Nerdcore is a genre of
hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to
nerds. Self-described nerdcore musician
MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) 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.