Entry · catalog no. 8305
MC
/ /ˌɛmˈsiː/ /em-SEE
noun · New York City · 1970s
✓ Verified
1.
In hip hop, the performer who raps and rocks the crowd. The word began as a party host's job, introducing the DJ and telling the crowd what was happening, and became the name for the rapper. Also spelled emcee.
“The DJ kept the break going while the MC called out the block.”
Origin & Attribution
Short for master of ceremonies, a term from older stage and event hosting. In the late 1970s MC, emcee or M.C. came to mean the rapper and their role in hip hop culture: early MCs introduced the DJs to the crowd and explained what was taking place at parties in clubs and public spaces. Online Etymology Dictionary (Douglas Harper) covers the older word; histories of the role include Paul Edwards, How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC (2009), and Gradmaster Caz's account of the emcee as master of ceremonies turned mic controller. The ceremonial word is old; the hip hop sense was made in Black and Puerto Rican Bronx parties.
1979
Term used for rappers and their role in hip hop
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
New York City · 1970s
Spoken by
Hip hop artists and audiences worldwide
$MCThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Steady0 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
50/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1979
in the culture
Mainstream crossover
1979
search interest spikes
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
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Atlanta, GA
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Memphis, TN
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Citations & Sources
■
Paul Edwards, How to Rap: The Art and Science of the Hip-Hop MC (Chicago Review Press, 2009)
2009
■
+ Cite a sourceDouglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, entry emcee
n.d.
See also