I’ve got some bad news for all of you rappers out there. Apparently, we’re all zombies, walkers, biters, whichever you prefer.
Hip Hop is dead…according to Nas.
Nerdcore is dead…according to MC Lars.
Watch out Michonne and Rick…the walkers have evolved! They now write articles over at altwire.net too. (gasp!)
I’m a rapper! (No, REALLY, I am!)
That’sย aย bigย surprise for everyone who has heard my “music” before.
It’s obvious that Hip-Hop is not dead. However, if mainstream media is the source of the Hip-Hop that we listen to, it proves one thing.
The CREATIVITY in Hip-Hop is dead.
Where did the creativity in Hip-Hop go?
Where did the originality in Hip-Hop go?
Where did the rappers go who listened when their audience criticized their music?
The rappers who didn’t whine or accuse people of being “haters” because of a bad review.
The rappers who didn’t throw their money in our face after accusing us of “hating” them because of how much money they had. As if OUR money isn’t what put them there!
Most importantly…
Where did the fans go who held us accountable for wasting their money on sub-par music?
Take all that into consideration. I did.
Hip-Hop faces the same problem as Mother Nature when the Earth’s living conditions change.
Hip-Hop needs to adapt to a new environment. Hip-Hop needs to evolve.
Nerdcore!
This weekend I realized I have more alternative hip-hop on my playlist than any other music.
This includes artists like: YT Cracker, MC Lars,ย Ish1da, Yelawolf, and of course,ย Oddisee
Yes, my playlist is heavilyย made up primarily of artists you call Nerdcore artists who make:
Geek Music
Sci-Fi Music
Nerd Rock
Chip Tunes
Otaku Music
and many more!
There’s so much more creativity in this style of hip-hop than in mainstream its staggering! Not to mention, the artists themselves are mostly down-to-earth and easy to approach.
For example, I went to a smaller expo outside of C2E2 called ICE (Indie Comix Expo) spearheaded by King Bone Press. As soon as I walk in, Mega Ran and Adam Warrock are right there. At the time, I was sleep on Adam Warrock.
(Yeah, I know right. What have I been doing with my life?! He even looking at me perplexed lol)
Mega Ran was just like, “Yo whats up man?” and me, him, and Warrock chopped it up for about 15 min before he did his set. He gave me some great advice about being new to the Nerdcore scene.
Nerdcore was first coined by what many consider to be the “Godfather” of Nerdy Hip-Hop, MC Frontalot.
For a long while, Nerdcore Hip-Hop was dismissed as a fad – music that would never ignite and create an audience.
They were wrong!
Sorry MC Lars.
What nobody expected was for Nerdcore to evolve at a faster pace than it’s parent genre. Not only did it evolve, it expanded.
All of a sudden, the “nerdy look” was in. The same large-lensed eyeglasses that people ridiculed in the 70’s and 80’s became chic fashion! What happened? Did Lewis and Gilbert finally ditchย Adams College toย convince a generation of Millennials that nerd swag was cool?
Talk about Revenge of the Nerds!
As more people became immersed with geek culture, a strange thing happened.
People actually began to like all the things that nerdsย got teased and bullied for liking. They began to develop fandoms themselves. They started embracing the Force (It’s about time!). When JJ Abrams re-created the alternate timeline of Star Trek, they became the new generation of Trekkies. To this generation, the original Marvelย Secret Wars from 1984 may as well be non-canonical.ย Theirย “original”ย Secret Wars actually began with incursions and the destruction of Earth-616 and 1610. ย They became…nerds.
Suddenly, Nerdcore didn’t seem so nerdy anymore. Yes, you still had people making geeky songs but, you also had people actually spitting lyrics that people in the Matrix could relate to and understand. MC Lars did a song with KRS-One called “The Gospel of Hip-Hop“.
Yes, that KRS-One.
A Culture, my young padawan, this sub-genre of ours has created, No?
Hip-Hop 2.0?
I agree with MC Lars…kind of.
I think it’s time to abandon the “Nerdcore”ย moniker.
In fact, it’s time to retire the term “Alternative Hip-Hop”.
The amount ofย originality and creativity in Alternative Hip-Hop is staggering! Other than a few artists, such as Kendrick Lamar, mainstream hip-hop seems to be lagging behind in creativity. However, the sales and numbers are still with mainstream Hip-Hop. In my opinion, this is because of a dying machine that still wields alot of influence in today’s digital world.
A true case of the Merovingian in the Matrix.
Record labels have always been the middleman with the oversized pockets. Before the internet boom and social media, record labels were a “necessary
evil” if you wanted your music to reach larger markets. However, these days, with a lot more research and hard work (and luck!) , you can be successful without a record label!
Why are we still trying to fit into an oversaturated market that really doesnt respect what we do?
The market and demand are both there.ย Its time Nerdcore…oops, I mean Hip-Hop 2.0 artists, started capitalizing on both and create our own resources.
CLICK HERE to read an article that is a great read about how Macklemore achieved success without a record label!
Hip-Hop isn’t dead.
Nerdcore isn’t dead either.
Both have evolved. If you can’t see the evolution, you just might be in the same boat asย homo erectus was about 200,000 years ago.
Witnessing the future and facing extinction. Hip-Hop 2.0 is here!
