Damian Alexander Hess (born December 3, 1973), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

MC Frontalot, is an American rapper and web designer. He is widely credited as a pioneer of the nerdcore hip hop genre, blending elements of hip hop with themes from nerd culture.

Career

Early days

Hess began releasing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. He gained early recognition through Song Fight!, an online songwriting and recording competition, where he consistently outperformed competitors. Although he has entered only seven songs under the name MC Frontalot, he has never lost a competition. One notable entry, "Romantic Cheapskate," received 614 votes, far surpassing the next closest competitor with 28 votes. In this song, Frontalot metaphorically compares Song Fight! to a neglected lover who remains loyal despite his indifference. In 2000, Frontalot released "Nerdcore Hiphop," which gained popularity in the

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

and

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

communities. The rap subgenre of

nerdcore Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 2000 ...

, which had been developing among various performers, adopted the title and has since expanded rapidly. Although Hess is often considered the founder of nerdcore, he notes on his website that other early artists also deserve credit. His first

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Nerdcore Rising'', was released on August 27, 2005. The album featured six new songs and ten remixed tracks, with some new material produced by artists from Song Fight!, including

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

and hip-hop artist Doctor Popular.

Spotlight

On March 18, 2002, the popular webcomic ''

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

'' named Frontalot their rapper laureate, significantly boosting his popularity. This recognition led to regular performances at the

Penny Arcade Expo PAX (originally known as Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming culture festivals involving tabletop, arcade, and video gaming. PAX is held annually in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, and Melbourne. Previously, it was also held in San Anton ...

(PAX), where he became a fixture from 2004 until 2013. In 2004, 2 songs from MC Frontalot were featured on Roxor Games ''In the Groove'', Which MC Was That, and PA Theme (Penny Arcade Theme on the PC/Mac version of In The Groove). In 2006, Frontalot wrote and performed "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe," a song based on the webcomic Achewood. This track became the webcomic's theme song and was later included as a downloadable track for the video game

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

in 2008. Around the same time, he appeared on the Baddd Spellah track "Rhyme of the Nibelung," which won CBC Radio 2's Remix the Ring contest. Frontalot's track "Final Boss" was featured over the end credits of the video game '' Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness'' in 2008. Throughout his career, he made occasional appearances in the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

''Overcompensating'' by Jeffrey Rowland, and was featured in commercials for G4 TV. He also appeared on the show ''Freestyle 101,'' where he performed parts of his songs with freestyle lines connecting them. In 2009, Frontalot's song "Origin of Species," a satirical critique of

Creation Science Creation science or scientific creationism is a pseudoscientific form of Young Earth creationism which claims to offer scientific arguments for certain literalist and inerrantist interpretations of the Bible. It is often presented without ov ...

, was featured as downloadable content for

during the

. In 2010, several articles expressed concerns that nerdcore could be perceived as "racist" if the genre failed to acknowledge the roots of mainstream hip-hop, highlighting the potential for Black people's contributions to be overlooked or erased in the process. This raised important discussions around cultural appropriation and the need to recognize and honor the foundational role of Black artists in the development of hip-hop. In response, MC Frontalot tackled the controversy in the title track of his fourth album, '' Zero Day'', asserting that it was "already too late" to change the direction of nerdcore. He firmly stated that he had already played a key role in shaping the genre and had no intention of stepping back or apologizing for his involvement. The album was praised for its exploration of digital theft, technology crises, and how these themes intersected with rap's cultural dynamics, offering commentary on both innovation and appropriation within the genre.

Live performances

Although most of his fanbase is online, Hess gave a handful of live performances while living in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and several more after moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. His first official tour started on May 12, 2006, with shows mostly in the Southeastern 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, Vic 20, and

56K The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a Centrism, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is ...

. Hess completed a tour with Schäffer the Darklord in November 2007 and began another tour in November 2008 with

MC Lars Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American rapper, producer, educator, and founder of Horris Records. A graduate of Stanford University and the University of Oxford, he is credited as a pioneer ...

and YTCracker. As of June 2010, he has been touring with alternative rock musicians

Wheatus Wheatus is an American rock band from Northport, New York, formed in 1995. They are known principally for their 2000 single, "Teenage Dirtbag". They also experienced success with their 2001 cover version of Erasure (duo), Erasure's "A Little ...

on their UK leg of their 10th anniversary tour, occasionally providing guest vocals and performing with Wheatus on some of his tracks.

