hype man

plural hype men · alternative hypeman

1. A hip-hop performer responsible for backup rapping and singing and increasing an audience’s excitement with call-and-response chants.

   Mills appeared first, performing with a hype man (someone who exorts the crowd and sings along with key lines) and a disk jockey.

   2004 August 9, The New Yorker, page 100

   3 more examples

   Hammer and the Posse, a group consisting of four dancers, two DJs and one hype man (“He’s the guy who pumps the crowd up,” Hammer explained), hope to win over rap fans.

   1988 April 3, Lee Hildebrand, “M.C. Hammer Nails Down A Royal Reputation”, in San Francisco Chronicle, page 42

   Puff is up on stage with Biggie rappin’ almost as much as Biggie. He’s not just the hype man on stage goin’ Yea Yea, he’s rappin’ whole verses.

   1995 August 30, Richard Payton, “Re: Suge Vs Puffy”, in rec.music.hip-hop (Usenet)

   Hype men, for those of you unfamiliar with the lingo, are the fellas you see at rap shows who stand next to MCs and bellow certain words along with the rap to add emphasis.

   2004 May 26, Jordan Harper, “I Love a Parade: Radar Station hitches a ride with great big rappers”, in Riverfront Times, St. Louis, Mo.