Today is the Last Day to Pre-Order Greg Pak’s Kingsway West #1

Today, August 1, is the final order cut-off date for comic shops to order Kingsway West, the new creator-owned series by Greg Pak and Mirko Colak. The Dark Horse book officially hits stores on August 24, but the more retailers order the book, the better chances you’ll be able to secure your own copy — and ensure more books like this get made.

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Adam WarRock’s Donation Drive 2015

It’s that time of year again, when we ask you to show some love to one of the hardest rappers in the game, Adam WarRock — by giving him money. In return, WarRock will give you awesome shit.

So in honor of Adam quitting his day job so he could spend his time giving you free music online, you should return the favor and help him keep that music free by going here and then donating here. Then come back and check out his latest free release, “Hulkbuster.”

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Track Commentary: “Star-Lord (Remix)”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I’m doing track-by-track commentary on my new EP, Gifted Student. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site.

Last day, last track. First of all, thanks to everyone who’s bought the album. I’m excited to perform about some of these songs live on tour, and by the shipping info, I am getting the CDs today, and will promptly start shipping them out this week.

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Track Commentary: “The Fire Burns Forever”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I’m doing track-by-track commentary on my new EP, Gifted Student. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site.

My girlfriend has pointed out to me that these haven’t really been commentaries, more like “crazy ramblings that I just puke out of my brain.” So today, on what is undoubtedly my favorite song on the EP, I will give you my commentary.

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Track Commentary: “Nerds Won’t Dance to This”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I’m doing track-by-track commentary on my new EP, Gifted Student. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site.

Greetings! I’m back, the Super Bowl was yesterday between two teams I, as a Steelers fan, have personal beef with, so… yay? I didn’t get to watch it, I went to Chicago this weekend, and ended up having to leave early only to be caught in the middle of a blizzard somewhere in the state of Ohio. So wherever you are out there, stay safe and warm. Icy conditions on the roads, believe me, I know.

So back to the new EP. Thanks to everyone who continues to support it. I’m glad that people are enjoying my first official release in over a year. This year, I kinda want to make… more albums. I say that, meaning more official albums, not just mixtapes or EPs I put together for the site. Don’t worry, I want to make those too. But I’ve been a bit more motivated lately to actually sit down and make cohesive products, rather than ephemeral kind of pop cultural stuff. I’ve got a few things in the works, and for the first time in a while, mostly because of the experience I had in making this EP, I am really looking forward to starting the work on my next full-length album.

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Track Commentary: “Prometheus”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

Believe it or not, the concept of this song was formed from this webcomic as much as it is based on the actual myth of Prometheus. There’s a loose fire theme on this album, that I’ll get to in about two songs in much more detail, but it was a beat that needed a concept, and a song that needed guests on it. And it’s really fascinating when you see how Sulfur and Ran both take the idea and make it their own. Sulfur, with his sense of humor that covers up the resentment towards God in his character; Ran with his talking of legacy and obligation, the chain metaphor taken to its logical conclusion. I really didn’t have much of a road map for this song, and I really ended up loving this track.

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Track Commentary: “The Bottom”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

What’s funny is that me and Mikal both flipped this well known Drake hook into basically the same line without ever having really talked about it. So there’s kismet for you.

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Track Commentary: “Big Bad Man”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

I’m literally traveling as this posts, so it will probably be a bit short. Believe it or not, I’m not traveling to do shows, but traveling for personal reasons. What? Not for touring? People do this?

Anyway, during the making of Gifted Student, Mikal and I were pretty dismayed by the constant news of police shootings. Dismayed is probably not the right word. Upset, angry, betrayed, whatever word fits best. We both talk daily in kind of a stream of consciousness running email chain, and for a bit, it was a daily dose of reading about how our justice system had gone so wrong.

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Track Commentary: “Lost in Translation”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

There’s something about rapping in 3/4 time that can drive some crazy. I know some people hate it, I actually think kHill hates it, but I love it. It’s the same as a lot of tracks I’ve released, like the “Paperman” song I released. It’s such a refreshing challenge to write, sometimes taking your flow and delivery past the end of the measure, sometimes stopping cold a half beat before it ends, connecting the rhymes in the unlikeliest of places. It’s like figuring out a puzzle, and something that not a lot of rappers can do.

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Track Commentary: “Gifted Student”

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

All this week, I’ll be doing track-by-track commentary on the new EP. You should go grab the new EP at my bandcamp site, PHYSICAL COPIES OF THE CD WILL ONLY BE FOR SALE ON MY SITE UNTIL END-OF-DAY FRIDAY. If you want a copy of it, get it now, or get it at a show. 

First up, the title track. In a lot of ways, “Gifted Student” was one of the last songs me and kHill finished for the album. Wait, let’s go back and start over at the beginning.

