”īut along with everything else about the music industry, the 21st century digital obsession is transforming the role of the hype man-and pushing it further to the sidelines.īishop G, the rapper and former hype man for Lupe Fiasco, thinks that the rise of social media means more of a focus on individual artists, pushing any sidekicks to. due to a lack of platform, there’s no space for more women to prosper. “In 2016, genres have become slimmer and less experimental, in my opinion. “Since hip hop is a predominantly male environment, there’s no outlet for female hype men,” she said.

Unfortunately, Leaf said the answer is “pretty simple.” if hip hop itself is dominated by men, why would we expect the world of hype men to be any different? We turned to Leaf, the 21-year-old Brooklynite making feminism-charged rap, in the hopes that she might prove us wrong.

If there are hype women out there, they’re severely underrepresented by the industry-scratch that, they’re barely represented at all. None of the artists interviewed for this story could name a hype woman themselves. “Now, when I jump in the crowd, they catch me.”Īs you may have noticed, we haven’t mentioned any hype women. 'People looked at me like, 'Who the hell are you?' They moved out the way and I hit the floor, bam!” Spliff said, laughing. “I jumped on the stage trying to do crowd diving,' Spliff remembered. Spliff took his place-and hasn’t left it since. Spliff and Busta performed together for the first time around 1993, when Busta’s cousin and former hype man, Rampage, started dropping his own solo music and couldn’t make one of Busta’s shows. Speaking to us over the phone, Spliff remembers picking up Busta and the other soon-to-be members of the Flipmode Squad off the street in his car: “You’re going to do the music stuff,” Spliff told them. When Eminem spoke at Proof's funeral, he opened up about the importance his right-hand man’s support: “Without Proof, there would be no Eminem, no Slim Shady, no D12.”īusta Rhymes might say the same thing about his faithful hype man Spliff Star, who claims to have urged the MC out of the street life and into the studio. Like many hype men, Proof wasn’t just Eminem’s career partner-he was also the rapper’s best friend. to woo listeners who were not drawn to Chuck's political perspective.'īut it wasn't all business-the hype man's story wouldn't be complete with mention of Proof, the former D12 member who worked with Eminem until his death in 2006. 'Chuck D provided scathing political and cultural critiques of society, while his partner Flavor Flav served as the hype man. “Chuck and Flav perfected the interaction of the serious preacher-rapper with a comical hype man,” Mickey Hess writes in Icons of Hip Hop. Many have transitioned into stars in their own right-let’s not forget Diddy’s (then Puff Daddy) days as a hype man for The Notorious B.I.G., or groups like the Wu-Tang Clan, where every rapper seems to double as a hype man.

The hype man is more than a supporting act, bodyguard, or glorified weed carrier. Save for a half-hearted Wikipedia entry and a page on Urban Dictionary, there are few words dedicated to the hype man. It's a legendary profession with its own class of heroic relationships-Flavor Flav and Public Enemy, Proof and Eminem, or Freaky Tah and The Lost Boyz.įor a figure this ubiquitous to rap, though, the hype man’s job description and exact history are blurry. He amps up the crowd with shouts and towel-waves, he dances and stomps his way across the stage, he keeps the crowd engaged when things go sour, and stalls when the star runs out of breath. He’s that voice that tells you to “throw your hands in the air!” Or he might ask that “all the ugly people be quiet!” You know, “When I say _, y’all say _!” He’s the hype man. You may not have seen him, but you’ve heard him.

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