Arts & Lire
KENNATH MARIE WATKINS
Special to the Jewish News
J'e
Former rapper MC Serch finds
a new home at urban radio
station
WJLB.
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Chantel and Michael Berrin:
"We happen to be my traditional
when it comes to Judaism," he says.
9/19
2003
80
rowing up in the mostly Orthodox enclave
of Far Rockaway, Queens, Michael Berrin
always stood out as "different" from his fel-
low Jewish neighbors. Now, living in the
metro Detroit area, he stands out as MC Serch, repre-
senting a change in the airwaves as the first non-
African-American radio personality on Clear Channel's
urban format station WJLB-FM 98 since Casey
Kasem's run in the mid-1950s.
"K.J. Holiday, the program director of WJLB, had a
lot of vision and a lot of courage to bring me here,"
says Benin. "He saw that I had history in hip-hop,
knew the right people and had the personality for it."
The 36-year-old former rapper had been a member of
the now-defunct 3rd Bass, the second white act signed
by Def Jam Records after the Beastie Boys and one of
the few white U.S. rap groups to maintain any degree
of credibility in the mostly African-American world of
hip-hop.
But Berrin had worked in radio for only a short
time, as a Saturday-night host in Virginia, before the
opportunity at WJLB became available in November of
last year.
Now, featuring local African-American comedians
Co-Co and Foolish, Berrin's morning show aims to cre-
ate a sense of unity within the city and the hip-hop
culture.
"I think there should be mutual levels
of cultural acceptance," says Berrin, mar-
ried to Chantel Berrin, who is of
African-American and Puerto Rican
decent. "People need to embrace hip-
hop culture and understand its true
meaning. It is not just about rap music.
"It's about the love of God, the love of
community, loving the nature of the
beat, the love of the streets and believing
in the family unit. That's what hip-hop
has evolved into," he says.
Berrin, set to become the "new city
spokesman" for D.O.C. optical centers,
admits to making sacrifices to become
part of the "new Detroit" movement. He
took a pay cut, moved his family away
from their East Coast home and sold his
successful promotion company,
Serchlight Entertainment.
"It was just a risk I was willing to
take," he explains. "Now my focus is to
be the No. 1 morning show in Detroit.
Everything else will follow after that," he
says.
The future rapper and radio star was
raised with two siblings in a traditional
Jewish family, but more often than not,
his friendships crossed racial and cultural
boundaries.
"I grew up in a very religious area, but
I was not 'Jewish enough' to hang out
with the Jews," he explains. "I did not
have a Hebrew name. I had to go to
public school because my parents could
not afford to send me to a yeshiva, and
the little Jewish kids on the block would
not play with me. So, I hung out with the Puerto
Ricans and the blacks."
Seeking fun and friendships, Berrin immersed him-
self into the new and evolving hip-hop culture. "I was
not as lucky to be born into hip-hop like the younger
generation," he says. "I had to go out and discover it."
While attending the High School of Music and Art
in Manhattan, Berrin was surrounded by soon to be
hip-hop legends Slick Rick, Dougy Fresh, Dana Dane
and many others.
"In the lunchroom, they would all be there hanging
out with the Kango Crew: Lance, Omega and the
Original Peter Dunn, the first white boy rapper I ever
saw. That was it for me. At that point, there was no
other music," he reminisces.
Deciding on a career in rap was a bit of a stretch for
a Jewish teenager. However, Benin's parents did not
object to their son's radical aspirations as long as he
continued to hold a job after high school.
Following graduation, Berrin worked three jobs daily,
while earning respect for his clever rhymes and the
name MC Serch from friends. Defying expectations,
the young lyricist demonstrated talent that eventually
propelled him up the ranks in the rap music world,
where he met hip-hop pioneer Russell Simmons.
That acquaintance led to the formation of 3rd Bass,
a rap group founded by MC Serch (Berrin) and Prime
Minister Pete Nice (b. Peter Nash), both white, along
with DJ Richie Rich (b. Richard Lawson), an African
American.
"Our biggest challenge was hoping that people who
loved hip-hop would see us as credible and get past our
skin color," says Berrin.
The group's 1989 Def Jam debut, The Cactus Album
(aka Cee/D), earned mostly enthusiastic reviews, as sin-
gles like "The Gas Face," "Steppin to the A.M." and
"Brooklyn-Queens" solidified the group's reputation in
the hip-hop underground. A follow-up album, 1991's
Derelicts of Dialect, featured the very successful "Pop
Goes the Weasel," a viciously funny jab at white rapper
Vanilla Ice.
Despite its success, 3rd Bass disbanded in 1992,
when Berrin decided to go it alone; later that year, he
recorded Return of the Product, the sole effort of his solo
career. Berrin went on to develop new talent as A&R
vice president of the now-defunct Wild Pitch Records
and to form his own label, Serchlight Productions.
Now, years after Berrin stepped away from the
microphone to pursue behind-the-scene music deals, .
including producing new artists such as rap prodigy
Nas, he has returned to the ears of listeners — sharing
his appreciation for his wife, Chantel, and offering her
everyday quotes of wisdom on his radio broadcast.
"We have the kind of relationship that I am very
proud of, because we actually worked, fought and
clawed for it," he says.
"She's waited for the 12 years of our marriage for at
least a half-decent version of me, and her loyalty has
never wavered. She is my partner, and my happiness
can really depend on hers and vise versa. We pick each
other up when one is down."
The couple met when Michael was 21 and Chantel
just 17, through mutual friends. It wasn't long after
getting to know each other that they realized their con-
nection.
HIP-HoP JEw on page 84