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MC Serch | |
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 MC Serch in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Berrin |
| Also known as |
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| Born | (1967-05-06)May 6, 1967 (age 57) Queens, New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present[1] |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | 3rd Bass |
| Website | mcserch |
Michael Berrin (born May 6, 1967),[2] better known by his stage nameMC Serch, is an American rapper and record executive. He gained fame as part of the hip hop group3rd Bass, who were active in the late 1980s and early 1990s and released three studio albums.
In his solo work, Serch is credited with having discovered American rapperNas in 1992. Serch introduced the rapper toColumbia Records and executive produced his debut studio album,Illmatic (1994).[3]
Serch grew up inFar Rockaway, New York City.[4] He attendedFar Rockaway High School[5] and graduated fromMusic & Art High School. He is ofJewish descent.[6]
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After recording three albums with 3rd Bass—The Cactus Album (1989),The Cactus Revisited (1990), andDerelicts of Dialect (1991)—Serch launched a solo career withReturn of the Product (1992,Def Jam). The album featured two hit singles: "Here It Comes" (which hit #1 onBillboard'sHot Rap Tracks chart); and "Back to the Grill" featuringChubb Rock,Red Hot Lover Tone, andNas. Serch was theexecutive producer of Nas’Illmatic.
He also helped to cultivate the rapperO.C. after hearing him on theOrganized Konfusion song "Fudge Pudge", helping him secure a record contract withWild Pitch Records. In 1995, Serch also mentored the newly formedNon Phixion.
Since retiring from performing, Serch has run a promotions company (Serchlite Music). He appeared inSpike Lee'sBamboozled (2000) as a member of the fictitious hip-hop group Mau Maus (played by other real-life hip-hop performers such asMos Def,Charli Baltimore andCanibus). His character was awhite revolutionary who was supposed to be "1/16 black".[7]
From 2003, he hostedSerch In The AM onDetroit urban radio station FM 98WJLB; he was the firstJewish DJ at that station. MC Serch was dismissed from WJLB in March 2006, reportedly due to a dispute over a Super Bowl weekend party at the club Motor City Live.[8]
Serch also hosted theVH1reality seriesEgo Trip'sThe (White) Rapper Show which ended in March 2007. On the show he was known for hiscatchphrase "Woop-WOOP!". Afollow-up show,Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme, debuted in 2008.
Serch has since returned to the radio airwaves in Detroit on the urban stationHot 102.7. Serch has also worked with Hot 102.7's youngest intern (The Black Intern) Daniel Berry, andRucka Rucka Ali (Comedy Music Artist). Serch appeared in some of Rucka Rucka Ali's music videos.
In 2018 he gave an interview withDJ Vlad in which he claimedMC Hammer had once taken out a $50,000 contract on Serch's life, following a misunderstanding over lyrics.[9]
In May 2021, MC Serch joined VidSig, a live global video platform, as Chief Creative Consultant.[10]
Serch was an executive at HitPiece, a startup creatingNFTs of songs that shut down in February 2022 under threat of action byRecording Industry Association of America, which labeled it a "scam operation" and after public criticism by major artists includingWolfgang Van Halen.[11]
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20 years later,Illmatic is widely seen as the best hip-hop album ever, a flawless blend of vivid street poetry and dream-team producers...
I grew up in Five Towns, where he was raised by his parents. and you'd always see shoes on the line.
Berrin, who is Jewish, worked until recently for a very popular Detroit radio station that mostly plays hip hop music and whose listening audience is mostly black. ... As reported in a January 25 issue of theDetroit Jewish News, Berrin, 39, and his wife, Chantel, are members of Congregation Sharrey Zedek, a large Conservative synagogue in suburban Detroit. In a 1993 profile in the News, Chantel— a convert to Judaism—talked about her conversion and Michael talked about race and religion.
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