mc chris
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| mc chris | |
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 mc chris on 04/04/07 at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Brendan Ward IV |
| Born | September 2, 1975 Libertyville, Illinois, USA |
| Genre(s) | Underground hip hop Nerdcore hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, actor, comedian, writer |
| Years active | 2001-present |
| Label(s) | Unsigned |
| Website | www.mcchris.com |
mc chris[1] (born Christopher Brendan Ward IV on September 2, 1975 in Libertyville, Illinois) is a rapper, voice actor, writer, and improvisational comedian.
He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. He self releases with no current record label. mc chris originally performed with The Lee Majors (aka Dirt Bike Annie). Sometimes associated with the genre of Nerdcore hip-hop, his trademarks include the synthesis of his "geek" heritage with the "gangster" image associated with hip hop artists, and the high pitch of his voice.[citation needed] Chris has released five albums, one re-release, and a tenth anniversary edition of his recordings with The Lee Majors.
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[edit] Work on Adult Swim
He has appeared and worked behind the scenes and contributed his unique voice and original lyrics to many of Williams Street Studios' shows on Adult Swim, most notably Aqua Teen Hunger Force. MC worked as a production assistant and starred as the character MC Pee Pants in episode #9 of season 1.[2] As well as a young Carl in episode 18.[3] He also had a role in Sealab 2021, as a writer and as the recurring character Hesh; as a production assistant and writer for The Brak Show (including the episodes "Brakstreet" and "Shadows of Heat"); and, he was a contributing writer for Space Ghost: Coast to Coast with a cameo in the episode "Baffler Meal". He also played various voices in the 2002 pilot for Welcome to Eltingville.
In October 2004, he announced his resignation from Cartoon Network to the public on his blog to focus on his recording career with his business partner John Fewell. He has since made sporadic returns to Williams Street including a brief part in Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters and the Playstation 2 video game, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am. He can also be seen very briefly as a background character in the pilot episode of Fat Guy Stuck in Internet. He will make his big return to Adult Swim in the form of a red Gummi bear by the name of "Gummi" on the upcoming show Cheyenne Cinnamon and the Fantabulous Unicorn of Sugar Town Candy Fudge.[4]
[edit] Acceptance and rejection of nerdcore hip-hop
mc chris is one of the artists most closely associated with the genre of Nerdcore hip-hop. However, for most of his career mc chris eschewed the "nerdcore" label and did his best to distance himself from the scene.[5] In 2007, as Nerdcore hip-hop experienced a surge in popularity and press attention, mc chris changed his stance on the genre. Not only did he stop protesting when fans, artists or members of the media labeled his style of music as "nerdcore" he made efforts to reach out to the Nerdcore community and apologize for the way he had rejected and disrespected the genre.[5] mc chris cited his ingrained geeky tendencies as the reason he struggled to disassociate himself from nerdcore for so long:
Sorry it's taken me so long to fully recognize this genre, I never thought I was above it, I was just unaccustomed to being a part of anything. Not really used to being included, so oddly enough it can make it difficult to join up.[5]
In that same blog post, mc chris also noted that he was impressed by the amount of press attention some nerdcore rappers were suddenly getting. Throughout 2007 mc chris positioned himself to be a representative for the genre and did interviews for the highest-profile pieces of press Nerdcore had then garnered. Still, at times, he seemed hesitant to fully embrace the nerdcore label and often attributed his popularity to other forces as expressed in this interview with the New York Times:
In conversation, Mr. Ward was quick to point out that the term 'nerdcore' — coined by fellow rapper MC Frontalot in 2000 — may be too self-limiting, because 'nerds' are hardly the only children of the '80s who were raised on Transformers, Indiana Jones movies, and Public Enemy. 'It's so weird to talk about these as my specific influences, because they're not.'"[6]
By the fall of 2007, mc chris began to modify his opinion on Nerdcore's exploding popularity in the press as expressed in this article in the Boston Globe:
But some are not happy with nerdcore's growing buzz. Chris Ward, 32, who performs as mc chris, is attempting to distance himself from a genre some say he helped pioneer. He had a stint on this summer's Warped Tour, and his music is among nerdcore's most accessible, featuring his slightly high-pitched voice and Kanye-like beats.
