A few years ago I stumbled upon MC Hawking and the song "Fuck the Creationists". Over a phat beat, an electronic voice like that used by Stephen Hawking was promoting science and dissing creationists. Little did I know that what I thought of as a fun gag would actually turn out to be part of a larger movement called nerdcore. As defined by Wikipedia, nerdcore is:
a subgenre of hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds, though it can appeal to others as well.
This means that the lyrics are about Star Wars, video games, computer programming, et al.
Walking into the Bartell Theatre on Saturday night, I was completely unsurprised to see Madison's most famous nerdcore practitioner, the Great Luke Ski, in attendance for a late showing of Nerdcore for Life at the Wisconsin Film Festival.
It began with a montage of comments about the genre and nerds in general. Nerds are "oppressed and downtrodden", we are told by one person, while nerdcore is not a parody, according to another. We are then introduced to a plethora of musicians including YTCracker , MCPlus+, and Monzy, the latter two having a rivalry. The movie then jumps to give a little history.
The genre coalesced around a website called Rhyme Torrents which was created by Hi-C. Hi-C is portrayed as a polarizing figure. On one hand, his contributions helped get the genre exposure while on the other he pushed a lot of really bad music. RT was picked up on Boing Boing and Slashdot. Until this time, nerdcore was essentially the product of people in their homes in front of their computers. This changed in 2004 when a showcase for the music was offered at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle where many nerdcore rappers made their live debut.
One of the weaknesses of the movie was how it jumped around disrupting the narrative flow and we have a good example at this point. Just as we see nerdcore gaining more exposure, the movie then addresses the question of the genre's origin in the form of MC Frontalot. After this diversion, it's back to nerdcore's ascension with a write-up in Wired magazine and eventually Newsweek. I found it ironic that a genre which is so closely associated with the Internet seemed to seek legitimacy via the print media.
Another criticism I have is that the movie perhaps had too much talking heads and too little music. Extended sequences of live performances would have been nice instead of the 10 second clips we got.
I think the intent behind Nerdcore for Life was essentially about fun and light-heartedness. However, I couldn't help but think that a black hip-hop artist might be motivated to make a riposte just as Living Colour did with "Elvis Is Dead". In attendance was the director Dan Lamoureux as well as producers and editors and during the Q&A; which followed the screening someone asked if nerdcore principles could end up in a sub-genre of country, for instance. The answer, given with a laugh from the Lamoureux (I believe), was no, he couldn't imagine that working. Apparently the idea of a white guy finishing his PhD in mathematics appropriating black urban culture is somehow a more natural fit. One of the other filmmakers said that much of current hip-hop music is fake while nerdcore is more real. But seeing one rapper proffering his "Another Bitch You Didn't Get to Fuck" action figures, the rivalries & diss songs, and the criticism given to rappers who announce intentions to make a "serious" album belie claims of genuineness and that nerdcore is not parody. Nerdcore is at its best when it is about catchy beats and fun lyrics drawn from the geeky side of the pop culture spectrum. But it stumbles and becomes a parody of a parody when it appropriates the formalities of mainstream hip-hop which were largely created for white middle-class suburban kids.
Having said all this, Nerdcore for Life was a fun watch which was able to capture a nascent musical genre. Plus we were lucky to have not only several of the movie's creators on hand, but also a few of the rappers as well. For my part, I was thrilled to see the interviews with the man behind MC Hawking who related the story of how Stephen Hawking's assistant had contacted him with praise from the man himself. And now my girlfriend has fallen for Beefy.
Here's the trailer:
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