January 28, 2005 - Devout rap fanatics no doubt recognize the nom de production of Dan Nakamura. While he resided in virtual obscurity prior to the mid-'90s release of the mind-altering aural vision Dr. Octagonecologyst, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura has more or less become a household name, at least in terms of cutting edge producers, both within and without the realm of rap.

While he has leant his talents to a variety of projects, connecting himself with a diverse range of artists including Mike Patton and Del, The Automator is perhaps best known for his tag-team experiment with Prince Paul.

In 1999 the two super producers, both of whom are more or less highly creative electronic geeks, joined together under a Chris Elliot fueled brain fart and concocted The Handsome Boy Modeling School, a loose concept "group" with Dan and Paul residing at the burbling nucleus and a smattering of their similarly tweaked (at least in terms of artistic creativity) musical compadres scattered throughout the surrounding sonic plasma. The result was So…How's Your Girlfriend, an experiment that met at the crossroads of modern day art rock and old school hip-hop.

Interestingly enough, the duo more or less went on hiatus following the glowing reception of their inaugural class, working on a variety of solo efforts and a sundry group projects. But now, almost five years later, the school has re-opened its door, enrolled a slew of new models, and has again set out to smash the boundaries that have been built up between the worlds of rock and rap with White People.

Lucky for us, IGN's intrepid man-about-town (and expert television personality…perhaps you've seen him on ESPN's Hot List) Aaron Boulding hunted down Dan "The Automator" Nakamura (aka Handsome Boy Modeling School headmaster Nathaniel Merriweather) and got to the meat of the man and his music.

Learn all about HBMS right here.