MC Lars

MC Lars

Bookish college kid's laptop hip-hop turns heads

Who:

On his hilarious indie debut, "the Laptop EP", collegiate rapper MC Lars name-checks Dashboard Confessional, Shawn Fanning and Principal Seymour Skinner, fusing low-fi hip-hop, emo-guitar samples and a nerd sensibility. "It's not, um, 50 Cent," Lars says.

Dorm monitor:

Mostly made in his dorm room on a laptop, the Stanford student's EP is rife with Internet references, particularly on the ironic "iGeneration": "If [technology] is people's only means of interaction, that's kind of crazy." GILLIAN TELLING - Rolling Stone

Northern California rapper MC Lars tells bits of his life story in "True Player for Real." He boasts of graduating from Stanford University, though he laments that his English degree hasn't gotten him far professionally. He claims skills with women, although some probably aren't impressed that he still lives with his parents. He speculates that his music is as hot as anything on the radio, but admits that without his laptop, he'd be in trouble.

Though he probably wouldn't say it himself, in reality MC Lars — whose real name is Andrew Nielsen — is one of the brightest lights in a hip-hop subgenre called "nerdcore," populated mainly by Caucasian emcees rapping about science fiction and computer software. Lars is one of the most likable, well-rounded members of the bunch, and he displays why on "True Player for Real," which references everyone from Charles Bukowski to John Peel to Descartes to tasered University of Florida student Andrew Meyer.

"True Player for Real" gets a bit heavy on the self-awareness — particularly when Lars alerts the listener to an upcoming key change before the final chorus — but for the most part, its meta qualities add to the fun. The vocal and guitar backing of Brendan B. Brown (of the Long Island pop-punk group Wheatus) helps, as does the infectious accordion hook played by Lars' childhood hero, "Weird Al" Yankovic. Yankovic is still making compellingly hilarious music, of course. But should he ever fall off, Lars would make a worthy successor. - NPR

Piece CNN did about my crowdfunding approach to running Horris Records. Check the link for the video. - CNNMoney