Every new genre has its pioneers. Elvis Presley helped to legitimize rock 'n' roll, the Sugar Hill Gang brought hip-hop into the mainstream and the Biggie vs. Tupac storyline popularized gangster rap. Although you won't find it on your local radio stations or headlining major venues quite yet, "nerdcore rap" seems to have found its leading man in British YouTube sensation Dan Bull.
What is nerdcore rap, you might ask? Nerdcore is hip-hop that focuses on anything from politics to science fiction, from the presidential debates to "Star Wars." Bull's particular vice just happens to be video games, but he uses that portal to speak about several crucial and relevant issues at hand today.
"I am a nerdcore rapper but not as a gimmick," Bull, 29, told HNGN in an exclusive interview. "I live hip-hop and I live geek culture. In my music I always want to champion the underdog, the marginalised, and the uncool."
The only problem is that it's hard to be uncool when your songs are this good.
Now one might think that a guy who raps about video games might be hard to get into. Maybe his music is too exclusive, too gamer-based and geeky for anyone who's never even held an Xbox controller. But what stands out about Bull's music is that he uses popular video games as a critical lens to share inspirational messages. As he draws closer to one million subscribers on YouTube, it's clear that those messages are striking a chord with an ever growing audience.
What does the popular sci-fi action game "Destiny" have to do with human nature, evolution and society? How does "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate" relate to democracy and free speech in the informational age? I have no idea, but Bull shares strong opinions on matters such as these in addition to file-sharing, religion and much more.
"I've been thinking about why this matters to me so much, and aside from my having a personal stake in it, I think it's the hypocrisy," Bull explained. "There are so many major artists who don't understand the fundamentals of how creativity works, and want to legislate against it. Look at Led Zeppelin. They made a career out of reworking old blues songs into rock anthems, without giving credit or recompense to the original artists. But if anyone should try to do the same with a Led Zeppelin song, the hammer of the gods would come down on them quick.
"And in the digital age, copyright and sharing is becoming all more important. We're reaching a crossroads where we'll either enter a culture of open sharing and creativity, or a draconian, proprietary police state."
Bull pull's no punches. He's a true geeksta rapper.
Bull clearly has a political side with sharply defined viewpoints that come across in his music. He also obviously loves video games. These qualities make his videos entertaining and enjoyable as well as meaningful. You don't have to live in Bull's political sphere to appreciate the wit and intellect with which his songs are composed or the deeper layer of meaning he's trying to convey. Mainstream radio rap of today is like AMC's "The Walking Dead" - fun and popular yet relatively unsubstantial. Bull's music may be niche, but at least there's something going on under the surface.
Even if you don't agree with his opinions or play video games all that often, you can still enjoy his work from a purely musical standpoint. Anyone who is a fan of good hip-hop can respect the man's impressive flow. His rhymes come out in rapid-fire succession with crafty battle-style punchlines at roaring, frenetic speeds similar to Eminem. That style is by design, although a handful of artists have been carefully tweaking it over the years.
"I started writing raps when I was about 12, after hearing Eminem on the radio," Bull recalled. "I had no idea who he was at the time or that he'd become a megastar. But I was instantly inspired! In terms of influences...I listen to so much different music that I can't pin down a specific set of influences. At different times I wanted to be like Eminem, Radiohead, The Streets, Morrissey and Fatboy Slim. I have ended up like none of them."
Despite being exposed to all of these artists at a young age in his rural hometown of Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, Bull didn't find his particular path right away. He failed to apply himself at university following the release of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and quickly dropped out. He then spent several years living in his parents' house while he struggled with depression. In many ways, Bull was an aimless young man with no clear direction in his life. That is, until he channeled all of these negative emotions and experiences into his first album, "Safe," released in 2009. He's been a full-time entertainer ever since. But perhaps none of that would have come to fruition without the support of his parents.
"Yes, they always told me that they didn't mind what path I chose in life as long as it made me happy," Bull said. "Of course they wanted me to work hard in school, but they never pushed me in a specific career direction. It was clear I wanted to do something creative, and so they always told me I was capable and could do it if I put my mind to it."
It's hard to sustain a fan base long-term while spending a good deal of your time reflecting on issues of grave global importance. At some point, listeners just get burnt out on all the serious stuff. Fortunately, Bull has a sense of humor and wants his followers to have fun when they click over to his YouTube channel. He takes as much pride in his comedy as he does in his music, which is how I initially discovered him in the popular "Epic Rap Battles of History" YouTube series.
"They're not things that need balancing with one another," Bull said when I asked how he divides his focus between comedy and rap. "A brilliant rap verse can be absolutely hilarious - there's no need for compromise. I liked comedy earlier in my life. I remember being about 11 years old and believing that I would be responsible for reforming Monty Python for a new generation. Then music smashed its way into my life, and as a result I've ended up as a strange hybrid of the two. My sense of humor is probably best described as awkward, subversive, and often, just really f---ing silly."
Nerdcore probably isn't about to sweep the globe and become the next big sensation. You likely aren't going to start hearing Bull's raps about "Black Ops III" or "Fallout 4" in the daily rotation of every major radio station. In many ways, the entertainment industry operates like high school where the nerds are still at the bottom of the totem pole. But if you're looking for something different, something that is clever and irreverent with a clear message behind it, it's hard to do much better than Dan Bull.
After all, to paraphrase, the geeks shall inherit the earth, right?
