What if physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking had a secret life as a gangsta rapper? Confined to a wheelchair due to Lou Gehrig's Disease, Dr. Hawking lost the use of his vocal chords in an operation to assist his breathing in 198... more »5. Since then he's used a speech synthesizer that speaks for him when he types in the computer what he wants to say. After seeing the Beastie Boys in 1988, be became obsessed with rap and immersed himself in the culture, favoring the harder-edged music by NWA and The Ghetto Boyz. From this, MC Hawking was born. Here are 16 dope, booty shaking, digitally mastered tracks from the undisputed king of theoretical gangsta-astrophysics, collected on one CD for the first time. "It's hard to decide whether the parody is downright brilliant or borderline offensive, but it certainly made us laugh"--Salon. "I'm flattered in an odd sort of way"--Dr. Stephen Hawking.« less
What if physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking had a secret life as a gangsta rapper? Confined to a wheelchair due to Lou Gehrig's Disease, Dr. Hawking lost the use of his vocal chords in an operation to assist his breathing in 1985. Since then he's used a speech synthesizer that speaks for him when he types in the computer what he wants to say. After seeing the Beastie Boys in 1988, be became obsessed with rap and immersed himself in the culture, favoring the harder-edged music by NWA and The Ghetto Boyz. From this, MC Hawking was born. Here are 16 dope, booty shaking, digitally mastered tracks from the undisputed king of theoretical gangsta-astrophysics, collected on one CD for the first time. "It's hard to decide whether the parody is downright brilliant or borderline offensive, but it certainly made us laugh"--Salon. "I'm flattered in an odd sort of way"--Dr. Stephen Hawking.
CD Reviews
This Isn't A "Listen To It Once" Comedy CD
Bruce E. Layne | Lexington, KY United States | 05/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I enjoy humor, but most comedy CDs are a one-shot deal because most humor relies on an element of surprise. Not MC Hawking. If you have an interest in science, you will almost certainly find this CD to be hilarious.
I don't like any other rap, but I love this CD and I listen to it all the time. It's one of the few CDs where I usually find myself singing along. They're all high energy songs that are great road tunes. Crank it up, roll down the windows, and teach some punks in your 'hood some science.
As others have mentioned, the language is rough. It doesn't bother me, but it does bother some people. There are recurring anti-fundamentalist themes, with little tolerance for fundamentalists trying to force creationism to be taught in science classes, and that's OK with me too. Hey, do I go to your church and start preaching science?"
F=M*A
Leonard A. Pallazola | lenpal.3rdoffense.com | 01/23/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Whether you're a physics student, an avid gangsta rap fan, a little of both, or just like a good laugh, this is the CD for you. Who could forget lines like "I'm a 3 sandwich eatin', super-model meetin', step to me punk and you're gonna get a beatin'" or "I got a Phd in pain and a masters in disaster, the mighty Stephen Hawking is a [censored] QuakeMaster"? Or from my favorite track ('All My Shootings Be Drive Bys'), "Nine on my lap AK in my hand, I roll up slow like a snake in the sand. I wait till I'm sure they can see my face, then I bust out slugs to the beat of the bass."
This is hardcore rap at its best. But that's not all - the Led Zeppelin medley shows brilliant talent at guitar and bass. And when the Hawkman drops science, he doesn't fool around. MC Hawking's 'Entropy' puts a complicated physics concept in plain English. I'll leave you with a bit of lyrics from that track:
"Defining entropy as disorder's not complete,
'cause disorder as a definition doesn't cover heat.
So my first definition I would now like to withdraw,
and offer one that fits thermodynamics second law.
First we need to understand that entropy is energy,
energy that can't be used to state it more specifically.
In a closed system entropy always goes up,
that's the second law, now you know what's up."
"
The Definitive Astrophysicist Rap Collection
N. Benson | Hudson, WI USA | 12/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you love science, you'll love M.C. Hawking. These tracks cover a wide variety scientific topics, including evolution (F#@k the Creationists), creation of the universe (Big Bizang), thermodynamics (Entropy), unified field theory (UFT for the MC), science in general (What We Need More of is Science), as well as other geeky topics, like video games (GTA3). Other tracks tell stories of the ongoing rivalry between Cambridge England and Cambridge Massachusetts (All my Shootings be Drivebys). The language isn't for young ears, but you'd have to be older to truly appreciate the humor anyways. Highly recommended."
Hilarious....and you can dance to it
E. Thompson | spokaloo, usa | 09/29/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Profane, derivitive and insensitive, 'A Brief History of Rhyme' is also prescient, trailblazing and tender. Oh, and did I mention funny? Apparently this also has the endorsement of the biggest little man around unless Dr. Hawking was duped into agreeing to have multiple photographs of his own self appear in the booklet. Must you enjoy rap to lend your ears to this? Must you be a scientist? Must you be a geek? Must you have a sense of humor? No, no, no and yes."
Funny and insightful
Volitair | Washington | 05/14/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In one word - Unique. I've listened to this album many times over and it's actually on my iPod. I have no clue as to why someone would want to buy NWA over MC Hawkings, but you've heard it here first from a self proclaimed engineer. This has wit, style, and a funny background. I'll be a life long fan.
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1