MC means "Move the Crowd"

MCs started out as simple hosts of the show. They are the personality and the master of the show. The main objective of an MC was to draw attention to the DJ while keeping the crowd excited. Rapping, also referred to as "MCing", is the vocal style where a performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat. Many experts on hip-hop might say that MCing is used to describe artists who possess and exercise superior lyrical ability and prowess. An MC can do a variety of different things within a show to display showmanship. They might speak to the crowd between songs, get the crowd to dance, greet audience members, tell jokes and use anecdotes. Once the practice became more stylized, it came to be known as rapping.





Some of the most influential MCs and rappers to ever touch a microphone would include the following: Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, KRS One, Slick Rick, Run DMC, NWA, Notorious BIG, Tupac, Common, LL Cool J, and many others. They were all lyricists and all respectively changed Hip-hop in so many different ways. They are considered to be legends of the rap industry who set records in record sales and put on unforgettable performances.

Lyricism makes up for part of the creative, poetic forms of hip-hop music. Lyrics help to distinguish one MC between the other. They also have a meaning to them. Each artist brings a different delivery when they are reciting lyrics. An artist's reputation can be based on the type of lyrics that they use in their music as well. MCs are capable of motivating a generation of people to do many different things by educating them about various political topics such as voting, AIDs awareness, poverty, violence, and equality. They have the power to not only entertain people but to inspire people. A true MC realizes that hip-hop is more than just the music.








Within more recent years rapping has become a more prejorative term used to describe those who use less lyrical content or ability in their music and characterizes more of the mainstream artists of today. The true MC is considered to be a dying breed. There are only a few of them left in hip-hop music today. Mainstream values have changed the purpose of an MC to selling records and displaying an image of who they are that conforms with their real identity as a person. Very few of them lack the ability to put on an exceptional performance or develop creative lyrics for innovative songs. Versatility in the music industry helps an artist to evolve and to have a long successful career.



Todays typical rappers differ from those of the earlier days of hip-hop but are still artists in their own way. Hip-hop is not meant to be complacent or to stay the same over time. Change and evolution are some of the biggest goals of hip-hop. Each artist is meant to be different and to have their own unique style. Any true MC understands their purpose in hip-hop and will only express themselves specifically for the love of hip-hop.

What is Hip Hop without the DJ?

The DJ will forever have a place in hip-hop as the pioneer of the music genre. Without the DJ, there would be no hip-hop music today. There would be no rappers, and there would be no breakdancers. They were the source of the music that is characterized by beats and portions of other songs. By using funk and rock songs, DJs could sample particular parts of a song creating loops. These loops could be taken and mixed with synthesizers and drum machines to make specific beats that had their own unique sound and style. A new type of music that has never been heard before. The main instrument capable of allowing a DJ to do this was the turntable. Turntables could play multiple tracks at one time and mix pieces from one song and create new ones out of them. Thus, the turntablism movement started.

Turntablism brought about a new technique that made the DJ more popular than ever which was "Scratching". What came about as an accident when playing records came to be a useful and innovative technique giving the DJ the ability to create what is now known as a break beat. Some of the most influential DJs to ever use this technique include; DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Disco Wiz.



In the beginning Hip-hop music had no attention from the record industry and was mainly heard in the streets. Hip-hop music was popular in the streets to a point where DJs sold and distributed mixtapes to help build more publicity. Live performances were recorded and dubbed on to cassette tapes. They were eventually copied by fans and passed along from friends to friend. The mixtapes helped to create a buzz and promote new up-and-coming acts by displaying their talents. In the end, Hip-hop music was able to prosper as a whole due to the wide circulation of various music from many different artists in the New York area.
Once Hip-hop became a mainstream music genre the attention shifted from the DJ to the MC; but the role of the DJ never changed. Most of the popular groups around when Hip-hop first blew up had a DJ that played and produced all of their records. Live instruments were rare at a performance during this time. All that was needed was a set of turntables and a few microphones to make a live performance. The DJ is the one man band of Hip-hop.

Today, DJs still spin records and scratch to make shows and live performances hot; they also still promote what is considered the underground movement through mixtapes. The DJ has evolved into many different types due to a variety of factors. Clubs and radios now thrive off of them because of the skills they possess in order to deliver mixes of different songs in rotations. New technology and innovative equipment gives a DJ the capability to work from a device as simple as an ipod. Computers also play a new role in the ability of a DJ. Being portable, stronger, and still effective are attributes of the new developments in equipment that DJs use now to take their shows to the next level.

Hip Hop as a Whole Culture

Just as any other type of culture associated with music and dance, Hip-Hop has claimed its rightful place in American culture. What started as a form of expression for urban youth under different means of oppression has now become a worldwide, influential, trendsetting way of life. Hip-Hop was born in the streets of South Bronx, New York. Hip-Hop music started with a sound derived from the remnants of funk music being spliced together and played for long periods of time.

The powerful economic effects that Hip-Hop has left behind are; marketing, advertising, and commercial attitudes that have changed the way that the average consumer shops. Hip-Hop has always been involved in most of the political movements of youth in America since the 70's. The term that is used for this is called "Hip-Hop Activism". Movie director, Spike Lee, used Hip-hop Activism in his movie "Do The Right Thing", by displaying African Americans in the inner city neighborhoods protesting for change in their environment. The soundtrack for the movie was the famous song "Fight The Power" by Public Enemy.


Hip-Hop culture uses expression by the means of four specific elements.(Turntablism, Dance, Rap, and Graffiti) These elements were created in the early days of the culture and have continued to live on in youth in America. They are a part of mainstream America as well, due to what we now watch on television.

Turntablism started with the DJ, or Disc Jockey, who was considered to be the star of the show during a party. An MC (Master of Ceremonies) was supposed to be the hypeman who directed the attention and energy of the show to the DJ. Over time, the MC began to get the most attention from the show by telling stories, complimenting themselves, or lyrically showing off. Therefore, the end result was the birth of rap. The MC became what was known as a rapper. During the shows people would jump around, waving their hands like they were at a rock concert.

In the streets and sometimes in clubs with large dance floors young kids assembled to show off their dancing skills by doing a variety of acrobatic and rhythmic moves which make up all of the styles of hip hop dancing. Usually, they would take old cardboard boxes, cut them up, and spread them out like a pallet. Then they would spread them out and form a floor using tape to strap it down. They would carry a large cassette player also known as the boombox or beatbox. A breakdancer, also known as a B-Boy, would have a crew of other dancers that would battle other crews or put on their own shows to build respect and publicity in the streets. They sometimes were just as popular as the MC or DJ. They knew how to rock a show the same way but used amazing acrobatics and moves to pull it off.

In those same streets, along the sides of buildings, and even subway trains, a new type of art was formed. Beautiful colors and symbols expressed the feelings of those who were oppressed and in poverty. To this day, almost every major city or hip hop capital in America will have some display of Graffiti on its streets. Graffiti, just as any other form of hip-hop, has found its way to other countries all over the world.

Ultimately, the hip-hop culture has survived and continued to evolve throughout the new millenium. What some criticize as a fad or trend has outlived expectations and set precedents as to how Americans live. Hip-hop is a way of life. It will never die. It will only grow and prosper through change. That is what America continues to do. It has its positives and negatives. Through time all of the necessary changes will come about.