Hard NOC Life 322: Mega Ran Opens Up ‘Buddy’s Magic Toy Box’
Keith welcomes official Friend of the NOC, Mega Ran back to the podcast to celebrate the release of his forthcoming children’s album, Buddy’s Magic Toy Box.
Tag: nerdcore
Super Smack is Shamelessly Asian American in “Orange Chicken!”
It was a pleasant surprise to see an email invite from Super Smack inviting me to the listening party for his next single. It had been a few weeks since I had last seen him but I heard his voice everywhere. “Cute!” and “Grind!” started to show up in rotation through my TikTok For You Page and several of my personal friends would remark hearing the songs in their feeds as well. It was no denying his songs were picking up traction, but what exactly was resonating with the listeners? I finally had the perfect opportunity to find out.
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Super Smack’s Journey to Reclaim Cuteness
It’s been well over a year since I met Super Smack in our last interview for his song “Black and Gold” featuring Mega Ran, and we’ve talked and hung out several times after. So when he approached me about interviewing him for the singles off his new project, I was a bit hesitant at first, but my curiosity and excitement won out. I’m happy to say that this is the first of many short interviews with Super Smack for each of his upcoming singles and debut album.
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Super Smack is Ready to Smash Stereotypes and the Industry with New EP
Super Smack is a Filipino American rapper that has been leveling up in the music game ever since his first ep, Neon Red, hit streaming services. With a unique blend of gaming culture, anime references, good vibes, and a message for change, Super Smack’s pens music that blend pop and rap in ways that make the nerd in any of us step on the dance floor.
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‘Fightin’ Words’ Episode Two: Nerdcore Rapper Mega Ran
Super nerd, Guinness World Record holder, and hip-hop extraordinaire Raheem “Mega Ran” Jarbo sat down with The Nerds of Color blog for another episode of Fightin’ Words and talked gaming, hip-hop, and adjusting to life during the pandemic. The former teacher turned elite nerdcore rapper has had his hands full, juggling live events, his Twitch channel, making music, and of course spending time with family.
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A Conversation with the Creators of ‘ALL CAPS,’ a Webcomic Love Letter to the Late MF DOOM
On April 20, a crew of some of the most talented artists and creators came together to produce a free webcomic as a love letter to the late Daniel “MF DOOM” Dumile. The work was a collaboration between longtime artists Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Sean Anthony Mack (a.k.a. Smack!), senior editor and MECCAcon CEO Maia “Crown” Williams, and others. The webcomic is a six-page trek across the many influences Doom left behind and came after the news of his passing rocked the hip-hop community in December 2020.
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‘VILLAIN: ALL CAPS,’ a Visual Interpretation of the MF DOOM Sound
In the wake of his passing last October, the true life story of MF DOOM (real name, Daniel Dumile) has been the topic of many articles and blogs online. However, Dumile was a notoriously private person, and his MF DOOM persona underlined his need to separate the man and the myth.
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Lex The Lexicon Artist on Her New Album ‘Alter Ego’
A chat with Lex The Lexicon Artist about her new album Alter Ego, branching into influential anime, the state of being a Chinese-American artist during the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, and also deez nuts. A version of this interview originally appeared at Melancholyball.
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Mega Ran on The Soul Man
My relationship with professional wrestling is very complicated at best. I watched my first wrestling match sometime around 1983, and the larger than life characters were literal comic books that had exploded in front of me. Like most other kids in the ’80s, I wanted more. I begged my mom to buy me wrestling magazines, toys, and watched every Saturday morning.
I loved guys like Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage, but I remember my eyes widening every time there was a Black or Brown face on my screen. So naturally I had an affinity for characters like The Junkyard Dog, Koko B Ware. But what really turned me on to wrestling was a tag team called The Soul Patrol.
I Hate My Blog, II: MC Frontalot, Baddd Spellah, Lex The Lexicon Artist, and Gm7 on ‘Net Split’
MC Frontalot’s new album Net Split: Or, The Fathomless Heartbreak of Online Itself dropped this weekend. (Or, is it still dropping? Is the moment of album-drop an indivisible quantum thing? Probably no one cares.) Five years in the making, Net Split is in some sense a concept breakup album, in which the Godfather of Nerdcore Rap wrestles with all the aspects of the Internet that are increasingly awful: memes, trolls, dating, stalking, dating/stalking, and of course, comments. It’s hooky and at times heart-wrenching, and here I chat about it with Frontalot, co-producer/beatsmith Baddd Spellah (Dave Cheong), guest verse-ologist Lex the Lexicon Artist, and frequent collaborator/keyboardist Gm7 (Gaby Alter).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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It’s Show Time!
Early this morning, which was in actuality more of a continuation of late last night, I arrived at my home in Atlanta. The Crisis On Intimate Earths Tour is officially done and I could not possibly be more grateful to everybody who joined me for any part of it. You all are the reason I do this and the reason I get to do this. Thank you.
So, yesterday on twitter and facebook I mentioned that I had three super awesome announcements to make today and that is the truth. I have three things to announce. And all three of them are super awesome. So let’s get announcin’!
SkyBlew Pays Homage to Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold!
“The Ballad of Pigeon Man” — featuring D&D Sluggers and produced by SublimeCloud of The Digi Destined — is the latest single from North Carolina-based emcee SkyBlew. The song pays homage to the classic Nickelodeon cartoon Hey Arnold!, a show that had a major impact on SkyBlew’s life and serves as the main subject of his latest album.
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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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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!
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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