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9 Criteria to Proving the Realness of an MC

© Steve Scarbriel

Give it up for special guest columnist J-toth!

1. BACKGROUND--where one is from is important, because like most people, MCs are proud of their home. (why not be?) it is also useful due to rappers who are fraudulent about their upbringing. (example: vanilla ice. boo.)

2. BIAS--by figuring out an MCs beliefs, background, ethics, etc., it makes it easier to believe or disbelieve what you are listening to. rappers are rarely objective since rap is about relativity, but one can figure out quickly if the message is worth listening to by divulging a bias. (example: east coast vs. west coast.)

3. SOURCES--the information in the message can be evaluated on where it came from: MCs wage words from life (experience,) the mind (intelligence, imagination, ideas, etc.,) aggression (battle,) or sometimes (unfortunately) others: NO BITERS ALLOWED. (example: the invasion of gangsta rap following NWA and the G-Funk era. boo.)

4. STYLE--literally the dopeness of an MC's overall performance judged by qualities like originality, lyricism, voice, breath control, crowd involvement, innovation, improvisation, etc., but most importantly: do YOU feel it? can YOU relate? are YOU interested in hearing more? (example: Q-tip from a tribe called quest has the voice, the rhythm changes in his verse, a wide scope of topics, and he can move a crowd.)

5. SCOPE--this is simply the who/what/when/where/why and sometimes how of an MCs content. whether a rapper speaks metaphorically (how far tangents extend,) or from experiences (how grand a scale is the story,) either a large or small scope emerges. (example: the notorious B.I.G.'s "juicy" is about his life as a poor child in brooklyn to a ridiculously rich rapper, with specific and graphic details about clothes, food, friends, hobbies, holidays, etc. and a comparison of the two lifestyles.)

6. KIND OF MC--one historian breaks rappers down into five categories: lover/player, gangster, teacher/preacher, fun lover, and poet.(examples: big daddy kane, eazy-e, chuck-d, biz markie, and rakim.)

7. POINT OF VIEW--this is an MCs thesis. what is the message, or is the verse filled with unnecessary rhetoric? (run dmc's "you be illin'" is about how to determine when you have lost your mind. rob base/ez rock's "it takes two" is about rob base?)

8. PURPOSE--this is usually most difficult to figure out without asking the MC exactly why he/she is an MC. Reasons are usually limited to money (teontological) or the love of rap (deontological.) (example: MC shan stopped making money...and stopped rapping. kool keith never made any money, and he's still rapping. both began around 1984 and you can guess who's got crazy respect and who doesn't.)

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