MC Hawking | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ken Lawrence |
| Also known as | MC Hawking, The Hawkman |
| Genres | Nerdcore |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper,songwriter,producer |
| Instrument | Text-to-speech program |
| Labels | Brash Music |
Ken Lawrence is anerdcore rapper who purports to be the latetheoreticalphysicistStephen Hawking rapping under the nameMC Hawking.[1]
MC Hawking rose to popularity on the Internet in the early 2000s. The songs were originally released inMP3 format, but due to the popularity of the website Lawrence was signed to a record deal withBrash Music to release a "greatest hits" album in 2004.
MC Hawking's entire body of work and his rapper persona were created byAmericanweb developer Ken Lawrence.[2] Lawrence earned a degree in music composition fromHampshire College.[2] Hisraps aresynthesized by thetext-to-speech programWillowTalk. The beats for MC Hawking are provided by DJ Doomsday (another alter-ego of Ken Lawrence). The beats are a combination of samples of classichip hop tracks, commercial royalty-free loop libraries, live performances, and midi compositions.
The lyrics are a mixture of gangsta rap topics, science topics and Stephen Hawking quotations (such as the famous "When I hear ofSchrödinger's cat, I reach for my gun", which became "Every time I think of them my trigger finger itches", referring tocreationists). Among subjects of MC Hawking songs are various scientific topics and Hawking's professional relationships withMIT rivals, as well as the standard fare of gangsta rap, including streetviolence anddrug use.
The lyrics display insight into many aspects of current scientific thought,Newton's laws of motion ("All My Shootings Be Drivebys"), Einstein'stheory of relativity ("E=MC Hawking"), theBig Bang ("The Big Bizang"),Thermodynamics ("Entropy"), and quantum physics subjects such asSchrödinger's cat and thewave function collapse ("Rock Out With Your Hawk Out").
Thecreation evolution controversy is also mentioned in "Fuck theCreationists" and "Entropy".
He is also involved with aheavy metal group called Dark Matter — a parody ofIce-T's "Body Count" — with whom he has performed such songs as "Why Won'tJesse Helms Just Hurry Up and Die", "UFT for the MC" (a parody of theSex Pistols song "Anarchy in the UK"), and "The Big Bizang". He is also an occasionalSong Fight! participant.
His "greatest hits" album is calledA Brief History of Rhyme: MC Hawking's Greatest Hits, a parody of Hawking's bookA Brief History of Time. It included many songs that were available on the official website, plus new material (four songs and three interludes from a fictional radio interview).
Stephen Hawking said in 2000 that he was "flattered, as it's a modern-day equivalent toSpitting Image".[2] On the inside cover ofA Brief History of Rhyme, Lawrence thanks Stephen Hawking "for taking this joke in the spirit that it was intended."
In 2013, Lawrence, along with longtime collaborators Len Pal and the voice actorDave B. Mitchell, launchedMC Hawking's Podcore Nerdcast, a podcast in which the hosts discuss movies, games, books, and music (and particularly nerdcore hip hop). as well as interviews with nerdcore musicians includingMC Frontalot,MC Lars,Random, and Atheist (Scott Knopf). In June 2014, Cassie joined the cast to fill in for Mitchell (due to scheduling conflicts). Regular features includeWill It Suck, in which the hosts discuss upcoming films and predict opening weekend box office andRotten Tomatoes results,Dino News, in which Cassie brings the latest news about dinosaurs,Nerds Need to Know, which highlights books, movies, or television shows relevant tonerd culture, andEverybody Wants to Rule the World, in which the hosts debate potential new laws or decrees that could make the world a better place. Episodes occasionally also feature new MC Hawking tracks. The podcast has been inactive since 2018.
His second album,The Hawkman Returneth, was due for release in 2018, announced with the release of the singleFear of a Black Hole, which was first performed in 2016 in front of the real Stephen Hawking and others includingRichard Dawkins andBrian May.[3] As of 2023, no additional music has been released.
As part of the parody, a fictional discography was created on the MC Hawking's Crib website. None of these albums were actually created.[citation needed]
