Erk Tha Jerk is a West Coast Kid Cudi without the liquid cocaine problem. Born and raised in Richmond, the emcee rose to fame this year with his explicit slow-jam single "Right Here," which found a spot on the Bay Area's 106 KMEL, and broke onto Billboard Magazine's Hot 100. With help from producers Traxamillion, Bedrock, and The Invasion, there's plenty more ballin' on his solo debut LP Nerd's Eye View, but it's when Erk gets ambivalent or lost that the record really escalates. He splits the difference between emcee and struggling dad, rapping about divorce and self-doubt as much as carnal delights on the mall escalator.