page_title: Nerdcore
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Nerdcore / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Mc Router at the wreck room fort worth texas
context_page_description: Nerdcore is a genre of music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term in the 2000 song "Nerdcore Hiphop". Frontalot, like most nerdcore artists, self-publishes his work and has released much of it for free online. As a niche genre, nerdcore generally holds to the DIY ethic, and has a history of self-publishing and self-production.
  Though nerdcore rappers rhyme about anything from politics to science fiction, there are some perennial favorites in nerdcore subject matter, including Star Wars, Internet pornography, role-playing games, science, fantasy and computers.
  Music with similar themes, but different musical styles can be found in the filk genres. There are hip hop artists who have recorded compositions which focus on similar topics, but who are not generally considered nerdcore.
context_section_description: The earliest known recorded use of the term "nerdcore hip hop" was in 2000 by MC Frontalot. However, prior to that time artists as varied as the Beastie Boys, Kool Keith, Deltron 3030, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, MC Paul Barman, Dr. Dre, Company Flow, and MF Doom began exploring topics far outside the traditional hip-hop culture, including stereotypically "nerdy" topics like space and science fiction. Though these underground artists were generally outside geek culture and are not considered nerdcore, they can be said to have set the stage for artists like Frontalot, who has listed several of them as influences. The Beastie Boys outer-space sci-fi themed album Hello Nasty in 1998; including, among other potentially influencing tracks, the spacey robotic Intergalactic and the distinctively video game sound themed song UNITE; garnered mainstream recognition years ahead of the popular movement. Nerdcore had clear influences from geek culture as well, including geek rockers like They Might Be Giants, parodists like "Weird Al" Yankovic (who released a rap called "I Can't Watch This" in 1992, as well as "It's All About The Pentiums" in 1999 and "White & Nerdy" in 2006), and others. 
  In the summer of 2004 the fledgling genre took a large step forward when the popular web comic Penny Arcade held its first convention, The Penny Arcade Expo, in Bellevue, WA.  Though the expo was primarily devoted to video and table top gaming, geek-friendly musicians also performed including Penny Arcade's "official rapper" MC Frontalot and Optimus Rhyme.
  The next year, two full concerts took place at the 2005 Penny Arcade Expo and included nerdy hip-hop acts MC Frontalot and Optimus Rhyme.  After the 2005 expo, all three acts would have the "nerdcore" label permanently affixed to them.  Thanks to the popularity of these acts, the nerdcore fan base began to form and in some cases those fans would go on to become nerdcore artists themselves.
  Also in 2005, the new subgenre of geeksta rap (named for gangsta rap) emerged, largely independently of more traditional nerdcore. The difference was in both lyrics and attitude; the geeksta artists (mostly computer scientists) focused on proclaiming their prowess with computers and other technical abilities. This braggadocio led to the first nerdcore feud, between MC Plus+ and Monzy.
  In 2006, nerdcore rapper Jason Z. Christie, AKA High-C created the first websites dedicated solely to the genre of nerdcore, NerdcoreHipHop.org and RhymeTorrents.com.  The sites quickly became the foundation of the scene's online community. Along with the websites, High-C also created the world's first all nerdcore hip-hop compilation CD.  The "Rhyme Torrents Compilation" consisted of numerous volumes and dozens and dozens of tracks by various artists.  Soon after the release of the cds, Nerdcore as a genre began getting mainstream press attention. High-C also appeared in Wired Magazine, the film Nerdcore For Life, and was removed from the release version of the documentary Nerdcore Rising. Curiously, although he clearly met all eligibility requirements for inclusion on Wikipedia as a notable nerdcore rapper (evidence provided above, ironically), any attempt to list him as such results in a deletion. (See edit history of this page for evidence.)
  Each summer from July 2008 to 2013, nerdcore rappers and other nerd music acts gathered in Orlando, Florida for an event named Nerdapalooza, a nerd music charity festival based on bringing various genres of "nerd music" together into one large production.
  "Glitched: The Dutch Nerdcore Event" was the first major, all-nerdcore event to be held outside the United States. It took place at Club Panama in Amsterdam in February 2009 and featured the European premiere of the documentary Nerdcore For Life as well as performances of four rappers from the film, MC Lars, YTCracker, Beefy and MC Router.
caption: MC Router performing in June 2007
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