Running an independent label is a thankless business especially with the whole music industry capsizing with grandiosity matching the Titanic. But what if you ran a label as a not-for-profit venture and gave tons of songs away or sold albums for cheap? Scrub Club, nearing its 10th year, is doing better than ever in promoting its stable of hip hop and spoken word artists by putting the music and its fans first and foremost.
Scrub Club was founded by Madhatter McGinnis in 2001, though it started out as a recording space known as Spare Bedroom Studios. Already, the crossed-out dollar sign “No Dough” logo was in effect to demonstrate the stripped-down, simple way of doing things. Through several music projects and by connecting with fellow artists, Madhatter says, “I decided that the Sparebedroom name had to evolve into an actual record label and never forget its ghetto roots, and I decided to call it Scrub Club Records.” Scrub Club began to gather a roster of hip hop artists. That’s hip hop as in community-based, enlightened, and never taking themselves too seriously; you won’t find glorification of money, cars, and harems of women here.
Madhatter continues, “In May of 2006 I made Scrub Club completely not-for-profit and started burning cds away for free as well as releasing everything online for free. This blew up our popularity, and suddenly tons of people everywhere had heard of us.” Scrub Club’s success continues with their 2007 release 8Bit Bullshit hitting 10,000 downloads and as of this writing, expanding their roster to 17 artists, 39 albums, and 450 free downloadable songs. “With each new member we bring in, we are able to offer other up-and-coming artists services ranging from beat production to digital artwork to mixing, Scrub Club has pretty much become a one stop resource for budding artists all while releasing amazing albums ever since,” explains Madhatter. Scrub Club celebrates its first decade next year, and we wish them continued success into the far future!
For more info and free downloads, please visit the Scrub Club Records official site. We’ve highlighted some Scrub Club artists available on JamLegend for you below. Check them out!
Dr. Awkward:
Dr. Awkward (Josh Watson) was born and raised in San Diego, and because of this, much of his music is influenced by mainstream andunderground West Coast Hip Hop. In early 2009, Dr. Awkward released his first solo project “NextGen,” in which Doc proclaims that he is the future of Nerdcore Hip Hop. The EP was hailed as aninstant classic, with such hits as “Geekquilibrium” and “Impostor.” With this release, Docsigned to the independent label Scrub Club Records.
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POWERLIFTER:
The odd, uniuqe debut album from the Gameboy hacking, six packing, stage dive ransacking duo is ready for upload directly into your ears. It's called "1" ("Arctic Submarine"). This release is a fast-paced adventure that will make you feel like you’re headbanging to a brutal metal album at the same time as playing the toughest, controller-biting Capcom side-scroller. In other words, you’ll need more than the stock three lives you’re given, some of you might not make it past the last level. Don’t worry, there’s two powerups on the way to aid you in your audio journey. WHAT A RUSH!
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Kabuto The Python:
Kabuto is thought to have originally formed out of dark matter near Tau Ceti some 2 million years ago. Since his arrival on Earth, there has been much speculation as to his true form. He himself has not helped matters, describing himself in turn as a python, a deity, an alien, and incredibly ill. Over time, this has stabilized somewhat, and to all appearances, Kabuto seems to exist as a kind of Holy Trinity – rapper, snake, and alien beast. It has even been theorized that Kabuto is, in fact, an alter-ego of famed Nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot.
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Diabeats:
At a glance, Diabeats is a shy, nerdy, goth girl who owns way too many Star Wars shirts and can master any rhythm video game you can throw at her. Put her on stage, though, and she transforms into an aggressive, liberated, dancing harlot of rhyming. Everything that she is unable to be in daily life, she can be so in her music. This was one of her major draws to rapping – being able to loose her inner beast, tackle solemn and painful topics in a humorous manner, and find peace in honest lyrics about nerd life.
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MadHatter:
MadHatter considers himself an “everyman” in the underground entertainment business. While he openly claims not be the best at what he does, he does put in an unbelievable amount of effort into his work and strives to do better. Always learning, always evolving, he not only runs the Scrub Club label, he also produces music, records and mixes albums, spits complex, mathematical flows, contributes artwork both digital and traditional, does graphics design for the site and printed products, and lots of other tasks that most labels have to outsource. It’s a lot of work, but keeping Scrub Club going is just as important to him as taking care of a step family. Except… a good step family.
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ZeaLouS1:
Famed for a calm, affable demeanor that belies his imposing size, Zealous1 is more than the titular King of the Boss Fights; he is a friend to all nerds, a self-styled defender of the underdogs. While many in Nerdcore espouse the superhero mindset, Zealous truly takes it to heart. He is, at once, a nerd’s nerd and a musician’s musician. He throws himself wholeheartedly into everything he does, and what he does best is take the listener by the hand and lead them from the busy San Diego streets to the burning wastes of Azeroth and back again.
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Benjamin Bear:
His style is a result of an eclectic blend of influences, including 1970’s era progressive rock, industrial metal, grunge, and underground Hip Hop. Combined with his left-of-center perspective and proficient lyrical prowess, he manages to create something truly unique, yet still danceable.
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Deafinition:
Deafinition started his Hip Hop career, not with flows, but poetry. He took to words like Wilford Brimley took to diabetes. By the age of 18, he had dropped his first album and went on stage for the first time. This was the cornerstone of the foundation, and in later years, that foundation would grow into the Dark Tower of Babel that we all know as the Mighty Word Slinger: Deafinition.
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Kasparov:
In a successful band biography, you want to mix things up just enough to ensure it sounds like something that could be interesting on a greater level than just “the usual old garage band.” Throw in an anecdote that sums up how you think and how you play. If your van lit on fire and you were stranded in the middle of the desert between shows and you ended up writing two of your most popular songs while waiting for a tow truck, find a way to integrate that story. It will humanize you even further, provide a back story for your music and help you connect with fans.
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King Pheenix:
King Pheenix is a force of nature. Combining strong Hip Hop style and flow with nerdy ideas like a mad scientist proved to be just what this Frankenstein monster needed. After years of perfecting his style, he was introduced to the magic that is the Nerdcore genre by fellow artist MC 8bit. Frontman of the LNT crew, one half of the group Kill Screen, and now a die hard musician under the Scrub Club banner, The V1 Pheenix is ready to help Nerdcore rise and raise some hell in the process. KPX is always willing to collab, and will bring the fire to anything he touches, like a propane midas.
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Southside:
Fusing their hip-hop roots with a punk rock ethos and the sounds of indie rock, Southside formed as a side project of several rock bands united to record haphazard rap songs between tours. While they began rapping over pre-recorded beats, Southside’s current lineup features a mix of beats and samples with live instrumentation: drums, guitar, bass, and a DJ. In recent years, Southside has played showcases at South by Southwest, Northwest Music Fest, REVERBfest, and Nerd Invasion.
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StarF:
Raised by internet culture and obsessed with music, StarF blends a mixture of poetics and edgy humor into everything he produces. Every new project is approached as the beginning of something that will better himself rather than a means to an end, and as so, StarF is consistently progressing and leveling up within the Nerdcore community. While socially awkward to a noticeable degree, StarF still loves everyone in the community he meets. Despite any awkwardness, he will never hesitate to grab a mic and rock it for a crowd.
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Other Scrub Club Artists:
We can't go into a huge amount of detail right now, but a series of circumstances came together to create the Perfect Storm.This picture kind of shows the state we're in right now:
