Drum ‘n’ bass MCs today are as well known and respected as the DJs. They form an integral part of the culture and are often essential for igniting the atmosphere inside a club. An MC, or ‘master of ceremonies,’ is the host of an event. The purpose of the MC is to present the DJ and music to the crowd whilst keeping the excitement levels high inside the club. The MC can either ‘hype’ the crowd to get them interested, or flow lyrically over the beats, in a similar manner to a hip hop MC, with his or her own words and rhymes. Whilst MCing is all about talking, the best MCs are those that know when to shut up. Nothing can destroy the vibe in a rave more than a bad MC who has nothing of interest to say.

Master of ceremonies is a term originating from the Roman Catholic Church but later adopted by the hip hop movement. The four key elements of hip hop came to be graffiti, break dancing, DJing and MCing. An MC (in hip hop) is someone who raps, and as in drum ‘n’ bass, MCs traditionally work closely with the DJs to put on a show.

The history of the MC as a rapper is embedded in Jamaican reggae dancehall music, where the MC would hold down the show, introducing the acts on stage, speaking to the crowd and announcing information for party goers.

In the 1970s, the MC made the transition from Jamaica to New York City as women moved to the Big Apple to work as maids with their children bringing with them their own forms of entertainment. The tradition of the MC was introduced to that of the scratch DJ, who incidentally came about because of a lack of money to buy musical instruments by performers. Thus, a partnership was set up that would define an era. Hip hop music was born.

As jungle first emerged as a genre, reggae dancehall continued to be a key influence. DJs adopted aspects of dancehall such as rewinding the most popular tracks to play them again, and cutting their own dub plates (single acetate records). From reggae came the MC, which jungle also chose to adopt to work with the crowd. From this adoption, MCs became perpetually more popular.

Originally, little attention was paid to the lyrical content of what the MC was saying. The MC’s only purpose was to hype the crowd, call for rewinds and introduce the DJs. Very few MCs, except the likes of MC GQ, were, at this stage, rhyming over the beats. Stevie Hyper D was the man that changed the face of jungle and drum ‘n’ bass MCing. Originating from a ragga dancehall background in South London, he soon got together with old skool DJ Nicky Blackmarket and began leaving crowds in awe with his unique, fast paced MC style. Stevie Hyper D is the man who inspired a generation of MCs to do what he was doing, and so MCs evolved to become what they are today, often headlining drum ‘n’ bass events along with the DJs.

For some good examples of drum ‘n’ bass MCs, check out the likes of MC Skibadee, long time Marky collaborator MC Stamina, LTJ Bukem’s partner in rhyme MC Conrad and Reprazent main man Dynamite.