"It's kind of one of those things that perpetuates itself where the only people in the audience are the people making the music. . . . I'm afraid of being demoted by comparison, [of being] lumped into this group that's kind of dismissible," he said recently before his sold-out show at the Roxy."'' [7]
Seemingly fed up with all the nerdcore-related press he had been asked to do, mc chris lashed out against the media in his blog:
it's this fuckin press. and i told my booking as we ate al fresco in the shadow of the newsweek building in nyc, that i wasnt gonna do press, that this thing was gonna perpetuate itself if i kept on doing interviews about it. the stories are never about me. i'm a figurehead that signals a cultural revolution, that's their angle and they will stick to it ad nauseum [sic]. and if i cant be the figure head then they'll get one of the desperate dipshits who cant wait to do what i do with the same results... i wish the press didnt turn out to be a bunch of lemmings that doesn't mind insulting their subjects, because they think in generalizations, in categories. no one wants to know about me. they want to know about my movement. my genre."[8]
In that same blog post mc chris strongly came out against Nerdcore Hip-Hop and stated that the genre's recent success was due to his hard work. He also scolded the media for being "lemmings" for all showering so much attention on Nerdcore while not focusing on his own "movement:"
the truth is i'm kicking every other [nerdcore] rapper like me's ass up and down the boardwalk. i only like one and will say his name quite happily. jesse dangerously. he’s good. the rest suck. that's hard to say and i havent said it before because some of these people are my fans, some are my friends. but i cant stand the music, i hate being associated with it, it doesn't serve my career and it only makes me want to drink, die, quit or d: all of the above. because the best way i can say this is, i've built a house and it took ten years to build it and i just finished it and i want to take a picture of myself in front of it. just before the camera goes off someone steps in the frame and says, me too, i built this house too. i worked all those years. i made all those sacrifices. they didn't, they just think it's a dope house and they want to live in it too.
people that want access to accolades they have no right to are cheaters. they don't want to do the work, they don't want to wait, they just want to win, tomorrow. there are some people that think that cant have a career unless it's tethered to mine and they're right. i wish they'd leave me alone. i wish the press didnt turn out to be a bunch of lemmings that doesn't mind insulting their subjects, because they think in generalizations, in categories. no one wants to know about me. they want to know about my movement. my genre.[8]
mc chris went on to finally cut ties with Nerdcore Hip-Hop by announcing it was "a genre I do not endorse."[8]
In August 2008 mc chris was convinced to participate in a 60 Minutes story about nerd culture and nerdcore:
i did have an ace up my sleeve all day. sixty minutes hollered at me. they're filming my september 7th show. that's right. MCCHRIS IS GONNA BE ON 60 MINUTES!!! in a piece on nerd culture and nerdcore. not something i usually want to be associated with, but im not gonna be stupid and say no to the biggest news show on tv." [9]
[edit] Discography
- Life's a Bitch and I'm Her Pimp (2001)
- Knowing Is Half the Hassle (2003)
- Eating's Not Cheating (2004)
- Dungeon Master of Ceremonies (2006)
- The New York University 8-Track Discography 10th Anniversary Edition (2007)
- mc chris is dead (2008)
- Part Six Part One (2009)
- Part Six Part Two (2009)
[edit] References
- ^ mc chris' song "10-Year-Old" - "mc chris, lower case, no dots, rewind."
- ^ [adult swim] - Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Episode 9: MC Pee Pants
- ^ [adult swim] - Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Episode 18: Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future
- ^ mc chris interview on You Sound Like A Robot
- ^ a b c Digitalgangster.com Re-post of mc chris blog. January, 29th 2007
- ^ Williams, Alex (2007-08-05). "Dungeons, Dragons and Dope Beats". Fashion & Style. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/fashion/05nerdcore.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-20.
- ^ Miranda, Jeff (2007-11-04). "Refrain of the nerds". Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/11/04/refrain_of_the_nerds/?page=3. Retrieved on 2009-05-20.
- ^ a b c Nerdcore.info Re-post of mc chris blog. October, 15, 2007
- ^ Nerdcore.info Re-post of mc chris' blog. August, 21, 2008
