#Emcee definition how to

A rapper refers to a performer who ‘raps’. The English verb rap has various meanings, such as “to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow,” as well “to utter sharply or vigorously: to rap out a command.” It is this second definition, which the musical form of rapping is based on and this definition may be from a shortening of repartee. The word (meaning originally “to hit”) as used to describe quick speech predates the musical form. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Rapping is often associated with and a primary ingredient of hip-hop music, but the origins of the phenomenon can be said to predate hip-hop culture by centuries.

#Emcee definition how to

The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content,” “flow” (rhythm and rhyme), and “delivery.” Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat. Rapping: Refers to “spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics.” MC has also recently been accepted to refer to all who engineer music.” These MCs eventually created a new style of music called hip-hop based on the rhyming they used to do in Jamaica and the breakbeats used in records. The term MC continued to be used by the children of women who moved to New York City to work as maids in the 1970s. He would also make announcements such as the schedule of other events or advertisements from local sponsors. At each event, there would be a master of ceremonies who would introduce the different musical acts and would say a toast in style of a rhyme, directed at the audience and to the performers.

“The use of the term MC when referring to a rhyming wordsmith originates from the dance halls of Jamaica. The hip-hop group, A Tribe Called Quest, included this statement in the liner notes to their 1993 album Midnight Marauders: James Brown had the lyrics, moves, and soul that greatly influenced a lot of rappers in hip-hop and arguably even started the first MC rhyme.Īs with some rappers, there was distinction, such as for MC Hammer who acquired the nickname “MC” for being a “Master of Ceremonies”, which he used when he began performing at various clubs. comes from, means just keeping the party alive.” Many people in hip-hop including DJ Premier and KRS-One feel that James Brown was the first MC. As Kool G Rap notes, “masters of ceremony, where the word M.C. MC can often be used as a term of distinction, referring to an artist with good performance skills. Some use this word interchangeably with the term rapper or emcee, while for others the term denotes a conception and demonstration of the role indicative of skill and of connection to the wider culture. As hip-hop progressed, the title MC acquired backronyms such as ‘mike chanter’, ‘microphone controller,’ ‘microphone checker,’ ‘music commentator,’ and one who ‘moves the crowd’. In hip-hop music, an MC, or rapper, is a music artist and/or performers who usually creates and performs vocals for his/her own original material.Īn MC uses rhyming verses, pre-written or ad lib (“freestyled”), to introduce the DJ with whom they work, to keep the crowd entertained or to glorify themselves.

An MC usually presents performers, speaks to the audience, entertains people, and generally keeps the event moving.

A Master of Ceremonies is the official host of a staged event or similar performance.