First off, lemme define “rap” and “hip-hop”… Yeah, I know that “rap” is music & “hip-hop” is a culture, but I'm gonna remind u another definition given by Sid Shaw (from Brown Sugar): “So what's the difference between rap and hip hop? It's simple. It's like sayin' you love somebody and bein' in love with somebody. Rap is only a word”. I believe that this is essential if you wanna see the difference between a rapper and an MC. First there was love…it was born somewhere in the Bronx…it was genuine…it was born by dreamers who had nothing but passion for music and hope for a better reality. Everytime they rhymed it was coming from the bottom of their hearts. No one promised them multi-platinum albums, record deals or concerts at Madison Square Garden. They spent their own money to have an opportunity to perform. They performed in the middle of the street, in the park, round the corner, everywhere… but every performance, every song was a true declaration of love. Record labels, sponsors, businessmen saw that “authenticity sells” (Russell Simmons’ rule) and they decided to make some money. But “I love you” phrase has one interesting quality: when you say it all the time not meaning it, it loses its magical power and turns into a word…“rap”… MC stands for “master of ceremonies”, “microphone controller”, which means that freestyling/performing is a ceremony, a very special and intimate event; MC is a controller, he/she controls the whole “crowd” with the help of “I love you” hidden in 16 bars. MC’s took hip-hop to this level; they showed the world what “REAL LOVE” is capable of. Rappers spit nothing but words, sounds. They create a product for labels to sell. They work according to certain schemes, they listen to what their mind says, they forget about that dream-girl/boy they used to be when they lived in the ghetto. They allow the game the change them, when their mission is to change the game. MC is a lover, and rapper is a money machine. MC is an artist who loves art too much to abuse it. MC bumps heads w/ record label; he can give IN, but he doesn’t give UP. He keeps it real ‘till his last breath. And if he has to choose between “money” & “freedom of speech”, MC chooses “freedom”. A rapper is someone who had a potential to become an MC, but he sold that potential. He does financially smart moves, but these moves are heartless…ain't real. He releases a few albums, he is famous for a while, but eventually he is one out of many & in a few years no one even remembers his name cuz his music didn’t make an impact.

So when people tell me that being a rapper is easy, I don’t get mad, I don’t argue w/ them…I don’t advocate rappers. I advocate MCs…& emceeing ain't easy. So I have nothing but love, respect & support for MCs all over the world. U doubt if MCs exist, if people who can say “no” to money exist?… MC is a lover & in the words of Euripides, “He is not a lover who does not love forever”. So all u have to do is look around. Check your local record store or local record store or serf the Internet. Best believe me that there's a huge army of dope MCs. Sometimes it feels like I live in the Matrix, where major record labels represent “agent Smith” and true hip-hop lovers are “Neos”. So the question is… Who u with? Agent Smith? Or Neo?