Nerd Core

"And I'm the pride of geeks

Who are shameless and brazen

In their snobbery over whose console

Is most ancient (and most Asian)"

- MC Frontalot, Twenty-Six Hundred

Nerdcore is a subgenre of Hip Hop; the term "Nerdcore" is a portmanteau of "Nerd" and "Hardcore". Music that can be considered Nerdcore usually involves subjects which most "normal" people would consider...well, nerdy, such as Science Fiction, Anime, and others. Nerdcore isn't automatically hip-hop; nerdcore had clear influences from geek culture as well, including geek rockers like They Might Be Giants, parodists like "Weird Al" Yankovic (who released "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 Optimus Rhyme and Penny Arcade's "rapper laureate" MC Frontalot. There's also an annual festival held in the summer in Orlando, Florida, called Nerdapalooza, that helps showcase Nerdcore acts alongside other "nerd music" genres.

It has been growing in popularity, thanks in part to G4's bumpers in commercial breaks, which showcase several artists rapping about subjects such as console wars, a love of gadgetry and the art of the Internet Counterattack, and of course, video games.

See also Heavy Mithril, for when nerds forgo rapping about consoles for rocking about fantasy, and Filk for the folksy alternative sort.

Notable Nerd Core acts include:

 * Maja: Who made songs about Anime and Video Games
 * MC Frontalot: Regular at the Penny Arcade Expo, and the guy who coined the term in early 2000. Was featured on the In the Groove games and has several songs on Flash Flash Revolution; also has crosspromotions with Kingdom of Loathing.
 * mc chris: Also the voice of MC Pee Pants on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Hesh on Sealab 2021, but throughout the course of his career has developed an I-love-you-I-hate-you relationship with the genre, switching between embracing and forsaking the genre at a moment's notice (he currently stands in favor of Nerdcore)
 * Beefy: also a webcomic artist and Flash animator, Beefy, more often than not, raps about his mixed Latino/Caucasian heritage (he's a "Whitesican") and periodic poverty.
 * MC Hawking: The stage name of Ken Leavitt-Lawrence. Using the now-defunct text-to-speech program "Willow Talk" and with the help of DJ Doomsday for the beats, he blends traditional gangsta rap with advanced scientific topics. His name and act are a parody of -- and have been repeatedly praised by -- Stephen Hawking.
 * MC Lars is considered by some to be nerdcore, although he claims his genre is Post-Punk Laptop Rap
 * Mood Whiplash: On the album This Gigantic Robot Kills, there's a break in the usual hilarity for a Tear Jerker song about his friend's suicide. Then it jumps back right into the usual funny Nerdcore rap.
 * YTCracker
 * Schaffer the Darklord (Oftentimes abbreviated as STD)
 * A big fan of Crosses the Line Twice. Examples: The Clonefucker Saga and "The Other Devil"
 * Third Person Seductress: The song "Pixelated Vixen"
 * Cluster F-Bomb: "Fuck This Song," which consists mainly of the titular word, and secondarily of Lampshade Hanging
 * Optimus Rhyme: As the name suggests the band is largely themed around Transformers including (but not limited to) songs from the perspective of Transformers on earth including a conflict between the two camps of Auto Beats and Whackacons. The stage names of the band members are also Transformer references: Wheelie Cyberman, Powerthighs, Stumblebee and Grimrock. Former members include Galaxian Waxspin, Thundercracker and Broken English (who breaks the theme).
 * Soce, the gay Jewish rapper mixes this with less worksafe themes.
 * The group Futuristic Sex Robots, self proclaimed "Nerd Gangster Rap"
 * Symphony of Science. Featuring videos and music created from Carl Sagan, David Attenborough, Dr. Richard Dawkins, Bill Nye, and Dr. Stephen Hawking.
 * Freezepop, most known for "Get Ready to Rokk" and "Less Talk More Rokk" from the Guitar Hero series may count as this.
 * The Aquabats take the rock approach, and many of their songs are more about just being nerdy then anything specifically nerdy. They recently got their own TV show. Batman and Johnny Sokko and his Giant Robot were listed as direct influences.
 * Though not part of the Nerdcore scene, several Underground Hip Hop artists have ventured into Sci-Fi territories in their search for fresh, "bitches 'n' bling"-cliche-free ground. The most popular work of this kind is probably Deltron 3030's eponymous concept album.
 * This Web Original Affectionate Parody of the New Boyz rap "You're a Jerk" called "You're a Nerd" with lyrical gems about lunch-money-stealing bullies, such as, "They're just lucky this isn't Warcraft cuz I'm a Level 60 Mage with an Oracle Staff, +10 attack with extended range... he'd be sorry he took my change."
 * Battle rapper Henry Bowers is a Swedish example. Here's one of his English songs.
 * The non-profit record label Scrub Club Records hosts music by a number of nerdcore artists, including label founder Mad Hatter, best known for the song "Ganon Slayer".
 * Adam WarRock is a nerdcore hip-hop artist who is responsible for the Firefly themed "Browncoats" mixtape with Mikal kHill, as well as other solo albums and mixtapes.
 * 2 Skinnee J's have been doing nerdcore music, off and on, since 1991. Their biggest hit, "Riot Nrrrd", was created as a nerd anthem of sorts, and other songs in their repertoire touch on subject matter such as being afraid to talk to girls, Star Wars, Godzilla, martial arts films, and Pluto's status as a planet.