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seeing as i live in the states and i have yet to see a show with a really good MC on the bill, i'm wondering how crucial you all feel it is to have someone there to get the crowd hyped and going? over here i've asked a couple different people why, with how many rappers we have around here, i've yet to see someone really work the mic well. the response i usually get is that MCs are annoying and ruin the music because they're too distracting. i don't feel like that's fair, really, because MCs and soundsystems go hand-in-hand in my mind. i try to think of what (for example) hatcha's show would be like without crazy d hosting it, and i honestly feel like it would lack a big part of the charm it has right now. so what do you guys think? how important is the MC to creating a good atmosphere?

It depends how good the MC is really.

if he or she, can actually put some decent rhymes together, and knows when to shut up at the right time. it works really well, and gets the crowd on a hype.

in my opinion obviously.

depends if Freddy Fapp is pon the mic



in which case.. absolutely essential to your live dubstep event

one of my best childhood friends just started MCing for me about three or four months ago. he picked it up really quick, saw juakali and azlan and he's got it down now. that's exactly what I told him when he asked for tips in the beginning: "know when to shut up."

I've been looking for a good MC FOREVER.

an MC is not necessary at all imo.

a HOST is preferable if there's going to be anyone on the mic.

"know when to shut up."

ahh the best advice you can give any MC.

The last show I was at there were two MC's switching off, ruined it for me. They finally shut up later that night, and that's when the best DJ's were on. I wonder if they requested that the MC went away.. haha

i hear ya.. knowing when to shut up really is essential, and the best MCs are the kind who only open their mouth when they have something important to contribute to the vibe.

also, one MC i've heard tons about but never had a chance to hear myself is Sgt. Pokes. anyone got a link to some of his stuff?

Read my sig.

I find most of these Grime MC's that are now coming into Dubstep are doing the best job out there.. they at least spit intelligent rhymes, and when they're not, they keep it closed. That's what any MC should be doing... not just repetitively spouting shit that noone understands cos you don't know what else to do.. Even as an MC, I hate it when MC's just hype THEMSELVES up and ruin the vibes, and the mixes.

Sorry to say.. but I love Youngsta's show on Rinse..and can't stand the MCs. Having MCs spitting all over deep Dubstep?? No point at all. You can't be like "Big up, Big up.. out to blah blah blah" all over a deep, atmospheric tune. There's hardly even any beat there, so what the fark are you MC'ing to anyways??? That's just killed the whole point of the tune right there.

Know what to say, and when to say it. Or don't bother. Personally, I always wished that there were Drum n' Bass nights with no MC's just to see what it would be like.... But that's something that sadly will never happen.

Personal favourites? Nomad & Flowdan. Very few, if any others.

And funny enough - knowing when to STFU isn't just restricted to MC's... it applies to all communication.

I've piped up enough on this topic before in other threads but suffice to say I can count on one, maybe two hands the number of bass music MC's I've heard in my entire life that didn't immediately annoy the shit outta me. It's almost always the Hip-Hop ego - "I'm so bad/I make so much bank/I fuck so many bitches/and smoke so much dank" and namechecking their fuckin' consumer goods. Some claim to be 'revolutionaries' and yet they don't tell you how to subvert the government, give you useful facts, tell you how to organize, anything remotely helpful to the 'hood they all claim to be from; they just tell you how big their dick is, "how they roll," who their crew is (duh) - all useless shit.

Even worse is caning the same goddamn rhyme more than twice in the same set, let alone the 8 or 9 or more times in 20 minutes that I've seen so many MC's do... gawd.

"BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA
I PLAY LIKE STREET FIGHTA
LADIES LIKE MY MIGHT-A
CARROTS IMPROVE MY SIGHT-A...

[pause, confused expression for a second]

Um...

BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA... "

An event NEEDS an MC like a fish needs a bicycle*.

</rant>


* (the previous rant does not apply to the tiny handful of thoughtful poets that actually pull it off with style, restraint, and originality.)

