The original mastermind of Nerdcore Hip-Hop and still its Final Boss, MC Frontalot (nee Damian Hess) takes great pleasure in identifying himself as a professional rapper in polite conversation.

Over the last 15 years, Nerdcore has metastasized into an internet phenomenon and underground touring powerhouse, with dozens of well established live acts and more than a hundred home-studio rhymers self-identifying within the subgenre. MC Frontalot, called alternately the movement’s godfather or grandfather (thanks, kids), leads the charge, performing for thousands in clubs around the country and at prominent geek gatherings such as Comic-Con, the Penny Arcade Expo and BlizzCon. He’s been featured in Newsweek, CNN, The New York Times, Spin, Wired, Blender, XXL, XLR8R, The London Daily Telegraph, NPR, G4TV, Esquire, Playboy, CMJ, The Guardian (UK), The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and scores of city papers nationally and internationally. He has released six studio albums, Nerdcore Rising (Sept 2005), Secrets From The Future (Apr 2007), Final Boss (Nov 2008), Zero Day (Apr 2010), and Solved (Aug, 2011), and Question Bedtime (Aug 2014). The documentary feature, Nerdcore Rising: The Movie, which focuses on Front’s live band and the Nerdcore phenomenon in general, debuted at the South By Southwest Film Festival in 2008, and is currently available on Netflix.