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MC Frontalot
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Damian Hess (born December 3 1973), better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a San Francisco hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper." He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcade's annual Penny Arcade Expo.
began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he became known for consistently beating opponents.
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Encyclopedia
Damian Hess (born December 3 1973), better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a San Francisco hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper." He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcade's annual Penny Arcade Expo.
Career
Early days
Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. His first successes came through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he became known for consistently beating opponents. Throughout his history at Song Fight!, he has never lost a competition as MC Frontalot, although he has entered only seven entries in that name. In one such song fight, entitled "Romantic Cheapskate", he likens Song Fight! to a neglected lover who favours him regardless of how he treats her. Indicative of his success, the song went on to garner a total of 614 votes, while the next closest song ended the round with 28.
Nerdcore
In 2000 he released the song "Nerdcore Hiphop". The song became an immediate hit in the geek and nerd communities. The rap subgenre of nerdcore hip hop, which had been around though unnamed beforehand, embraced the title and has since been expanding rapidly.
Many consider Hess, if not the founder of nerdcore, certainly the man who shone the torch on it. The man himself however is quick to point out the many artists who came before him and those which he considers his peers, as illustrated on his .
Hess released his first studio album on August 27, 2005. Entitled Nerdcore Rising, the album contains six new songs, along with 10 remixed versions of past tracks. Some of the new tracks contain production by popular online musicians from Song Fight!, including indie rock and hip hop artist Doctor Popular.
Spotlight
On March 18 2003, popular webcomic Penny Arcade (whose creators were long-time fans of Hess) declared Frontalot their rapper laureate, directing fans to his website. He has acknowledged that that single act made his popularity skyrocket. In appreciation, he wrote and recorded the "Penny Arcade Theme" a few months later, which was in his own (tongue-in-cheek) words: "an attempt to cash in on their huge and devoted audience."
He has appeared at every Penny Arcade Expo from 2004 to 2008 and Nerdcore Rising is now sold through the . "Penny Arcade Theme" and "Which MC Was That?" both appear in the dance video game In the Groove. He also features on the Baddd Spellah track "Rhyme of the Nibelung", which was the winner of CBC Radio Two's Remix the Ring contest.
A new track 'Final Boss' featured over the end credits in the 2008 game Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness- Episode 1.
MC Frontalot has also been seen on commercials for G4 TV, as well as being on the show Freestyle 101 where he sang parts of his songs with freestyle lines connecting them.
Additionally, comic book illustrator Tony Moore became a fan of both Frontalot and fellow nerdcore artist MC Hawking, drawing both of them as zombies in an early issue of The Walking Dead series. Hess appears in a white shirt, tie and glasses, with the word "Front" written on his pocket protector; he is seen eating a deer.
A song written and performed by Frontalot based on the webcomic Achewood titled "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" has been that website's theme song since 2006. On September 2, 2008 as part of a Penny Arcade download pack, "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" was chosen for inclusion as a downloadable track for the video game Rock Band.
Live performances
Although most of his fanbase is online, Hess gave a handful of live performances while living in San Francisco, and several more after moving to New York City. His first official tour started on May 12, 2006, with shows mostly in the Southeast United States. When he performs, he plays with a full ensemble, including keyboardist and frequent collaborator Gminor7, bassist Blak Lotus, and drummer The SturGENiUS. Other occasional band members include G.LATINusKY00B, The Categorical Imperative, and Vic 20. He just finished a tour with Schäffer The Darklord as of 25 November 2007. He started a new tour on 1 November 2008 with MC Lars and YTCracker.
Film
Nerdcore Rising is a documentary/concert film starring Hess and various other nerdcore artists such as mc chris, Optimus Rhyme and MC Lars with contributors such as "Weird Al" Yankovic, Prince Paul and Brian Posehn. The film, directed and produced by Negin Farsad, premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. It combines interviews about nerdcore and its origins, with footage of Frontalot's 2006 Nerdcore Rising national tour.
Musical influences
Much of his earlier music features samples from other artists' works, many times using music acquired from famous artists such as Paul Simon, They Might Be Giants, James Brown, Fiona Apple, and many others. He addresses his borrowing of various drum beats in the song "Good Old Clyde", a song commenting on and using the popular "Funky Drummer" drum break by Clyde Stubblefield.
A lot of his unsampled beats were created by electronic music artist Baddd Spellah, who has also remixed several of his earlier songs and went on to work with him on his debut album Nerdcore Rising. He also collaborated on the album with other fellow rappers, such as MC Hawking and Canadian rapper Jesse Dangerously.
Discography
Albums
Non-album tracks
- "24 Hours" (abandoned demo)
- "Bitchslap" (by MC Hawking)
- "My Sister" (by with )
- "Oh, the Hilarity" (from Indie Pop Cares a Lot)
- "Rappers We Crush" (with Kompressor)
- "Rhyme of the Nibelung" (with Baddd Spellah)
- "Romantic Cheapskate" (with Baddd Spellah for Song Fight!)
- "Soda Water" (by Jess Klein)
- "Start Over" (for a compilation of songs for children)
- "Oneonta (Eli Porter)" (with YTCracker and MC Lars on The Digital Gangster LP)
External links
- , includes official song lyrics, news, music, and forum
- , Hess's professional website
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