Beyond the (White) Rapper: Nerdcore & Glam Rap

There are a number of interesting developments regarding white people and hip hop getting media attention but the one getting the most attention, ego trip's (White Rapper) Show, is probably the least important, though it may be the most successful as entertainment.

I'm not saying that the White Rapper Show isn't big news for the Ego Trip crew and I'm not saying that it isn't decent television.  In fact, I'm glad that some good white rappers are getting a little extra attention as a byproduct.

But I am saying that there doesn't seem to be much new in the (White) Rapper concept other than being the first reality show organized around the idea.  And, since rapper is the last job category in hip hop for which the idea of a white man getting the job is most likely a joke, there doesn't seem to much more that can be done with it except, maybe, a situation comedy featuring a crew of white rappers trying to make it in Harlem. 

Nerdcore Rising Teaser

I've been much more interested of late in two developments involving whites in hip hop that stand out from the (White) Rapper theme partly because they aren't trying to gain acceptance in rap but are building their own scenes and fan bases - nerdcore, a geek rap phenomenon that's been building since at least 2000, and glam rap, currently claimed by Mickey Avalon with many precedents.

Nerdcore got a big plug recently in Newsweek and is the subject of two indie documentaries, Nerdcore Rising and Nerdcore For Life.

Nerdcore For Life Trailer

What I didn't at first get about nerdcore is that it's not a parody of hip hop, at least that's what some of these folks maintain.  Once that idea sunk in, it helped me recognize that something stronger than white people making fun of themselves by pretending to be rappers is going on here.

I'll be honest, I can't really stand to listen to a whole nerdcore track.  They're just hard to take.  But that doesn't matter, the point is that nerdcore appears to be an authentic representation of a subculture that's going to do its thing regardless of what the so-called hip hop community thinks.  Whether it can blow up beyond its subculture remains to be seen, but it's steadily growing and there are all sorts of ways nerdcore rappers can have an impact without being a major movement.

Mickey Avalon Movie Trailer

Mickey Avalon has worked the glam rap concept all the way to an Interscope deal and I think its going to cause a lot of cognitive dissonance if he really does make it.  As much as writers will focus on his relationship to hip hop, in many ways it's rock that establishes most of the aesthetic base for his act and it will be various permutations of pop and rock fans who dig rap that will make him a big star or not.

Mickey Avalon f/Dirt Nasty & Andre Legacy - My Dick [Live]

My first reaction upon encountering Mickey Avalon in the media was to think, "how will hip hop respond to this?"  But the reality is that it really doesn't matter.  Avalon can blow up without ever being accepted by the world of rap, a world that is simply too homophobic to ever accept Mickey Avalon.

The thing is, (white) rappers are always in danger of becoming novelty acts.  Nerdcore and glam rap would be novely acts within hip hop but the fact that they operate mostly outside of the traditional world of hip hop allows them to set their own terms and build their own audience without the resistance of purist and pop traditions.

And if some of these cats blow up with toy beats, they certainly wouldn't be the first.

Disclaimer:
Depending on who you ask, Clyde Smith is a white man in hip hop, a white man blogging about hip hop and/or a white man taking hip hop for everything he can.  But, however you look at it, I'm white.

Comments

[Cal Ulmann]

I've heard of nerdcore before but have never heard of glamrap before. From what little I know (this post) does 2 Skinny J's count?

[Clyde Smith]

How rapidly you exhausted my base of knowledge, Cal!

I have no idea who 2 Skinny J's are.

[chris jolley]

hey my name is chris jolley and i have a twin brother and we have been into hip hop since we were little and we have been rapping for 7 years.....we currently have our own studio, make our own beats, produce our own songs, and write our own lyrics. i was wondering if we can get a chance to be on the white rapper show... i live in suffolk virginia....hit me up with answers. thanks.

[Clyde Smith]

I don't have any connection to that but one of the masterminds behind it all was Elliott Wilson over at XXL. He's got a blog where he writes as YN:
http://www.xxlmag.com/columnists/

Click on the YN and just start dropping some comments over there and I'm sure you'll get a great response!

[IceburgTX]

2 Skinnee J's were a nerdcore act out of NYC that was under the cloak of Capricorn before it went under. They had several solid albums and toured quite a bit before calling it quits in 2003, I believe. Check the albums "Super Mercado" and "Volumizer" for some sweet jams.
D