I’ve been a fan of Milk-Plus for a number of years now, enjoying his solo releases as well as his involvement with the ever evolving collective that make up Torrentz. I have his music on ‘mixtape’ CDs in my car and we’ve spoken online several times. We even attended the same MC Frontalot gig once without ever saying hi. Strange then that it was only recently that we discovered we’re close neighbours. I mean, really close, as in a mile down the road and I’ve as good as driven past his house playing his music.

We had to meet up and I’m really glad we did. We seem to have a lot in common other than our love of Nerdcore Hip-Hop we share similar experiences with making music and gigging with bands. But discovering one of my favourite Nerdcore artists on my doorstep got me wondering how many other fans of the genre are close to me, or indeed close to each other?

The U.K. has failed to embrace Nerdcore in quite the same way as the U.S. and I’ve wondered why this is for some time. I surmise that a large part of it is really down to the size of population. It’s a niche interest, appealing to a small demographic. But also I suspect that it’s down to the British reserve. We’re not great at networking, of reaching out or even making eye contact with others on our commute to work in the morning. I wonder… I just wonder, if we, fans of nerd rap, just reached out to each other a bit more, could we build interest in the genre over here?

Wordburglar – The Shorditch, Shorditch – September 3rd

Wordburglar Live at The Shorditch

A great example of like-minded individuals drawing together and pooling their resources are the likes of Timbuktu, Ghettosocks, Muneshine, Jesse Dangerously and Wordburglar to name just a few. The Canadian Hip-Hop scene that these guys and many others have produced is testament to what can be achieved if you work together. There are a steady stream of albums and videos coming from these guys of a consistently high standard. It’s remarkable what they’ve managed to achieve.

I was psyched then to hear that the Wordburglar had managed to line up his first U.K. gig in London. It was an ideal excuse for Milk-Plus and I to take a night off of parental duties and head out for a few beers and enjoy some nerdy rap.

Wordburglar has already released what is proving to be my favourite ablum of the year with his third effort, 3rdburglar. As coincidence would have it my copy of his latest mixtape, Grandpa Funnybook’s Mix-Tapingly Arranged Rapping Song Album 2: Dyadic Dynamite, (Catchy title!) had been delivered in super fast time from Toronto that morning, enabling me to impress the man by whipping it out for him to sign. He was good about it too, sitting with us to chat for fifteen, maybe, twenty minutes despite having friends with him.

Despite a small audience Wordburglar proved a true ambassador for his scene, performing well, engaging with the audience and customizing his show to include everyone in the room with humour and good grace.

Steal This Gig? The Horse & Groom, Streatham Hill – 15th September

Steal This Gig

I guess nerdy rap shows in London are adhering to the rules of London Buses. You wait ages for one to come along and then two arrive at once. This Saturday sees Madhatter McGinnis of Scrub Club Records lead his rag tag band of soldiers into town for a gig in partnership with the Pirate Party UK.

Madhatter will be giving a speech at the PPUK conference on Sunday. The two groups are putting on a one-off night of music titled ‘Steal This Gig’. In keeping with their ethics the show will have a Name Your Price policy to enter, any funds raised will go towards the Pirate Party.

The show has encountered a few problems in the run up. The original venue in Brixton cancelled on them with just days to go fearing that wouldn’t make any money and London based rapper, Akira The Don, pulled out the next day. But a new venue has been found, it’s a pub I know quite well which they state will hold 200, it’ll be interesting to see how the locals react. Regardless, I’m looking forward to the show and my chance to meet Madhatter, MC Wreckshin, Superpowerless. Oh! And of course my new friend Milk-Plus will be there.

Find out how the show went in the next instalment of Nerdcore:UK.

Sources :

Wordburglar – The Shorditch: http://www.theunheardnerd.com/2012/09/wordburglar-shortditch-london-3rd.html
Steal This Gig: http://www.theunheardnerd.com/2012/09/steal-this-gig-nerdcore-comes-to-london.html