int eighty, half of the nerdcore hip-hop group Dual Core, is a busy man. The group—with int eighty on the mic and Manchester, UK–based producer c64 on beat duty—has just begun working on its fifth album (which we’re sure will be laced with more rhymes about comic books, Star Wars, and hacker culture, of course). You can check him out front and center on nerdcore pioneer MC Frontalot’s latest release, Zero Day. And this summer, he hits the road for a boatload of performances, including next month’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles. “The music has a feel of east coast and Midwest underground hip-hop from the ’90s,” he says, “but there are plenty of influences used in tweaking the formula.” Is one of those influences anime or manga? We hope so.
Squee!: How did you get into anime and manga?
int eighty: The visuals first drew me in. The vivid designs and colors really impressed me, along with the movements and mannerisms in anime. At that point, I was hooked. The storylines just reeled me in.
Squee!: What’s your all-time favorite anime?
int eighty: Ninja Scroll, it’s the first anime I ever saw and it will always have a special place in my heart. I remember hearing a few people at school mention it, and happened to see it on the shelf at a store. It just really caught me by surprise as my initial expectations were along the lines of “just another cartoon.”
Squee!: What’s your all-time favorite manga and why?
int eighty: Fullmetal Alchemist. The illustrations are awesome, but I absolutely love the storyline. The altruism of the brothers is my favorite part. Ed wants to be the best alchemist so he can restore Al’s body while Al is working to restore Ed’s arm and leg. Not to mention that they both began their quest into alchemy with the intent of resurrecting their mom who had passed away. The compassion of the protagonists really stands out in contrast to some of the antagonists who have learned alchemy for evil purposes.
Squee!: What are you reading and watching these days?
int eighty: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and re-watching Cowboy Bebop —I never get tired of that series. The aspect of Spike’s adventures where good fortune is countered by bad luck really appeals to me. It’s a yin and yang balance of sorts, two steps forward, one step back (or more, in Spike’s case sometimes). Additionally, being a computer hacker by trade, I love that the series has its own computer hacker in Radical Edward.
Squee!: Live-action anime movies: yay or nay?
int eighty: Nay, overall. Anime just has a certain feel and texture that isn’t reproduced in live-action.
Squee!: Who’s your favorite character (anime or manga)?
int eighty: Jubei from Ninja Scroll. He has an admirable demeanor and the skills to back it up.
Squee!: Do you see any similarities between hip hop and anime/manga? int eighty: I think it’s easy to apply hip hop to a variety of subjects. Our songs cover an interesting range of topics from hacking to video games, sci-fi to Internet memes, etc. Ergo, hip hop inspired by anime and manga is completely tangible. Moving the other direction, one of my favorite anime is Afro Samurai, which as many of your readers know, was scored by the RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. So there is definitely crossover between the two domains.
Squee!: If you could pick any anime theme song to rhyme over, which one would it be?
int eighty: Libera Me From Hell. The beat is ridiculous, we would just need to tweak it a bit and EQ things properly. ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWER!
Check out samples of Dual Core’s music at http://dualcoremusic.com/nerdcore
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