With a name like BlackNerdNinja, you’d expect this Athens rapper to strike with some hard-ass nerdcore stylings, flowing on about Star Wars, video game consoles, and obscure martial arts movie references. And certainly there’s some of that in “8mm,” the new single and video from the longtime local rap game vet. “Luigi in the drain pipes smoking pipes / Doing shrooms with Koopa / Boning princesses for some gold pieces,” he spits on the track’s opening verse, deftly scoring a nerdcore trifecta with references to Mario Bros, drugs, and sex in one fell swoop.

But even a cursory listen to the song reveals that BlackNerdNinja, aka Eugene Willis, has far more serious matters on his mind. Over a steady boom-bap beat laced with a minor key piano melody, he bares his soul and lays out his struggles, which range from probation and lack of financial means, to career problems and the many temptations of life on the road. “When you dance with the devil, the devil don’t change / The devil changes you,” he says ominously before tearing into a fierce second verse.

Created by RexxType, a local Athens media production company, the video maintains the track’s intense energy by focusing its attention squarely on the artist. In turn, BlackNerdNinja forgoes the usual vain boasting and showboating, choosing instead to let his skills and words do the talking.

In a prepared statement, Willis had this to say about the track:

“‘8mm’ was inspired by my wife just having our son and we had just got married. I was feeling the pressure of balancing a normal life and a tour life, with so many temptations on the road from women to unknown things. I wrote it all into a song. The idea [is] taken from 8mm staring Nicholas Cage. He is trying to figure out if the film is real. I was also trying to figure out what was real and not real in my life!”

More Info
Web: iamablacknerdninja.wordpress.com
Bandcamp: eugenewillisblacknerdmusic.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @Blacknerdninja-156884401035621
SoundCloud: @blacknerdninja
Twitter: @BLACKNERDNINJAS