Too much hype is never a good thing.

At a rap/hip-hop concert, have you ever noticed the loud guy (or girl) who seems to come along with the rapper? Both of them have mics but only the rapper is rapping. The other guy is just yelling - always yelling in rhythm and occasionally yelling with the rapper. What's stranger is that this guys leaves with the rapper after the concert and follows the rapper all the way to the next concert and the remainder of the tour.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what is know as the "Hype Man". The most well-known "Hype Man" in history would probably be Flavor Flav of Public Enemy, who is often credited for creating the established role of "Hype Man". Aside from Flavor Flav though, there are countless other examples, none of them particularly different from the next. There are only so many ways one can yell "Put your hands up!" after all.

I've always found the existence of the "Hype Man" as an established position on a rap group to be rather ridiculous. Back-up singers are always necessary, whether its in jazz, pop, R&B or rap, but to make those back-up singers an established and notable part of the group is another matter, especially in rap. I mean, what do these people put on their resumes? Professional Yeller? Vocal Publicist?

Obviously, I'm not a big fan of the "Hype Man" but they don't really bother me too much either. There are plenty of people who have gotten famous for unfounded and confusing reasons. (Paris Hilton anybody?) However, this weekend, I became deeply bothered by a "Hype Man" at one particular concert. Very deeply bothered.

Ever heard of the rap group Yo! Majesty? If you have then you probably know the story I am about to tell. Over the weekend, I went to a concert featuring The Islands, Enon, and Octopus Project. I didn't know all of these bands when I bought the tickets - I mainly went to hear The Islands and Enon, but I left feeling very satisfied with all of their performances. Yo! Majesty was also performing at this concert. All the other bands performing were playing either rock or electronica so as a rap group, Yo! Majesty dramatically stood out from the crowd. But that's an understatement. Yo! Majesty did not just stand out from the crowd, Yo! Majesty stood up in front and flashed the entire crowd.

No, seriously. That is exactly what they did.

At one point in their performance, the "Hype Man" (or woman rather) took off her shirt and bra and proceeded to continue the remainder of their performance topless. The crowd was aghast and ashamed or at least, I know I sure was. I couldn't believe my eyes and proceeded to ask everyone around me what happened, as though she must have had an extreme wardrobe malfunction. This was not in any way a wardrobe malfunction, but rather a "hype malfunction".

To begin with, Yo! Majesty's "Hype Man" was absolutely terrible. Perhaps the rapper had some talent, but the Hype Man's incessant and unnecessarily loud yelling not only made the rapper inaudible, but stretched her own vocal limits to the extent that her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I already felt enormously embarrassed for their atrocious performance, but now the Hype Man was taking her shirt off. And for what? For hype? If anything ever lit up giant headlights to a billboard labeled "Cheap Thrills", this would be it.

If Yo! Majesty ever came up to me and asked how they could improve their act, I would tell them to drop their Hype Man, and that is all. Honestly, I wasn't able to hear enough of their music to make any additional comments. Need I also mention that their topless Hype Man was also noticeably unfit?