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The Latest from Adam WarRock: “Gifted Student”

Yesterday, our favorite internet rapper Adam WarRock dropped his latest record, the eight-track EP “Gifted Student,” produced by the indomitable Mikal kHill — you can buy and stream it at Bandcamp right now. Check the cover art and track list below:

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So Adam WarRock Made a Song about Star-Lord

You might have noticed that there’s been an uptick in Guardians of the Galaxy coverage here at the NOC. That’s because after this weekend, the whole world will be intimately familiar with the exploits of Drax, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, and Star-Lord. And until recently, most of the movie-going audience would have reacted to those names much in the same way that Djimon Hounsou’s character does in the movie’s trailers.

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Adam WarRock is Why I’m a Rapper Right Now

My good friend Adam WarRock (whom I will be performing with at Otakon this year) is coming towards the end of his annual donation drive. A lot of you, I’m sure, have already seen him posting about it and have donated or at least thought about donating already.

I just want to throw in my two cents (not literally, although he did tell me that there were a couple of people who literally donated a penny) as to why I think you should consider it.

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Please Give this Man Money: Adam WarRock’s Donation Drive

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of Adam WarRock at the NOC. I mean, just look at the tag cloud at the right of this page. “Adam WarRock” is almost as big as “Batman.” Maybe that should be the title of his next album: Bigger Than Batman.

Anyway, today is the anniversary of the day he decided to quit his day job and be a rapper full-time. He’s marked this occasion every year by doing an annual Donation Drive to fund all of the awesome (and mostly free) music that he puts out on the internet all the time. So if you enjoy free Adam WarRock music, you should make a pledge. And like PBS, you’ll even get some swag just for doing so! (No tote bags, though. Just more music).

In conjunction with the kick-off to another donation drive, Eugene (that’s his not-so-secret identity) and I chatted about all the music he’s released and touring he’s done this past year and what you can expect from him in the next one and beyond. Plus, we talk about House of Cards and X-Men. But just a little.

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I Kill Giants, Free Music, and the Donation Drive

by Adam WarRock | Originally posted on tumblr

I had the pleasure of meeting Joe Kelly yesterday, author of the wonderful Image Comics graphic novel, I Kill Giants. He was an amazingly nice and supportive person, and I had the chance to perform my “I Kill Giants” track for him, which made the house a bit misty eyed. It was a great moment for me, and if you haven’t had the chance to read the book, or hear the song that I made, please take a second to check it out!

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What are You Doing this Weekend?

This year, Easter Weekend is a busy one in the geekosphere. Two big cons are happening on each coast, and an old school kung fu film fest is happening in the Big Apple. And each of these events will feature some of your favorite NOCs.

So click through and make your plans to spend time with some of us this weekend.

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Exclusive New Ghost Rider Track by Adam WarRock: “Spirit of Vengeance”

All week, our favorite internet rapper Adam WarRock has been releasing free music based on the Marvel NOW! slate of comics and characters. Yesterday, he premiered the Ms. Marvel track “Marvelous” at Newsarama. Today, it’s our turn!

Click the banner for other tracks in the Marvel NOW! mixtape!

After the jump, we are happy to bring you the world premiere of WarRock’s latest track, this time about the All-New Ghost Rider: “Spirit of Vengeance.

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Winter Already Came: Catch this Game of Thrones Mixtape Instead

I think it’s safe to say that the fourth season premiere of Game of Thrones is one of the most anticipated events for us Nerds. Last week, HBO aimed right for the NOC sweet spot when they released the hotly anticipated mixtape Catch the Throne.

Featuring tracks from some of the biggest names in hip hop rapping about Westeros, the mixtape instantly captured the collective imagination of the entire internet. And while it is pretty great, I can’t help thinking “been there, done that” since Adam WarRock already released a bunch of GoT tracks and compiled them in to his own mixtape. A year ago.

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See With Your Ears, Hear With Your Eyes

My lovely, amazing and infinitely patient wife recently pointed out to me that I’ve been gone more than I’ve been home since we got married in December. There’s been a lot going on lately, hasn’t there? I just got home from three straight months of touring, and I’m leaving tomorrow to go to my little brother’s wedding and then I’m flying into Austin, Texas for my first official showcase at South By Southwest with a bunch of my bestest nerdcore friends like Doc Awk, Jesse Dangerously, Adam WarRock, MC Lars, Schaffer the Darklord, Random, MC Frontalot, and more. It’s going to be nuts.

Before I head out again, I’ve got a whole slew of new stuff to share with you.

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Strictly Nerdcore with Adam WarRock, Tribe One, & Mega Ran

As you know, we love talking about hip-hop here at The Nerds of Color. More specifically, the subgenre known as Nerdcore has a special place (and its own category) here as well. So it was a big deal to get three of the biggest names in the game to sit down for a special episode of Hard N.O.C.

Joining Keith (@the_real_chow) on the show are overly enthusiastic hip-hop artists Adam WarRock (@eugewarrock), Tribe One (@tribeonewon), and Random (a.k.a. @MegaRan). As always, Hard N.O.C. Life is directed by the indomitable Nelson Wong (@aarisings).

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The East Coast is in the Middle of Nowhere

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these rappers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Polar Vortex? Ice storms? Blizzards? Adam WarRock and Tribe One don’t care. That’s why they live the raplife. Besides, the cold never bothered them anyway.

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