Film and television

Hess starred as "TP Factory Rapper" in the

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

direct-to-video movie ''Elmo's Potty Time''. '' Nerdcore Rising'' is a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...

starring Hess and various other nerdcore artists such as MC Chris, Optimus Rhyme, and

, with contributions from

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

, Prince Paul, and Brian Posehn. The film, directed and produced by Negin Farsad, premiered at the 2008

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in Austin, Texas. It combines interviews about nerdcore and its origins with footage of Frontalot's 2006 ''Nerdcore Rising'' national tour. Hess was interviewed in Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary, '' The People vs. George Lucas'', which premiered at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. Hess attended the festival as a musician and panelist. Hess made an appearance as a judge on the sixth episode of the first season of TBS's King of the Nerds, which originally aired on February 21, 2013.

Musical influences

Much of Hess's early music features samples from other artists' works, often using music from well-known artists such as

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

, and

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...

. One example of this is the song "Good Old Clyde," which comments on and uses the popular "

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...

drum break In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion instrument, percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main section (music), parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interp ...

Clyde Stubblefield Clyde Austin Stubblefield (April 18, 1943 – February 18, 2017) was an American drummer best known for his work with James Brown, with whom he recorded and toured for six years (1965-70). His syncopated drum patterns on Brown's recordings are co ...

. Since beginning to sell his albums commercially, Hess has collaborated on nearly all his tracks with Baddd Spellah, an electronic musician and hip-hop producer, and Gaby 'Gminor7' Alter, a composer and keyboardist whose playing forms the basis for many of Frontalot's earlier songs. Hess has also worked with other rappers such as MC Hawking and Canadian rapper

Jesse Dangerously Jesse Alexander McDonald, better known by their stage name Jesse Dangerously or The Halifax Rap Legend, is an alternative hip hop artist from Halifax (former city), Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia and operating out of Ottawa, Ontario. Dangerous ...

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Nerdcore Rising'' (2005) *'' Secrets from the Future'' (2007) *'' Final Boss'' (2008) *'' Zero Day'' (2010) *'' Solved'' (2011) *'' Question Bedtime'' (2014) *''Net Split, or the Fathomless Heartbreak of Online Itself'' (2019)

Other releases

*'' Nerdcore Hiphop'' (freely available demo) *''Favoritism'' (

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

collective available exclusively in the Humble Music Bundle) *''Front's Humble Remix Addendum EP'' (

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

collective available exclusively in the Humble Music Bundle)

Non-album tracks

*"24 Hours" (abandoned demo) *"Bitchslap" (by MC Hawking) *"My Sister" (by Duboce Triangle with The JBB) *"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 Jess Klein (born 1974) is an American singer-songwriter. A native of Rochester, New York, Klein learned to play acoustic guitar and started writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica, while working on a thesis "documenting dub po ...

) *"Oneonta (Eli Porter)" (with YTCracker and

on ''The Digital Gangster LP'') *"O.G. Original Gamer (with

on the MC Lars album '' This Gigantic Robot Kills'') *"Don't Wear Those Shoes" (for the

tribute album ''Twenty-Six and a Half'') *"Another First Kiss" (for the

"Mink Car" tribute album marking the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.) *"Challenge Your Audience (Featuring MC Frontalot & More or Les" (by Mikal kHill)

References

External links

Official MC Frontalot website
includes official song lyrics, news, music, and forum
Such a Scream
Hess's professional website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frontalot, MC 1973 births Living people West Coast hip-hop musicians Nerdcore artists Wesleyan University alumni Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area Web designers 21st-century American rappers American male rappers American hip-hop musicians American hip-hop singers American hip-hop record producers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American writers American male singer-songwriters American documentary filmmakers 21st-century American poets Writers from San Francisco Musicians from San Francisco American male screenwriters American voice actors Comedians from San Francisco Male actors from San Francisco American stand-up comedians Television writers from California American television producers American video game actors American YouTubers American music podcasters