(Self-released, digital)
Nerdcore is an orphan of a subgenre. Where other conspicuously white spin-offs, such as ska and blue-eyed soul, take pains to pay respects to the great artists who inspired them, nerdcore exists completely detached from the history and culture of rap music. There are beats and there are rhymes, but otherwise it is a world unto itself. A perfect example of this is The Master Debater, an EP from Msd3k, aka Mike Duplessis of the greater Montpelier area.
The project is a densely referential testimonial to Msd3k’s nerd credentials. It’s not necessarily about how smart he is; it’s about a very specific kind of aptitude for minutiae and miscellany. Call it “Jeopardy!” champion rap. The result is always cute, often clever — just never particularly interesting. It’s like being cornered at a party by someone whose entire life is being a Wikipedia editor — which is, in fact, something he brags about here. (“Don’t start an edit war, never been reverted, but who’s keeping score?”)
Msd3k’s commitment to the bit is commendable. As the title winkingly reveals, he is very self-aware of the absurdity of this conceit. His album even comes with “The Master Debater Manual,” a 24-page pdf offering footnoted explanations for his puns and one-liners. They are heavy on etymology, geography and pop culture, but, tellingly, the only tangential reference to rap anywhere to be found is “fresher than Will Smith on the Tomatometer.”
The beats themselves are a punchy mélange of canned synths and drums, often mixed with funky guitar touches. All this is courtesy of the artist, who shows much potential as a home studio auteur. It mostly makes for a dynamic canvas, aside from the bland closing cut. Then again, that’s a perfect fit: In the two decades that nerdcore has been evolving, nobody has ever accused those dweebs of having great beats.
Another defining feature of nerdcore is emcees who cannot rap for shit. Verily, Msd3k has this part nailed down. Heavy on punch-ins and reliant on a single wooden cadence, his work on the microphone is both decades behind the curve and an apex specimen of nerdcore past and present.
None of which is to say I hated it. There were many heartfelt chuckles along the way, such as “Hemlocked and loaded with methods rhetorical,” “I can man-fuckin’-splain all man-fuckin’-day,” and my favorite boast, “My Erds and Kevin Bacon numbers are two.” (In the spirit of the album, google that if you don’t get it. Column inches are precious.)
Ultimately, my problem with The Master Debater is my problem with nerdcore itself: It is simply an inferior product. It exists to lampoon a genre it is incapable of measuring up to, hardly different from smug country parodies about dogs, trucks and tractors. It is a one-note joke about a rich, vital American art form it barely engages with or understands.
Other than that, I had a great time listening.
The Master Debater is available at msd3k.bandcamp.com.
This article appears in The Money & Retirement Issue 2023.
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