Editing Rapping (section)

===Emcees===
In the late 1970s, the term emcee, MC or M.C., derived from "[[master of ceremonies]]",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daveyd.com/historyemceegmcaz.html|title=The Emcee [MC] Master of Ceremonies to Mic Controller by Grandmaster Caz|access-date=June 30, 2015|archive-date=October 8, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031008184830/http://www.daveyd.com/historyemceegmcaz.html|url-status=live}}</ref> became an alternative title for a rapper, and for their role within hip-hop music and culture. An MC uses rhyming verses, pre-written or ad lib ('[[Freestyle rap|freestyled]]'), to introduce the DJ with whom they work, to keep the crowd entertained or to glorify themselves. As hip hop progressed, the title MC acquired [[backronym]]s such as 'mike chanter'<ref>Hebdige, Dick, 1987, ''Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music'', p. 105.</ref> 'microphone controller', 'microphone checker', 'music commentator', and one who 'moves the crowd'. Some use this word interchangeably with the term ''rapper'', while for others the term denotes a superior level of skill and connection to the wider culture.

MC can often be used as a term of distinction; referring to an artist with good performance skills.<ref name="autogeneratedxii">Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. xii.</ref> As [[Kool G Rap]] notes, "masters of ceremony, where the word 'M.C.' comes from, means just keeping the party alive" ''[[sic|[sic]]]''.<ref>Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''[[How to Rap]]: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. vii.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://rapradar.com/2009/12/03/how-to-rap-kool-g-rap-foreword/ |title=How To Rap: Kool G Rap (Foreword) |publisher=Rap Radar |date=December 3, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2010 |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227074709/http://rapradar.com/2009/12/03/how-to-rap-kool-g-rap-foreword/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Many people in hip hop including DJ Premier and KRS-One feel that James Brown was the first MC. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/MC-Why-We-Do/dp/B0006N2EKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328642635&sr=8-1/ |title=The MC – Why We Do It: 50 Cent, Common, Ghostface Killah, Talib Kweli, Method Man, Mekhi Phifer, Raekwon, Rakim, Twista, Kanye West, Peter Spirer: Movies & TV |website=Amazon |access-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307171533/https://www.amazon.com/MC-Why-We-Do/dp/B0006N2EKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328642635&sr=8-1/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=J. Rizzle |url=http://kevinnottingham.com/2009/08/12/dj-premier-salutes-james-brown-the-foundation-of-hip-hop// |title=DJ Premier Salutes James Brown [The Foundation of Hip Hop&#93; &#124; The Underground Hip Hop Authority &#124; Hip Hop Music, Videos & Reviews |publisher=KevinNottingham.com |date=August 12, 2009 |access-date=July 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203234205/http://kevinnottingham.com/2009/08/12/dj-premier-salutes-james-brown-the-foundation-of-hip-hop/ |archive-date=December 3, 2011 }}</ref>

For some rappers, there was a distinction to the term, 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 while on the road with the [[Oakland Athletics|Oakland As]] and eventually in the military ([[United States Navy]]).<ref>{{cite news| url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177118/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708013509/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v46/ai_9177118/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=July 8, 2012 | work=Ebony | title='It's Hammer time!' M.C. Hammer: upbeat performer with high-voltage stage show broadens rap's appeal | year=1990}}</ref> It was within the lyrics of a rap song called "[[MC Hammer#Music and entertainment career|This Wall]]" that Hammer first identified himself as M.C. Hammer and later marketed it on his debut album ''[[Feel My Power]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Love-Education-Jon-Gibson/dp/B000008P2A |title=Love Education: Jon Gibson: Music |website=Amazon |year=1997 |access-date=June 20, 2012 |archive-date=July 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709040752/http://www.amazon.com/Love-Education-Jon-Gibson/dp/B000008P2A |url-status=live }}</ref> The term MC has also been used in the genre of [[grime music]] to refer to a rapid style of rapping. Grime artist [[Jme (musician)|JME]] released an album titled ''Grime MC'' in 2019 which peaked at 29 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/11/14/jme-grime-mc-tease/|title=JME teases new album, ''Grime MC'', with YouTube video|publisher=FACT Magazine|date=November 14, 2019|access-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115001841/https://www.factmag.com/2019/11/14/jme-grime-mc-tease/|archive-date=November 15, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Uncertainty over the [[Acronym and initialism|acronym]]'s expansion may be considered evidence for its ubiquity: the full term "Master of Ceremonies" is very rarely used in the hip-hop scene. This confusion prompted the hip-hop group [[A Tribe Called Quest]] to include this statement in the liner notes to their 1993 album ''[[Midnight Marauders]]:
<blockquote>
The use of the term MC when referring to a rhyming wordsmith originates from the dance halls of Jamaica. 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. 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 City to work as maids in the 1970s. 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. MC has also recently been accepted to refer to all who engineer music.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hiphoparea.com/rap/mcing.html|title=Rap: MCing|website=Hiphoparea.com|access-date=February 25, 2021|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210171306/http://www.hiphoparea.com/rap/mcing.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
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