Nerdcore: The Music: The Videogame

Nerdcore hip-hop and videogames go together like… like… two things that are… intrinsically... related…

Aw hell, y'all know what I mean!

Aside from drawing a sizable portion of its thematic inspiration from digital entertainment, nerdcore has even made a number of notable appearances in videogames and game-related projects. The music of MC Frontalot has popped up in not one, but two different titles: Roxor's In the Groove and, more recently, EA/Harmonix's Rock Band. Random's wildly successful Mega Ran (not to mention its follow-up Mega Ran 9) was fully embraced by Capcom itself. And let's not forget The Grammar Club's excellent contribution to the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix soundtrack.

Still, nerdcore as a style has remained relatively untapped by game makers and largely unknown by gamers. Scottish iPhone publisher and developer Tag Games, however, appears to be taking strides to reverse this trend.

Late last month, Tag revealed details concerning a new rhythm game entitled B-Boy Beats. Set in New York in the 1980s, players use the iPhone touch screen and their own nimble fingers to execute break dance-inspired moves to an underground hip-hop soundtrack. And that's where shit get really geeky. The game features 17 tracks from an interesting (if era-inappropriate) array of independent rappers including Front, the late Optimus Rhyme, id obelus, Ultraklystron, Rai and Magitek.

While this is a move that will surely piss off hardcore heads, it's really a great opportunity for the nerdcore community. The concept certainly has legs – no pun intended – and hopefully the gameplay will live up to this potential.

B-Boy Beats is slated for a February 14th release at the incredibly competitive price of $2.99. So this one might well prove a wise purchase for the all-important nerdcore aficionado/iPhone owner crossover bracket.