The original roots of emceeing can be easily traced back to Africa. The way information was passed between elder tribesmen was by a person who was charged with keeping historical records of the villages in his memory. The history would be shared to others as songs. This vocal sharing of history eventually became known as the African Oral Tradition. Hip-Hop music is similar to African Oral Tradition as news, stories, or opinions from a rapper's city or neighborhood are often carried through his music.
One point that most people don't know about Hip-Hop is that there are actually many different layers to emceeing. While any rapper can basically just come up with written rhymes over a beat, to truly be an emcee the artist's skills must be much more comprehensive. Below are few elements a true emcee must master:
Audience Involvement:
Real Rap was never created for the fans just to watch and listen to. The crowd must be involved in order for the fans to really enjoy the show. One of the most common ways to transcend the barrier between performer and audience is the use of call and response. The emcee will provide a line or phrase that demands a certain response from the audience. Some call and response sessions can be very simple. One of the common ones is the "just throw your hands in the air/ and wave them like you just don't care/ if y'all came to rock this house tonight, somebody say 'Oh yeah'/ ["Oh yeah!]." Rap legend Rakim said, "to me MC means Move the Crowd."
Improvisation:
It is important to be able to improvise performances. A true emcee must be able to create unrehearsed lyrics on demand and have them still make sense.
Battle:
The concept of the emcee battle has become corrupt over the years. Battling used to simply be a non-violent way of determining which MC was the best. Over the years it became a method of handling disputes in public. Fortunately, Hip-Hop heads have kept the true spirit of battling alive through different underground emcee competitions.
Emceeing is easily the most recognizable element of Hip-Hop culture today. Emceeing is making its way into commercials, TV, movies, and other media.
