-genre of rap become something. Interviews with others in the business (MC Chris, MC Lars) and on the fringe (Weird Al Yanchovic) help to paint the full picture of Nerdcore. Nerdcore Rising is a testament to what is possible in the digital age.
It’s serious, it’s funny, it’s stupid, it’s a quality documentary worth checking out.