The Rise Of The Rap Nerd.

Granted, it’s a strange marriage – the bedfellows of hip hop music and nerds.  Coke-bottle glasses, bow ties, and awkward, toothy laughter that repels all females within 500 yards are the last things we think of when it comes to rap, which we more commonly associate with clothes, bankrolls, and hoes.  But why not, considering real rap music has its real origins in counter culture, the self-sculptured anti-identity for those who the System neglected to count, a musical form springing like a crooked flower from cracks in the sidewalk where nothing else would grow?

Now, two or even three generations into rap as an art form, it needs little help from us to permeate its legitimacy.  And nerds?  Those geeks who just don’t quite fit in?  Somehow, inexplicably, hip hop has come so full circle that to be thoroughly uncool is the coolest thing you could do.  Wearing tight high-water pants, bright colors, and singing about your own feelings and shortcomings has become refreshingly original among a pantheon of generic thugs, tiring braggarts, and ultra-masculine boasters.  The lesson is this: Be real, above all else, and the audience will relate – and love you for it.

How far back can we trace nerdiness in rap?  All the way, if you look closely enough.  Didn’t Pharcyde talk about how she keeps on passing me by?  And didn’t De La Soul break the loquacious thug rap trend with their hippy consciousness, wearing Africa medallions instead of gold chains?  Even Slick Rick spit fire with a British accent and outstanding enunciation when acts like Public Enemy and NWA were more Black Panther movement than hyperbolic entertainment.  As long as there has been artistic expression, there have been those who don’t fit in so wandered off to create on their own.  But it’s not just about fashion, what you flow, or even your audience – it’s about refusing to be typecast, rejecting inauthenticity, taking risks to push the art of musical expression where it’s never been before.  And we can’t help but to sing along, and love ‘em for it.

Here are some rap nerds we love:

?uestlove

He’s the ultra-stoic other front man of the Roots who actually sits behind the band, letting his beats and drunk licks do the talking.  His funky nerdiness was so cool it landed him a gig as the musical straight man for Late Night and The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon.  But an even greater accomplishment, we all accept his unspoken tenure as rap music’s librarian and erstwhile protector, keeping the unruly kids from completely taking over study hall.

Lupe Fiasco

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco originally was turned off by hip hop because of its use of vulgarity and misogyny, but then came along to love the art form – if not the typical rapper banter.  So he changed the game with his own music as Lupe Fiasco, proudly confessing to having merged nerd and hood in songs like “I’m Beamin’” where he says: "Hood's where the heart is; nerd's where the words from." He’s actually got a mixtape project called “Farenheit 1/15: Revenge of the Nerds," where he raps about Jedi mind tricks.  He's also the front man of a rock band called, “Japanese Cartoon,” and runs charitable benefits and  

Kid Cudi

Scott Mescudi, the kid from Cleveland, Ohio who moved to Brooklyn, arrived in the music world when fellow rap nerd Kanye West signed him.  He branched out to form his own rock band, start his own record label, and act in HBO’s How To Make It In America and other projects.  High schoolers, college kids, and stoners love him – as well as fellow nerds.

Childish Gambino

If your parents were a Jehovas Witness postal worker and daycare provider, a career in rap is the last thing you might think of.  But Donald McKinley Glover took an even stranger route to emerging hip hop iconoclast, first to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in dramatic writing and then as a writer for 30 Rock, and an actor on Community.  But he exploded on the scene with his 2011 album, Camp, and 2013's critically acclaimed follow up, Because the Internet, proving once and for all that nerds can really friggin rap. 

Tyler the Creator

The LA skateboarder is more Goth than gangsta, more dark horror movie than hyper dance track. He pushes his individuality far away from the typical rap archetype, sometimes to a fault, but no one’s ever accused him of being a conformist.

Kendrick Lamar

I posted something on Facebook about rap nerds and mentioned Kendrick. A good friend of mine, Chivaughn, commented that he was more gangster rap, not nerd.  She’s probably right, as he comes from Compton and grew up among on gang, drug, and violence-infested streets.  But in his songs, Kendrick tells stories of coping with those circumstances, not embracing them or becoming a product of their influence, so we can’t help laud him for his maturity and consciousness so we’ll call him a nerd (in a good way.)

Pharrel Williams

Raised in middle class and racially mixed Virginia Beach, the member of the Neptunes once signed with a record label called Star Trak and got into drinking or doing drugs.  If the fact that he actually was in a hop hop band called N.E.R.D. doesn’t convince you of his awesome geekiness, consider that he’s now a fashion designer and environmental activist.

Del the Funky Homosapien

Del was the kind of rapper who would probably stay home and chill (and smoke) on a Saturday night instead of party, never seeking out the limelight like his Oaktown cohorts – or fully comfortable in it.  His songs were about sunny meadows and how he missed his cousin, not conquering the world, money, and hoes.  His innovation and creative journeys into alternative genres and audiences has served him well over a 20+ year career, including becoming the rapper-of-choice on skateboarding videos and video games.

Kanye West

Kanye was one of the first rappers in the mainstream to bring the ethos of insecurity and rejection to mainstream modern rap, especially with his 2004 album, The College Dropout. He was so bad he was good, dressed so preppy it was like he was questioning his own masculinity – but offering the answer at the same time, and surprised us by rapping about his vulnerability and broken heart.  His wavering confidence about his place in this world has always been in direct contrast to his ultra-hubris about his own MC skills.  It worked perfectly, and is still working a decade later.

Yung God

Colby McCartney, aka Yung God, isn’t anywhere near on the level of the other folks in the rap game we’re listing, but the Dallas native has such a perfectly nerdy message, we just had to give him a shout out.  Consider these lyrics:

“Word around town I'm the smartest in the city

Hoes on my dick cause I make my own theories

Hoes on my dick cause I'm finna be the mayor

World of Warcraft, I'm the number one player

Run up in class strapped with a calculator

Give me one hour, write a five page paper

Hoes on my dick cause I pack my own lunch

Swag on my dick cause I live in the suburban

Young ass nerd, and I'm proud to be a virgin

Check my outfit, more colors than circus

Beat your ass at chess, then I beat your ass at checkers

Fall off on the campus, and I'm still rockin' Sketchers.”

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There are plenty of others we missed who deserve credit, like Mos Def, his BlackStar partner, Talib Kweli, Common, and Shock G from Digital Underground.  So hit us up or comment to give your favorite rap nerd some props!