MC Frontalot, the geeky progenitor of nerdcore hip-hop, has today released his fourth official album, Zero Day. Also known as Damian Hess, the San Francisco-born rapper started it all, coining the term “nerdcore” itself back in 2000. Since he came on the scene, he’s successfully blended a hip-hop impresario’s sensibility with a formidable knowledge of nerd and gamer culture, rhyming about boss battles and blogs.
Call him a curiosity, but Frontalot has skills, and he demonstrates that on this release — most often to humorous effect. The production values are there, with solid and surprisingly varied beats that juxtapose traditional instrumentation with 8-bit bleeps and boops.
The subject matter is gleefully all over the place and chockablock full of winking social commentary — “The Tribulations of Muffy and Percival” concerns the plight of a rather suburban couple out in the wilds of the developing world without, heaven help them, a contractor. Jon Hodgman of those beloved “I’m a Mac” commercials makes a funny appearance here that’s made all the funnier by its sounding like it’s been recorded in a dorm hallway.
Frontalot, overall, is in good form on “Zero Day,” and it’s even more proof that there should be more like him. The album is available for download on iTunes and at frontalot.com.
