Master of Ceremonies
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- "MC" redirects here. For , see .
The term originates from the Roman Catholic Church. At a large Catholic church or cathedral, the Master of Ceremonies organizes and rehearses the proceedings and ritual of each mass. He may also have responsibility for the physical security of the place of worship during the liturgy. At major festivals such as Christmas and Easter, when the liturgies are long and complex, the Master of Ceremonies plays a vital role in ensuring that everything runs smoothly.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the term MC became associated with hip hop music, and is the traditional title for a person who today is commonly called a rapper. Traditionally, an MC uses rhyming verses, whether pre-written or freestyled, to introduce and praise the DJ he works with, and hype up the crowd. Within hip-hop, "MC" is also a backronym for "Microphone Controller", "Mic Checka", or "Music Commentator".
Uncertainty over the acronym's expansion may be considered evidence for the ubiquity of the acronym: the full "Master of Ceremonies" is very rarely used in the rap scene. This confusion prompted the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest to include this statement on their 1993 Midnight Marauders album (1993):
- :The title 'MC' means 'Master of Ceremonies'. Some people who MC don't know what this term means.
The use of the term MC when referring to a rapper originates from the dance halls of Jamaica. At each event, there would be an announcer or 'Master of Ceremonies' who would introduce the different musical acts and would say a toast in style of a rap, directed at the audience and to the performers. He would also make announcements such as the schedule of other events or advertisements from local sponsors. The term MC continued to be used by the children of women who moved to New York to work as maids in the 1970s. These MCs eventually created a new style of music called hip-hop based on the rapping they used to do in Jamaica. MC is also recently been accepted to refer to all who engineer music.
A "wack" MC is a rapper who lacks talent, integrity, or is in some other way disrespectable as an MC. To be labeled a wack MC is considered very insulting. Wack is a common hip hop slang expression meaning inauthentic or "lame."
The expression is often used by people in the underground hip hop community to attack rappers who they see as harming the scene through the over-commercialization and exploitation of hip hop cuture. Rapper Mr. Lif explains his feelings about wack MCs to a concert audience:
- :You know what, there's an issue I need to address here tonight, people. I want to talk about the motherf#*$ing wack MCs. You might have heard some of these cats. They tend to be real full of themselves. They step up and they don't care what you're digesting. They don't care what you hear in your ear. And they just talk nonsense so they can get the fat checks. So they don't think they need to treat anyone with respect. Yet, they inject no actual intellect. Are you familiar with these MCs?![[Citing sources citation needed]]
External links
- [Hiphop Emcees] - An emcee resource website.
- [LetsBeef.com] - A site where emcees can freestyle battle each other.
Some famous MCs from london at the moment are Lady Sovereign, the Fatal Assassins, Grimey Cadets or Grimey Kidz these have members such as Tiny Blacka or Little D
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