I've Been Converted: A Rapper is Not an MC

Hip Hop purists define a "rapper" as someone who can merely recite and deliver raps on stage, and an "mc" as someone who can do what a rapper does, and also build a repoire with a crowd, as in "move the crowd"--a real master of ceremonies in a Hip Hop context. An MC is considered to be above mere technique: s/he is also funny and spontaneous; there's a little bit of a comedian in every MC. A rapper is considered to be more of a lyrical technician who may have the ability to improvise within the context of a song, but not necessarily be able to do that in a conversational manner with an audience. In short, a rapper performs for an audience or for himself; an MC can do this and also be a first rate entertainer.

"So what?" you say?

I used to agree with you. That was the first thing I said when two of the members of the Zulu nation pulled me aside and chastised me for calling myself a rapper instead of an MC. "What, you want to just be a RAPPER? You should want MORE than that? Man, too many of these guys these days just rap; they don't know NOTHING about MCing! Man, you have GOT to be able to throw down LIVE, like my man KRS ONE. Have you ever seen HIM? Now THAT's an MC!"

Me: the Rapper who was already an MC

I used to primarily rap, and not care about my stage presence. I was all about lyrical dexterity, content, and the ability to freestyle (freestyling is verbal, rhyming, coherent improvisation). But, after I became a frontman for the group (me rapping with a ban) when the singer quit, I had to give myself a crash course in MCing. I rented videos of comedians like Rudy Ray More (Dolemite), Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and others. I watched other rappers who were good at MCing and picked up their tips. I studied people I knew who were natural comedians (discreetly, mind you) in order to see what made them natural entertainers (basically an easy going attitude and a good sense of humor). I even studied singers and poets who had good stage presence and learned from them. It took a lot of work, but I eventually came up with a stage personality that was an extension of my real one. It really did not take long; I went from annoucing the names of songs, to announcing the names of songs, introducing the band, cracking sarcastic jokes, and once talking to the audience for five or more minutes whenever there was a technical difficulty or a delay. Let me tell you there is nothing like staring into the face of a bunch of people and trying to take their minds off the fact that the group they paid $20 to see is LATE or is only going to do one song.

But, I learned to MC. I learned to be an entertainer as well as an artist. So, I took it for granted that those groups I saw on video, who were already signed, could do the same thing, but only better. Man, oh man, how WRONG I was.

The Conversion Realized

I saw KRS ONE perform live. It was like a spirit was on the stage. I vowed that I would not be satisfied with my hip hop ability until I could move the crowd like he does. He became the ideal by which I judge performers. Not that I expect people to be as good as he does, but I do see him as someone who has mastered the art of live rap performance.

Note: I will refer to the following artist I am going to rag on extensively as Drab Rapper, in the interest of not "playa haytin" or appearing "jealous". I also don't want Drab Rapper to hate me should I ever decide to get back in the business. Hey, I want Drab to give me a record deal!

I was at a concert when Drab Rapper openned up the mic. Someone who recognized me yelled "Yo, put this guy on! Put him on!" I tried to hide, but Drab, feeling overconfident, let me on stage. Drab explained to me that I was going to come in on the next song when he pointed to me. So the next song comes, and I totally rock the house, rap in the moment, get the crowd going, and as a result, never here from Drab again.

Note: The next artist will be referred to as Drab #2.

Recently, now that I am just a fan who will rap again merely for fun and not starstruck dreams, I had the privilege of seeing a long loved artist perform live on television. Drab #2 is someone I've been jocking for years. Well, it was time for Drab #2 to perform. I got excited. I sat there. And I sat there. And I sat there. And I yawned.

I turned to wife and said "Lord, I've seen people rap better than that at workshops. Unsigned artists at ciphers can do better than that!" "Well," she said, "perhaps Drab #2 is just young. I'm not a rap fan or anything, but I see what you mean. Drab #2's performance was a bit AVERAGE." But what was the difference? I'll tell you: little eye contact, no intimacy built with the crowd, mere reciting of lyrics, and very little enthusiasm.

Who cares? Why should they?

"But what difference does it make anyway?" my wife asked, "Most people can't sing these days anyway, all it is is studio. Drab #2 is cute, has some good words, good image and a video. What else do you need nowadays?"

In a way, she's right! All people care about these days is image, image, image. You can make a dog barking funky, cool, hip, and have people lined up outside your pet's doghouse if the song were produced by Puffy, or Dr. Dre. By the time you see the person live, the brainwashed audience will make excuses for them. Or, the corporations will bring in their own warm up acts that actually suck worse than the headliner so that some unknown group like the one I was in won't upstage them. In fact, according to one club owner I've talked to, if an unknown/unsigned act is TOO good, they will NOT get called up very often when the big acts are in town because the labels don't want to make the big acts look bad. This one reason why it is so hard for someone to get in to the entertainment industry WITHOUT an inside connection. Another reason is that marketers don't like to take a chance on anything different; if afros are in, then every rapper and singer must have an afro; if bald heads are leading, then they only sign bald rappers, and so on.

I'll tell you, I CARE. And, I'm only going to pay my $20 plus dollars to see people who can really MC! If not, all they get from me is a cassette or cd purchase.