^ hahahaha

I fucking lol'd so hard

i've only been to one event with an mc (dubwar with juakali) and it did add a different dimension to the show.

that's prbably just due to the fact that he was an awesome mc, though.

im still undecided on MC's, cos sometimes i listen to old dnb sets with like 4-5 MC's all smashin it, rollin off each other, you know what they're gona say, it sounds so hype and yeh it does the job

oher times, i jus dont wana know, normally when its a small time mc tryin to emulate the big boys, which tbh aint hard, most people could do it given practice, but they aint the real deal so its a case of stfu

dubstep is different tho, you need a host, someone who knows the tunes, who shouts out the crowd, who hypes at the right times, who can spit some type of rhyme at least but tbh that aint even necessary, theres so much empty space in dubstep (when its not tearout) that it kinda sounds ridiculous to spit continuous lyrics to it, imagine Conrad & DRS to dubstep, they're some of the best mc's in dnb but they'd sound stupid doing that to dubstep i think, though what they chat about over Bukem is the ideal kind of subject matter for dubstep

for tearout dubstep i still rate the grime mc's can do it best tho

I think that especially with dubstep, having at the very least a host is CRUCIAL


I've been to too many events with no MC whatsoever , and the vibe is always kind of disjointed, people don't know who's playing or what's going on , so people can lose interest really easily if there's a less than perfect transition, or even a minimal tune with a lot of space. I've even seen nights where there was an MC present, but they didn't do a good enough job of letting the crowd know what was up and basically the same thing happened. people lose interest, if theres a sloppy mix everyone hears it and there's no way to smooth it over. If there's a sound issue or whatever you just get dead air. It's just not a good look.

I think MCs are very important, the problem is as has already been said, there's too may mcs who just want to flex their talent and dont know about the flow of the music or how to connect with the crowd.


A good MC should always big up the DJ, big up the crowd, tell them what the party is, who the dj is , ideally they should big up the tune and the producer if they are knowledged in the music.

you dunno MC'ing til u've heard Nomad

mc jukhali from dubwar......and rod azlan i think are the best MC's


i hate rapping over dubstep, maybe some bars over some deep stuff, but spitting over hype shit is dumb,

MC's should only open their mouths when a buldup is coming, when a drop comes, when the pace of a set changes, and at the beginning and ending of sets, and also if a REWIND is in order

anything else is just pure image seeking.

alphacat wrote:And funny enough - knowing when to STFU isn't just restricted to MC's... it applies to all communication.

I've piped up enough on this topic before in other threads but suffice to say I can count on one, maybe two hands the number of bass music MC's I've heard in my entire life that didn't immediately annoy the shit outta me. It's almost always the Hip-Hop ego - "I'm so bad/I make so much bank/I fuck so many bitches/and smoke so much dank" and namechecking their fuckin' consumer goods. Some claim to be 'revolutionaries' and yet they don't tell you how to subvert the government, give you useful facts, tell you how to organize, anything remotely helpful to the 'hood they all claim to be from; they just tell you how big their dick is, "how they roll," who their crew is (duh) - all useless shit.

Even worse is caning the same goddamn rhyme more than twice in the same set, let alone the 8 or 9 or more times in 20 minutes that I've seen so many MC's do... gawd.

"BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA
I PLAY LIKE STREET FIGHTA
LADIES LIKE MY MIGHT-A
CARROTS IMPROVE MY SIGHT-A...

[pause, confused expression for a second]

Um...

BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA... "

An event NEEDS an MC like a fish needs a bicycle*.

</rant>


* (the previous rant does not apply to the tiny handful of thoughtful poets that actually pull it off with style, restraint, and originality.)

THIS is it exactly. I have heard some good MC's, but most just repeat the same crap over and over and act like thugs on stage.

alphacat wrote:
"BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA
I PLAY LIKE STREET FIGHTA
LADIES LIKE MY MIGHT-A
CARROTS IMPROVE MY SIGHT-A...

[pause, confused expression for a second]

Um...

BIDDABIDDABIDDA LIGHTA... "

An event NEEDS an MC like a fish needs a bicycle*.

</rant>

LMAO

i duno, the more i think about it, i think MC'ing is essential, you just need the right MC, cos then when you have an MC who fits the style/dj perfectly, that same artist without the MC isn't quite the same

yea, im def on the side of the MC

and i still rate Grime MC's can smash a dubstep set, if im in the mood for it

def, mcs all the way, it doesn't feel write without someone guiding you through the mix, i guess thats what seperates good mcs from shit ones.
mcs on youngsta? definitly, toast is on it!