Michael Berrin (born May 6, 1967), best known by his stage name MC Serch, is an American rapper and music executive. He is a former member of

3rd Bass 3rd Bass was an American hip hop group that was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed by MC Serch, Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich, the group was notable for being one of the first successful interracial hip hop acts. Along with Beas ...

and Non Phixion.

Early life and education

Serch grew up in

Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County line ...

, New York City. He attended

Far Rockaway High School Far Rockaway High School was a public high school in New York City, at 821 Bay 25th Street in Far Rockaway in the borough of Queens. It operated from 1897 to 2011. Its alumni include three Nobel Prize laureates and convicted fraudster Ber ...

and graduated from Music & Art High School. He is of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent.

Career

After recording three albums with 3rd Bass — ''

The Cactus Album ''The Cactus Al/Bum'' (also known as ''The Cactus Cee/D'' and ''The Cactus Cas/Ette'' depending on release format) is the debut album by hip hop trio 3rd Bass, released on Def Jam Recordings on November 10, 1989. The album received positive rev ...

'' (1989), '' The Cactus Revisited'' (1990), and ''

Derelicts of Dialect ''Derelicts of Dialect'' is the second and final studio album by New York hip hop trio 3rd Bass. It was released on June 14, 1991 through Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place at Chung King Studios, Greene St. Recording and Calliope S ...

'' (1991)—Serch launched a solo career with '' Return of the Product'' (1992,

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

). The album featured two hit singles: "Here It Comes" (which hit #1 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

chart); and "Back to the Grill" featuring

Chubb Rock Richard Simpson, also known as Chubb Rock (born May 28, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York) is a New York-based rapper who released several successful hip hop albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A National Merit Scholar, Chubb Rock dropped out ...

, Red Hot Lover Tone, and

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

. Serch was the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

of Nas’ ''

Illmatic ''Illmatic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Re ...

''. He also helped to cultivate the rapper O.C. after hearing him on the

Organized Konfusion Organizing or organized may refer to: * Organizing (management), a process of coordinating task goals and activities to resources * Community organizing, in which communities come together to act in their shared self-interest * Professional organi ...

song "Fudge Pudge", helping him secure a record contract with Wild Pitch Records. In 1995, Serch also mentored the newly formed Non Phixion. Since retiring from performing, Serch has run a promotions company (Serchlite Music). He appeared in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's ''

Bamboozled ''Bamboozled'' is a 2000 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee about a modern televised minstrel show featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the resulting violent fallout from the show's success ...

'' (2000) as a member of the fictitious hip-hop group Mau Maus (played by other real-life hip-hop performers such as

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

Charli Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known as Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film '' The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Charli Bal ...

and

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is an American rapper and actor. He initially gained fame in the 1990s for his ability to freestyle, and eventually released his debut album Can-I-Bus in 1998 ...

). His character was a

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

revolutionary who was supposed to be "1/16 black". From 2003, he hosted ''Serch In The AM'' on

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

urban radio station FM 98

WJLB WJLB (97.9 FM) is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary format. WJLB's studios are located in Farmington Hills. WJLB's transmitter is located in Highland Park near the intersection o ...

; he was the first

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. Serch also hosted the VH1

reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

''Ego Trip's

The (White) Rapper Show ''Ego Trip's The (White) Rapper Show'' is an American reality television series created by '' Ego Trip'' magazine that first aired on VH1. In the show, ten white rappers compete with each other for the chance at a $100,000 grand prize. The show ...

'' which ended in March 2007. On the show he was known for his

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

"Woop-WOOP!". A follow-up show, '' Ego Trip's Miss Rap Supreme'', debuted in 2008. Serch has since returned to the radio airwaves in Detroit on the urban station Hot 102.7. Serch has also worked with Hot 102.7's youngest intern (The Black Intern) Daniel Berry, and

Rucka Rucka Ali Rucka Rucka Ali (born January 27, 1987) is an Israeli-American rapper, singer, radio personality, comedian, YouTuber, and parodist. He is best known for his dark humor, political and topical song parodies on YouTube. Much of his content pokes ...

(Comedy Music Artist). Serch appeared in some of Rucka Rucka Ali's music videos. In 2018 he gave an interview with

DJ Vlad Vladimir Lyubovny (russian: Владимир Любовный; born June 28, 1973), commonly known as DJ Vlad, is an American interviewer, journalist, and former disc jockey. He is the CEO of video and news website VladTV.com. His YouTube channel ...

in which he claimed

MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as " U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

had once taken out a $50,000 contract on Serch's life, following a misunderstanding over lyrics. In May 2021, MC Serch joined VidSig, a live global video platform, as Chief Creative Consultant. Serch was an executive at HitPiece, a startup creating NFTs of songs that shut down in February 2022 under threat of action by

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, which labeled it a "scam operation" and after public criticism by major artists including

Wolfgang Van Halen Wolfgang William Van Halen (, born March 16, 1991) is an American musician. The son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen, he performed alongside his father as the bassist for the rock band Van Halen from 2006 to 2020. He also performed with the heavy m ...

Discography

Solo

*'' Return of the Product'' (1992,

)

with 3rd Bass

*''

'' (1989, Platinum) *'' The Cactus Revisited'' (1990) *''

'' (1991, Gold)

Guest appearances

References

External links

The Serch Says PodcastMC Serch Interview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Serch, MC 1967 births Living people American hip hop record producers 20th-century American Jews American male rappers Def Jam Recordings artists Far Rockaway High School alumni Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Jewish rappers People from Far Rockaway, Queens Rappers from New York City Jewish hip hop record producers 21st-century American rappers Record producers from New York (state) 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American rappers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews