Nerds are a passionate bunch. If you need proof, head on down to your local game store and casually mention that Zelda might be an overrated franchise. The aftermath is likely to make the evening news. Grown men wearing prosthetic elf ears will brandish tin foil swords while they pretend to ride a horse away from the scene. This sort of dedication is present in the musical taste of nerds as well. But, rather than croon about girls that look so fine they blow your mind, they concentrate on topics such as Star Wars bounty hunters, physicists, and computer peripherals. These topics, by themselves, are enough to marginalize the music in the mass media, but nerds take it a step further into obscurity by rapping about it all. And thus, Nerdcore was born.

When I introduce people to the term, “Nerdcore,” I’m often given disdainful looks and told to keep my geek perversions in my pants. What these people need, I say to myself, is a good gateway drug to get them into the genre. Enter mc chris and his latest album, mc chris is dead. The man who leads the Internet in least capitalized words has given the followers of Nerdcore a perfect means by which to promote their beloved musical stylings.

mc chris is dead takes the formula of past mc chris albums and infuses just enough pop influences as to create a shoehorn, of sorts, for those that are looking to slip into the genre. The beats are catchy and stick with you (in a good way), and the lyrics are pants-crappingly funny at times. Leading the pack is “pizza butt,” which boasts such gems as:

“Is it delivery? No, it’s Digiorno

Let’s microwave it and put in a porno”

Gold. Take a listen for yourself:

Nerdcore is filled with talent. What this talent needs are ears to listen to it, and mc chris has put forth an album that retains its nerd cred while offering the masses enough of a hook to bring more people to its cause. Here’s hoping that it gets the attention it deserves.

mc chris’s official site

I now share with you a track that will transport your brain to a realm where Ping Pong is a celebrated, lucrative sport. Professional Ping Pong players travel the world and compete against each other in epic battles, testing the strength of their training like warriors of legend. Robots give seminars on the finer arts of brutal backhand hits. They study their chosen craft under wizened shidoshis, who are willing to impart the intricacies of their forbidden, reality-altering techniques - if the seeking student is willing to pay the price.

Achieve white, spherical enlightenment by absorbing the hidden perspective behind the beats. There exists a point in the ever-cascading multiverse where this is all true. Check out the Ping Pong Song and experience it.

Ping Pong Song - Optimus Rhyme Featuring MC Frontalot

Purchase this album on iTunes!

Not the kind of piracy like back in the day, with yo and the ho and the bottle of the rum. This song is all about pulling files from secret FTP Servers.

Near as I can tell, “Leech Axss” seems to be two dudes that show their pride in the craft of electronic piracy by calling bitches out on their lack of ability in achieving the same. The combative forces behind a the majority of hip hop are most definitely present, as exemplified by some of the lyrics - “Yo yo yo, where’s your zero day? You ain’t got no zero day because you’re gay“. The name of the group is an aural double entendre, and as they chant it during the chorus, the dual brilliance really shines on through. I can’t find much information on the group beyond what I’ve stated here, but I know they have some ties to YTMND, because I snagged the track on one of that site’s soundtrack releases. It’s a laugh riot if you’re the type of person who’s ever connected to IRC, or perused the scummy bottom of the internet seeking a crack of some sort. While we at Beatswamp most definitely do not condone piracy, we realize that it’s a reality of life on the internet for a lot of people. This song is obviously dedicated to them.

Leech Axss - Coming@Choo (feat. kunt)

This track isn’t for sale anywhere. It’s free!

…blew a cloud straight up and the voice that I heard said “YOU WERE BORN TO FRONT” I said “Word?”

So apparently Moses was high as a mofugg when he received the Ten Commandments back in the day, at least according to one researcher. The article reminded me of the following track by reigning co-king of Nerdcore MC Frontalot:

MC Frontalot - Mountain Kind

(This album is, sadly, unavailable on iTunes

The other co-king is mc chris, but we’ll get to him later. Frontalot is another dude who’s every effort I support with my pocketbook. In fact - and this is kind of retarded - he released a track for free that got me back into buying music: Charity Case. There’s a certain slipshod method to the way he rhymes that I appreciate, a method I feel transcends the content of his verse (though he usually covers topics I appreciate…like Goth Girls). A truly amazing artist. I can’t wait until he comes out with another album.

Purchase this album on iTunes!

Purchase this album on iTunes!

It doesn’t hurt that he routinely works with kick-ass comic artists. The top album art is by Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade fame, and the bottom album art is by none other than Tony Moore, who used to draw The Walking Dead. This is one of many up and comers who compose music about things for which I hold a most ferocious interest. NERDCORE, people. Freaking Nerdcore. It will RISE UP.