Review Summary: MC Chris is only about half-concious.
It’s not exactly uncommon for an artist to make an album because it’s ‘fun’ and ‘unserious’. Unfortunately, most of those artists are full of you-know-what, and one listen to a
Brokencyde song can show you just how bad these types of songs can be. But, sometimes there is the diamond in the rough group that is completely serious about being unserious. This quality can be found in the entire discography of
MC Chris, the Illinois based nerdcore rapper.
He is an improv comedian and voice actor, frequently appearing on the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force under names like Mc Pee Pants. While you might be already assuming this brand of being unserious is just immature, you’d only be half right. But unlike a PG
Hollywood Undead, this guy does it the right way.
The album starts off with the strongest track, “MC Chris is dead”. This showcases some of the better rapping on the album, but it also presents the first challenge of being a fan. A few albums ago, he wrote a song entitled “Ten Year Old”, where he addressed the problem of his voice. As the title suggests, he sounds slightly like a child. He has a higher, nasally voice, but always just flies with it. With his signature voice comes his signature style.
Nerdcore itself is just a genre in conflict, some of it revolving around Chris. He tried to distance himself from the scene, but with songs about Pizza and Reese’s Pieces, he’s getting caught red handed. The lyrics and themes are fun and enjoyable, and each track is distinct lyrically, straying far from the “I’m the best rapper, dawg” cliché of modern hip hop. While these light themes aren’t exactly what you’d call ‘full of substance’, they’re still more fulfilling than the average rap song you hear on the radio. And although a piece of celery could easily accomplish that task, that is a different topic entirely.
Chris has a good sense of rhymes and flow, even with iffy lyrics. When you rap about things like candy and pizza, there’s not really a lot of room to move.
"You can have a skittle, a mento or a sweet tart.
It ain't no riddle, you don't need an ID card.
It's not illegal, it might give you some cavities.
It's kinda little, I'll take a handful if you please.
Yo, everyone loves 'em, from animatronics from outer space.
Can't get enough of them, I'll empty a bag right into my face.
You get 'em at movies. Get them in a combo meal to save
Doesn't represent a rainbow, might melt in your hand if you dare to wait.
It comes in a cup or chocolate bar varieties.
Comes in three colors, the three you see in Autumn leaves.
They're kinda spooky, synonymous with Halloween.
They are the dookie - you'll find a sack inside the freeze."
The immature topics of the songs bring down the experience as a whole, but they show he obviously knows what he’s doing.
Another large part of this album are the three comedy skits,
metaphor,
magic, and
(Silence). They are in some respects filler tracks, but it should be known they’re hilarious. While
(Silence) has an unnecessary five minutes of silence (go figure), it shows the comedic side of Chris that isn’t musical.
All things aside, Chris manages to push out another album that unfortunately doesn’t expand his sound. He dapples into actually singing and guitar riffs over top of the generic electronic beats and synth lead lines, but those fail miserably. Fortunately, the album is front-loaded, and if you stick to the earlier tracks you can avoid the Frankenstein monsters of
never give up and
falynn. With a little more focus and planning, I’m confident he can find his niche and have something to add to the declining music scene he’s found himself in the middle of.
Recommended Tracks:
MC Chris is dead
Older Crowd
Hoodie Ninja
