Calling all dorks.

There are three phases within the life of the blogger.

In the first, you consider the Top 10 list. In the second, you mock the Top 10 list. Finally, you accept the Top 10 list.

I have recently reached the acceptance phase.

With all that’s happened in the sphere of nerdcore hip-hop over the past year, I can’t help but feel this damnable urge to innumerate, this hankering to list in ascending order. I try to deny it, but still it haunts me like a wispy ghost on a rainy night or a popcorn fart in a crowded movie theatre.

The problem, of course, is that such lists rarely hold water. They are insubstantial. Yet, while I sat lamenting the fact that such a project could never be definitive, my pals Dan and Matt reminded me that it could, in fact, be collaborative.

And so I beseech you, oh nerdcore community to aid me in my quest, to help me uncover the Top 10 Nerdcore Artists of All Time.

Now admittedly, the phrase “of All Time” is a bit of a misnomer. Since we’re not, at present, on the cusp of the end of time – despite what your minister may tell you – that all-time greatest shit is pretty hollow. It essentially boils down to the far less weighty “so far.” And while “so far” lacks that true ring of authority, it’s a bit more accessible and a fair bit more accurate.

But this matter of semantics is neither here nor there.

All I’m looking for from you is a list: a simple list of your personal top 10 nerdcore artists or groups. You can do so right here, at the related thread over at Rhyme Torrents, or (if you’re the secretive type) via the handy email link in the sidebar.

According to my trusty desk calendar, it is, at present, Wednesday, April 11th. I will be actively accepting lists, through any of the aforementioned channels, until next Wednesday, April 18th. After that time I will begin to weigh the collected data, and I will post results the following week.

Aside from your own submission, all I ask is that you be truthful to yourself. Your individual criteria for inclusion are your own business (as are your likes/dislikes and personal prejudices), but I hope you’ll at least give this a little bit of thought.

At least as much thought as a request from a diminutive hillbilly that writes about nerdy rap genuinely warrants.