Some of you probably already know I’m a big fan of Jonathan Coulton – he’s not nerdcore, but instead considered ‘filk’ (for fiction folk music). Nerdcore, for those of you unfamiliar with its glory, is basically hip-hop for nerdy white computer dorks. And its *good*. Really, really good. (Obviously, there’s going to be crap out there, too – its not all bunnies and sunshine – but there are some really great nerdcore artists out there.)
Nerdcore has been around for a while now, and I’m not sure why I never mentioned it before.. but anyway, If you haven’t had a chance to check these guys out, and you like the beat of hip-hop but not the messages of violence, misogyny, drugs, dog-fighting and prostitution, I highly recommend the following:
* Optimus Rhyme
LOVE these guys. Some favorites: Reboot, Ping Pong, Autobeat Airbus, Obey the Moderator, Super Shiny Metal
* MC Frontalot
SO awesome. You can download a ton of his music here. My favs: Braggadocio, Indier Than Thou, Hipster Girl, It Is Pitch Dark (yes, there is a grue involved – can find the video on this website too), Message No. 419 (about nigerian scammers), Origin Of Species, Penny Arcade Theme, This Old Man, Which MC Was That?, I Hate Your Blog
* MC Lars
Branded “post-punk laptop rap”, this kid has some great stuff. My favs: Download This Song, Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock, Space Game, iGeneration, If I Had a Time Machine, That Would Be Fresh, Internet Relationships (Are Not Real Relationships), The Roomate From Hell (featuring MC Chris as Lucifer… of *course*.)
Other notable mentions:
* MC Plus + is considered nerdcore, he’s not actually that good. Bummer, really – his name had me laughing my ass off, so I had high hopes.
* MC Hawking – pretty funny – hip-hop and rap done in the robot voice of Steven Hawking. He sings about entropy and quantum physics. The voice schtick wears off after a bit, but its entertaining in small doses.
* Futuristic Sex Robots -I have been unable to find any place to actually pay for this music, but you can download their Hotel Coral Essex album from Last.fm for free.
