Nerdcore - History

History

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 Kool Keith, Deltron 3030, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, MC Paul Barman, and MF Doom began exploring topics far outside of the traditional hip hop culture, including stereotypically "nerdy" topics like space and science fiction. Though these underground artists were generally outside of 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. 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. Despite these influences, nerdcore has separated itself from other types of nerdy music thanks to an unofficial list of criteria that has evolved among fans and artists. Aside from making hip hop about geeky things, nerdcore is considered to be an "opt-in" genre. Only artists who consider themselves to be "nerdcore" should have the label attached to their music.

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 braggadoccio led to the first nerdcore feud, between MC Plus+ and Monzy.

In 2006, nerdcore rapper High-C created the first website dedicated solely to the genre of nerdcore, NerdcoreHipHop.com. The site quickly became the foundation of the scene's online community. Along with the website, 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.

Each summer since July 2008, nerdcore rappers and other nerd music acts gather 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 of 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.