Contrary to some belief, it is pronounced as EMCEE Chris and not McChris…regardless of the fact that he Irish. Although the latter is an appropriate reflection of what Chris raps about in his songs.Growing up in Libertyville, Ill., Chris Ward was never part of the “in” crowd. His relatively short stature and high voice definitely kept him in the category that some might even call Nerds. Yet, Chris eventually learned to embrace his uniqueness and use it to his advantage.
Just like any college student, a lot of time was spent smoking and drinking with his buddies. While his parents were away trying to find another house, Chris turned his house into what he dubbed as “a Harem”. Little did he know that one summer as he and his buddies would get high and make raps up would end up being a life-changing experience. In one stroke of genius and bong hits, he came up with the line “My backpack’s got jets.” This later developed into “Fett’s Vette,” a rhyme about the Star Wars bounty hunter, Boba Fett. After Chris met John Fewell (aka DJ John) they put the words to music and uploaded it out onto the internet. Quickly it became a cult favorite to Star Wars fans everywhere. What once started out as a joke suddenly became a following.
While performing at Improv Night at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater in New York, he was asked to audition for a new show that was to air late night on the Ted Turner owned Cartoon Network. The show was “SeaLab 2021,” a parody of the 1970s original animated adventure classic of “SeaLab 2020.” It would be part of Adult Swim, a format directed to high school age and up. During his interview he played “Fett’s Vette” and they instantly loved it. Chris was cast to play the roll of Hesch, a smart-assed crewman, in the under water command post. Soon, Chris was doing voices for another Adult Swim program called Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He played a giant spider disguised as rapper MC PeePants, who lured people in with his song “I Want Candy.”
After the success of his raps, the producers decided they wanted to use Chris’ music more and more. In one particular episode of “SeaLab,” the crew left the base and followed the MC Chris Tour on the road. They aired “Fett’s Vette” and at the end of the episode the producers of the show posted the MC Chris Website and in his own words, “Things just took off from there.”
MC Chris started to make more songs available to people via the internet and eventually led to his first album, “Life’s a Bitch and I’m Her Pimp.” Joining other groups such as Weezer in a genre of music known as NerdCore, his popularity started to swell. More and more opportunities started to open up. One of the shining moments so far for Chris was getting to actually go to of all places, Skywalker Ranch (George Lucas’ home) and see a screening of Star Wars Episode III.
At his shows, he raps about empowering of the geeks of the world. “NERD POWER!” are his chants. Even though it is meant to be tongue and cheek, Chris truly does project to his fans that if they do have something different that separates them from the mainstream they should use it to their advantage. He brings up the fact that if he can take his small size and high-pitched voice and turn into to something, anyone can with their own uniqueness.
Currently, Chris is on tour for his latest album, “Eating is not Cheating.” This fall he is going back in the studio to record the follow-up and then head back out on tour. When he is done with that, he really isn’t sure what will be next on the horizon. “First and foremost, I am an illustrator,” says Chris. “I may go back to Cartoon Network and pitch some ideas…I don’t know. Right now I am just enjoying what I have going on.”
