While mainstream rap lyrics tend to tackle subjects many people can't begin to relate to, nerdcore is just a bunch of geeks rapping about things like comic books, gaming, D & D, being awkward around women and so on.
When it comes to nerdcore, most people think of MC Frontalot, and why not? He's been at the forefront of the genre since its inception. But with the help of Hipster, Please! podcasts, which highlight the best of nerdcore across all types of music, and Scrub Club Records, a not-for-profit indie label that focuses on the rap and hip-hop edge of nerdcore, a deeper cut of the genre is being revealed. The music's still classified as nerdcore, but influences range from rock to rap, from chiptunes to hip-hop.
Those rap and hip-hop roots fuel the creativity of Dr. Awkward and Krondor Krew, two artists whose latest Scrub Club releases are reviewed below.
Dr. Awkward: Unlimited
His music and lyrical style taken from R&B and hip-hop roots, Dr. Awkward (aka Josh Watson) came into the San Diego music scene in 2009. One of the newest generation of nerdcore artists, Dr. Awkward represents the future of the genre. With Unlimited being his first full-length release (his Next Gen EP came out last year), he's certainly making his mark.
Dr. Awkward runs the gamut of gamer emotions on Unlimited, from being timid around women on the aptly titled track "Timid" to geek love songs such as "Otaku Girl" and "LAN Party." The album boasts humor as well: Two of funnier tracks are the ultracatchy "Catch" about cougar hunting (no, not the animal) and "Joystick," about choosing a love of videogames over the love of a woman. There is some truth to most of these tracks, especially the more heartfelt songs.
Dr. Awkward croons like John Legend at times; at others, he bounces off rhymes like Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. There aren't many hiccups on the album as far as the lyrics; the R&B lyrical influences are noticeable in that regard. Dr. Awkward also makes no qualms about his genre of music, as evidenced in the party track, "DualShAWKs": "They say I'm nerdcore / Like I give a fuck about a name / When it's just another word for / The same thing they've called me for years / For a group who refused to be pressured by their peers / We live our life by our own accord / And hope one day we can hone the force."
There is nothing overly creative about the music itself, outside of the lyrics. The music is similar to the rap and hip-hop backbeat-type music that propagates most of the genre. That's not to say that the beats aren't infectious; they just aren't particularly interesting. When compared to most mainstream artists, the music is at least comparable to the factory-style, studio-produced crap flooding the market.
Mainstream rap and hip-hop seems focused on ego-stroking rather than storytelling and writing artful lyrics, and Dr. Awkward's lyrics and voice make up for Unlimited's lack of musical innovation.
WIRED Smooth delivery and cheeky lyrics make for engaging listening; "Dr. Awkward" is a palindrome.
TIRED Some tracks are too tongue-in-cheek.
Rating: 
Free download: Get Unlimited from Scrub Club Records.
Krondor Krew: The 6th Rotation of the House of the Chaos Star
Rap ninjas rapping about being ninjas. That's a great hook to fit into the nerdcore rap subgenre. Once they got that out of the way, the members of Krondor Krew set to writing slick, fast-paced rhymes -- mostly about the life of a ninja -- set to an explosion of rock riffs and hip-hop beats. Plenty of slicing, dicing and "Talisman Attacks" lie within The 6th Rotation of the House of the Chaos Star, the group's first release under the Scrub Club label.
Krondor Krew's music falls into a category of rap commonly referred to as "battle rap," marked by high-energy dual vocalists and plenty of back-and-forth choruses. The hooks are catchy, the beats are complementary (if not economically produced) and the album suffers no shortage of curse words and D & D jokes. (One track, "Adventure," is about nothing but D & D.) While 6th Rotation and Dr. Awkward's Unlimited contain explicit content, neither record uses the power of the curse word to overtly offend or be perverse; rather, expletives are simply used as simple, yet very expressive, words.
Krondor Krew emcees Masurao and Shinobi take their viscerally visual live show on the road across South Florida as often as they can. They have become true rap ninjas. What exactly does that mean? To be a true rap ninja, at least 30 percent of your album must consist of songs about ninjas, and you must dress like ninjas onstage.
WIRED Rap ninjas! High-energy, fun rap album (plus the whole ninja thing).
TIRED This kind of rap is not for everyone, especially if you don't prefer liberal use of expletives and songs about bloodshed at the hands of the elusive ninja.
Rating: 
Free download: Get The 6th Rotation of the House of the Chaos Star from Scrub Club Records.
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