Comments on: “Nerd Clothes for Thugs in Training” http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:46:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: (somthin Clever) http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training/comment-page-1#comment-2544 (somthin Clever) Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:35:58 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training#comment-2544 ok im blk and im a nerd, but im not so far nerd that i cant function with out my xoom tablet and kick ass gaming rig , and i dress hip hop for the most part , and too see that i can kinda dress kinda how i feel , (nerd hip-hop clothing ) well then kutos! why the hell not right! and i never really been around the nerdcore fans so i didnt know there was such a fuss ! calm down, i have a harder time then you will with the clothing thing , ill might hear stuff from both sides regardless that im blk , but it comes down to confidence and not caring what shit they say , watch if enough of us nerds who are also blk start doin the whole nerd/hiphop dressing and rock it well then watch ppl fallow , if you look back you will see alot of low brow clothing ideas that become cool , really sagging? common ! not the greatest accomplishment in fashion, now they have pants that pretty much look like you are when ur not , not saying that nerd/hop is a bad idea , just that it has to catch on and gain its own swag . and for the whole gangsta thing ......shits gettin old quick at least for me. ok im blk and im a nerd, but im not so far nerd that i cant function with out my xoom tablet and kick ass gaming rig , and i dress hip hop for the most part , and too see that i can kinda dress kinda how i feel , (nerd hip-hop clothing ) well then kutos! why the hell not right! and i never really been around the nerdcore fans so i didnt know there was such a fuss ! calm down, i have a harder time then you will with the clothing thing , ill might hear stuff from both sides regardless that im blk , but it comes down to confidence and not caring what shit they say , watch if enough of us nerds who are also blk start doin the whole nerd/hiphop dressing and rock it well then watch ppl fallow , if you look back you will see alot of low brow clothing ideas that become cool , really sagging? common ! not the greatest accomplishment in fashion, now they have pants that pretty much look like you are when ur not , not saying that nerd/hop is a bad idea , just that it has to catch on and gain its own swag .
and for the whole gangsta thing ……shits gettin old quick at least for me.

]]> By: Geek Studies » Blog Archive » Black Nerds vs. Nerds Who Happen to be Black http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training/comment-page-1#comment-593 Geek Studies » Blog Archive » Black Nerds vs. Nerds Who Happen to be Black Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:17:47 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training#comment-593 [...] Raafi contrasts the black nerd with the black gangsta. Meanwhile, Kotaku commenters lob insults at the “gangstas” who will presumably be buying Nintendo-branded “urban” [...] [...] Raafi contrasts the black nerd with the black gangsta. Meanwhile, Kotaku commenters lob insults at the “gangstas” who will presumably be buying Nintendo-branded “urban” [...]

]]> By: Z. http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training/comment-page-1#comment-372 Z. Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:42:24 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training#comment-372 Honestly, Jason, I hear echoes of many of these same indictments from a segment of the nerdcore fandom quite regularly. I’d be hard-pressed to quantify the pervasiveness of such a mindset, but it definitely exists. I’d chalk it up to the common misconception that modern hip-hop itself is all about “guns, hos, and bling,” but, even in that regard, there is a definite undercurrent of racism. On a more conceptual level, however, I think we’re witnessing an almost biblical attitude; if “no servant can serve two masters,” then how can the culture of hip-hop and nerd culture – both of which require stringent adherence – co-exist within an individual? I believe the answer lies wholly in the fact that both cultures have been so inducted into the mainstream. Whether it’s a Mos Def reference in a primetime network sitcom or the fact that my tiny, southern mother suddenly knows what a router is, the sacred traditions that both groups hold dear have exploded into the collective consciousness. With that in mind, bleed-over is inevitable. Still, I think it is of note that criticism comes from both sides. Just as the gamers from Kotaku (and some nerdcore fans) look down their collective nose at the hip-hop element using videogame imagery, so do some hip-hop fans scoff at the notion of nerdy rap. In the end I think it’s far easier for the more narrow-minded of both groups to take potshots over these perceived incursions than to admit that there is a valid give-and-take between "geek" and "street." Honestly, Jason, I hear echoes of many of these same indictments from a segment of the nerdcore fandom quite regularly. I’d be hard-pressed to quantify the pervasiveness of such a mindset, but it definitely exists. I’d chalk it up to the common misconception that modern hip-hop itself is all about “guns, hos, and bling,” but, even in that regard, there is a definite undercurrent of racism. On a more conceptual level, however, I think we’re witnessing an almost biblical attitude; if “no servant can serve two masters,” then how can the culture of hip-hop and nerd culture – both of which require stringent adherence – co-exist within an individual? I believe the answer lies wholly in the fact that both cultures have been so inducted into the mainstream. Whether it’s a Mos Def reference in a primetime network sitcom or the fact that my tiny, southern mother suddenly knows what a router is, the sacred traditions that both groups hold dear have exploded into the collective consciousness. With that in mind, bleed-over is inevitable.

