“Rap was always appealing to be in my early 20s because it was such a direct form of communication,” MC Lars says. “Nerdcore was interesting because it was about being yourself and not trying to be something inauthentic, but I never set out to be in that genre.” Three albums later, the rapper—who actually describes his music as literary rap—is touring around the country to support his fourth album, The Zombie Dinosaur LP, which drops on November 6 and premieres on Myspace today in its entirety.

Among other things, the 13-song set highlights “a return to the pop culture and musical tropes of my first and second releases,” MC Lars says. “'Triforce' uses the themes of ‘power, wisdom and courage’ from the Legend of Zelda to talk about all of the things I've gone through and realized over the past few years as an artist," he explains.

Adam F. Goldberg, creator of hit ABC TV show The Goldbergs, helped produce The Zombie Dinosaur LP, which features guest appearances by Watsky, Kool Keith, Spose, Roger Lima of Less than Jake, STZA Crack of Leftöver Crack and Brian Mazzaferri of I Fight Dragons. MC Lars talks about the album's creation, whom he'd like to collaborate with on his hip-hop puppet show, and how being a Stanford alum impacts his music below; stream the album above.

Hometown: Oakland, California.

Homebase: Fairfax, California (just north of San Francisco).

What is The Zombie Dinosaur LP ultimately about?

The Zombie Dinosaur LP is my fourth album and it’s a return to the pop culture and musical tropes of my first and second releases (The Graduate and This Gigantic Robot Kills). It features guest appearances by Watsky, Kool Keith, Roger Lima of Suburban Legends, Stza Crack of Leftöver Crack and more. I’m really proud of this record - the imagery in the title track was inspired by the fact that one day I looked back and realized I’d been doing this for 13 years. I’m unstoppable, kind of like a zombie dinosaur would be.

How did you discover nerdcore rap music?

I hadn’t really heard about “nerdcore rap” until after I had put out a few albums and played some shows internationally. A fan of my college radio show burned me a CD of some old MC Chris songs, but I wasn’t really aware of the movement until MC Frontalot and I connected in late 2006.

Talk about the first time you realized you wanted to sing and perform for others.

I rapped pieces of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to my peers at a high school assembly in 1998. I got a amazing reaction and realized that there was something dope about combining literature with pop music. I did my first solo show in 2000 and realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

It was called “the Gas Man”, I was 12 years old and it consisted of fart noises and four chords on my first acoustic guitar. Very little has changed.

Who are your musical heroes?

I love “Weird Al” Yankovic because he is so prolific, musically talented, and manages to emulate and exist within so many genres simultaneously. His work ethic and the way he takes being funny so seriously is so inspiring. I love Rush because of their amazing literary references and crazy arrangements. KRS-One has always made me want to rap because he brings so much intelligence and style to the mic.

Your real name is Andrew Nielsen; where is the name MC Lars from?

Lars came from the movie Heavyweights, a '90s Judd Apatow camp movie where Ben Stiller tries to take over a weight loss camp for teens and an adolescent revolution ensues. Lars was one of the counselors, I thought the name was really hilarious so I added “MC” to it (master of ceremonies) and here we are.

I love your song "Sublime with Rome is Not the Same Thing as Sublime" and really feel the same way ... are you a big Sublime fan? How involved were you in making that video?

Thanks! The video was directed by my friend Watt White (http://www.wattwhite.com/puppet-videos/), a New York musician and artist. It was pretty much completely his work, we just sent him the photos that were featured in the video. I loved Sublime back in the day, I think it’s sad when corporations milk nostalgia and people buy tickets for projects that have long passed their prime.

What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?

Made an entire dress out of duct tape to wear to Warped Tour, with the words “MC LARS” written across the front. Probably not the most comfortable outfit, but it looked amazing!

What's your songwriting process like?

I start with the drum pattern, build the rhymes and cadences on the rhythmic arrangement, then try to find a dynamite chorus. Lyrically, it’s like writing a paper, the verses reinforce the hook (which is like a thesis) and the music supports the argument. I usually spend a week or so on a song and then bring in guests to help with other instrumentation.

How do you describe your music to people who haven't heard it before?

Back in 2003 I called it “post-punk laptop rap”, but these days that term doesn’t really make sense because everything is “post”, so it’s kind of an antiquated term. I guess “literary rap” would best describe it.

You're a Stanford alumnus ... does having the Stanford name in your bio help you a lot? I kind of feel that educated rappers get stereotyped... (hence the nerdcore genre) do you feel that way at all?

My degree helps with getting asked to do things like TEDx talks and lectures at schools because it gives me some legitimacy when I talk about poetry and its relationship to hip-hop. So much of my initial press story when I got started was the “Stanford white kid who raps about Edgar Allan Poe over Brand New samples” novelty, which I recognize and appreciate, and it helped me get started for sure. I’m not sure educated rappers get stereotyped though, I think intelligence in hip-hop is pretty valued, and whether and MC went to college or not, it doesn’t matter as long as he or she is saying something dope and with style. I’ve never really worried about what people I don’t know have to say about my music or me as a person. If someone doesn’t want to listen to my music because I went to college, I won’t lose any sleep over that.

Who are your dream collaborators and why?

Would love to work with Dr. Dre on my upcoming hip-hop puppet show! Dre - get at me, let’s make some rap music for kids.