Nerdcore: Hip-Hop Goes Geek

The nerds are out for revenge again! Or, at least some street cred, with their latest venture – Nerdcore Hip-Hop.

Nerdcore is a subgenre of hip-hop that is created by nerds and we suppose for nerds as well. Nerdcore has sometimes been called geeksta rap and its subject matter and themes are those that would interest fellow nerds. Almost all of nerdcore is self-published and much of the music can be found on the internet for free.

MC Frontalot

There is no common sound among nerdcore musicians and individual stylings vary wildly. The nerdcore subgenre takes its inspiration from the geeky predecessors who paved the way for today’s nerdcore scene. Weird Al Yankovic and They Might Be Giants are cited as the biggest influences on nerdcore hip-hop.

The term nerdcore is a phrase that was coined by the movement’s biggest frontman, MC Frontalot. Nerdcore hip-hop is essentially “rap performed by a nerd”. In a bigger sense, the term nerdcore refers to someone who is a hardcore nerd. Look for some of these nerdcore rappers on the web: MC Hawking, Optimus Rhyme, MC Router, Commodore 64 and the master himself, MC Frontalot.