Still, I think it is of note that criticism comes from both sides. Just as the gamers from Kotaku (and some nerdcore fans) look down their collective nose at the hip-hop element using videogame imagery, so do some hip-hop fans scoff at the notion of nerdy rap. In the end I think it’s far easier for the more narrow-minded of both groups to take potshots over these perceived incursions than to admit that there is a valid give-and-take between “geek” and “street.”

]]> By: Jason Tocci http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training/comment-page-1#comment-371 Jason Tocci Fri, 26 Oct 2007 14:33:36 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training#comment-371 So, in your estimation, are the more negative statements in the post described above not typical of the nerdcore scene? I realize that it may be unfair of me to conflate the audience attending such shows with the audience making comments on Kotaku. So, in your estimation, are the more negative statements in the post described above not typical of the nerdcore scene? I realize that it may be unfair of me to conflate the audience attending such shows with the audience making comments on Kotaku.

]]> By: Z. http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training/comment-page-1#comment-358 Z. Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:49:24 +0000 http://www.geekstudies.org/2007/10/nerd-clothes-for-thugs-in-training#comment-358 Speaking as someone who spends a great deal of his time steeped in nerdcore hip-hop, I find this fairly troubling. Often the chief criticism leveled at nerdcore is that the genre plays itself out like a minstrel show: white artists mocking black culture for the enjoyment of white audiences. This, however, begins to fall apart when one examines not merely minority “nerd artists,” but also the sheer number of legitimate, *white* hip-hop devotees who openly express their nerdy predilections in verse. How can an artist like Jesse Dangerously, who’s been an avid, active, socially conscious hip-hop head for most of his life, be accused of exploiting a culture of which he was already an adherent for his own geeky designs? I think the most disturbing aspect isn’t necessarily the age old white=good/black=bad mentality, or, for that matter, the misconception that nerd culture (read: intelligence) is solely a touchstone of Caucasian identity, but the false belief that one couldn’t possibly be supporter of both the gamer/geek lifestyle and black youth culture. At what point did we, meaning nerds as a group, make the decision that these two concepts were somehow mutually exclusive? Speaking as someone who spends a great deal of his time steeped in nerdcore hip-hop, I find this fairly troubling. Often the chief criticism leveled at nerdcore is that the genre plays itself out like a minstrel show: white artists mocking black culture for the enjoyment of white audiences. This, however, begins to fall apart when one examines not merely minority “nerd artists,” but also the sheer number of legitimate, *white* hip-hop devotees who openly express their nerdy predilections in verse. How can an artist like Jesse Dangerously, who’s been an avid, active, socially conscious hip-hop head for most of his life, be accused of exploiting a culture of which he was already an adherent for his own geeky designs?

I think the most disturbing aspect isn’t necessarily the age old white=good/black=bad mentality, or, for that matter, the misconception that nerd culture (read: intelligence) is solely a touchstone of Caucasian identity, but the false belief that one couldn’t possibly be supporter of both the gamer/geek lifestyle and black youth culture. At what point did we, meaning nerds as a group, make the decision that these two concepts were somehow mutually exclusive?

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