L.A.- based comedian and rapper Zachary Sherwin has caught the YouTube bug.
Sherwin, otherwise known as “MC Mr. Napkin”, futzed about with his YouTube channel for years. But it wasn’t until he played Einstein in Nice Peter’s Epic Rap Battles of History this March did he realize just how “awesome” YouTube actually is.
“My bread and butter is live performances, so it didn’t seem like something I really needed to do,” he said in a phone interview.
“But now that I’m doing it, I’m excited and can’t wait to do more. It’s such a great way to connect with people, get your stuff out there and be seen. It’s totally flattering to have people be into something I threw together. It’s motivating and puts wind in my sails.”
Mr. Napkin (who explained he was named by rapper Nelly pre-fame after a rap battle because he “cleans up like Napkin”) also calls himself “lucky” that so far he’s been “spared” the dreaded hater-brigade on YouTube.
The Aggressive Bee, his most popular video on his channel, has been viewed more than 200,000 times and is based off a real bee in Mr Napkin’s life.
“I developed a bond with the bee, especially when I thought to myself, ‘This bee is so pissed off every day, it’s like we have this co-dependent relationship. What would this bee do, if it didn’t have me to antagonize it every day?’ I felt like we understood each other in a way.”
Mr Napkin, who says he’s been rapping since he was 10, doesn’t like to think of himself as a nerdcore rapper, even if he is a “dorky white guy.”
“I don’t rap about Star Wars, or gaming, or other heavy nerd culture stuff. I feel like if I get put in the nerdcore box, it’s because some of my raps are educational. I rap about weird words, trivia or facts – I feel like a fun teacher or uncle than a nerdcore dude.”
Mr. Napkin promises he will be unleashing a “slew of videos in the next couple of months” and his videos will most likely continue the simpler style he’s already established: one take videos with no cuts, because that way “you can relax into the video, you don’t even have to think about it.”
Fans looking for more raps about insects or other unusual topics can check out his album via Comedy Central Records on iTunes or Amazon.
