Hype man Flavor Flav (left) exciting the crowd while lead rapper Chuck D performs.

A hype man, typically in hip hop music, is a backing vocalist who supports the primary performer with exclamations, interjections, or ad-libs in an attempt to increase an audience's excitement or engagement.

Origins

Early hype men included MC Cowboy and Kidd Creole of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.[1][2] Kool Moe Dee calls Creole "the original hype man".[3]

Flavor Flav performing at a concert in 1991

Public Enemy's hype man Flavor Flav, who established many of the conventions of the craft, such as an outlandish style (for example, by wearing large clocks around his neck) and a vocal style that contrasted dramatically with that of the MC (his rasping high voice was a counterpoint to Chuck D's booming baritone).

Techniques

House of Pain's hype man Danny Boy O'Connor doing the call-and-response technique.

Often the hype man will use call-and-response chants, in order to excite the crowd. For example, they will exhort the crowd to "Throw your hands in the air" and "Everybody say ho!", phrases coined by MC Cowboy.[1]

The hype man's interjections are also planned to give the MC an opportunity to breathe, and give the illusion of an unbroken flow.[4][5][6][7][8] Music writer Mickey Hess expands the term as follows: "a hype man is a figure who plays a central but supporting role within a group, making his own interventions, generally aimed at hyping up the crowd while also drawing attention to the words of the MC".[2]

Rapper Royce da 5'9" describes how a hype man can contribute to a live performance: "a lot of my verses [can] be so constant with the flow [that] I'd need somebody to help me."[9] Lateef the Truthspeaker has stated, "You're gonna have to have somebody say something somewhere to give you a breath... usually it's just a matter of getting somebody to hit some line or some word in a line—that's all you really need."[9]

Hype men who became lead rappers and producers

Prior to becoming a lead rapper himself, Jay-Z began his career as a hype man for Jaz-O[10][11] and was later the hype man for Big Daddy Kane.[12]

Icons of Hip Hop also notes that some producers, such as Diddy, Lil Jon, Swizz Beatz, and Jermaine Dupri, "have transitioned from a hype man role to become rappers and stars in their own right".[2]

Hype man in rock and pop music

Occasionally pop or rock groups include a member up front alongside the lead singer who may perform backup vocals or percussion but largely functions to excite the audience through dancing and/or stage patter. Examples include Bob Nastanovich for Pavement,[13] Bez of The Happy Mondays,[14] Beau Beau Butler of Avail, and Guy Picciotto in Fugazi's earliest incarnation.[15]

Partial list of hype men

References

  1. 1 2 "The Hilltop - The Role of The 'Hype Man' In Hip-Hop". Thehilltoponline.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hess, Mickey, 2007, Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 176.
  3. ↑ "Kool Moe Dee". Thafoundation.com. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  4. ↑ Barrett, Grant, 2006, The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English, McGraw-Hill Professional, p. 182.
  5. ↑ Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 176.
  6. ↑ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 304.
  7. ↑ "Kool Moe Dee". Thafoundation.com. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  8. ↑ "Record Executives Thought Jay-Z Was No Good » MTV Newsroom". Newsroom.mtv.com. 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  9. 1 2 Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 304.
  10. ↑ "Record Executives Thought Jay-Z Was No Good » MTV Newsroom". Newsroom.mtv.com. 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  11. ↑ Vibe magazine, Jan 2004, Vol. 12, No. 1, published by Vibe Media Group, p. 75.
  12. ↑ Jonathan Cunningham (2007-03-15). "Kane's Domain - Page 1 - Music - Broward/Palm Beach - Broward-Palm Beach New Times". Broward/Palm Beach. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  13. ↑ Alex Pappademas (2012-06-20). "'It Hasn't Been a Disaster: Indie-rock legend Bob Nastanovich on Pavement, the Silver Jews, and horse racing. But not in that order". Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  14. ↑ Staff (2012-02-09). "Music's 10 Greatest Hype Men". Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  15. ↑ Nathan Leigh (2011-05-18). "Public Enemy: The Forgotten Innovators of Post-Hardcore". Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  16. ↑ "In sobriety, House of Pain's Danny Boy O'Connor finds his calling". The Ties That Bind Us. 2021-05-03. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  17. ↑ Harling, Danielle (2014-02-10). "Tech N9ne Says Kendrick Lamar Met Dr. Dre On His Tour". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  18. ↑ Elibert, Mark (2023-09-02). "ScHoolboy Q Explains Kendrick Lamar's Impact on Him: 'Dot Made Me a Rapper'". Complex. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  19. ↑ "The 10 Greatest Sidekicks in Rap History". Complex Magazine. 5 August 2014.
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