What Was the First MC in America?

In hip-hop, the first MC in America is widely credited to Coke La Rock, who began emceeing alongside DJ Kool Herc at Bronx parties in 1973. If you meant MC as “motorcycle club,” historians generally recognize the Yonkers Motorcycle Club (founded in 1903) as the oldest continuously operating U.S. club.

Hip-Hop Origins: The First MC

Most hip-hop histories point to Coke La Rock as the first modern MC (Master of Ceremonies) in the United States. Performing at DJ Kool Herc’s groundbreaking parties—most famously the August 11, 1973 jam at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx—Coke La Rock developed the early blueprint for on-mic crowd control, toasts, name-checks, and rhythmic spoken delivery over breakbeats. While those performances predated the first commercial rap singles, they established the live-performance tradition that defined MCing.

It’s important to distinguish “first MC” in the cultural sense from “first MC on a commercial record.” The Fatback Band’s “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” (1979) is often cited as the first commercially released hip-hop record featuring an MC, arriving months before the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” which brought rapping to the mainstream later that year.

If You Meant Motorcycle Club (MC)

Within motorcycle culture, “MC” denotes a motorcycle club. The Yonkers Motorcycle Club in New York, founded in 1903, is widely recognized as the oldest continuously operating motorcycle club in the United States. The San Francisco Motorcycle Club, established in 1904, is another early pillar with well-documented continuity. Earlier motorcycling groups and associations existed in various forms, but many were short-lived or evolved into broader organizations, making Yonkers MC the most defensible answer for “first” in sustained, verifiable operation.

Among so-called “outlaw” motorcycle clubs—independent of sanctioning bodies—the Outlaws Motorcycle Club traces its origin to 1935 in McCook, Illinois, and is typically cited as the oldest of that specific tradition in America.

Why the Confusion Around “First MC”?

The abbreviation “MC” spans distinct cultures. In music, an MC is a performer who raps and hypes the crowd; in motorcycling, MC is a club designation. “First” also varies by whether one prioritizes earliest appearance, continuous operation, or first commercial documentation. These differences lead to multiple authoritative but context-dependent answers.

Quick Reference of “Firsts” by Meaning

The list below summarizes the most widely accepted “firsts” in America depending on how you interpret MC, providing quick context for each domain and how historians typically frame the milestone.

• Hip-hop MC (live performance): Coke La Rock with DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx (1973).
• MC on a commercial hip-hop record: King Tim III on Fatback Band’s “King Tim III (Personality Jock)” (1979).
• Oldest continuously operating motorcycle club: Yonkers Motorcycle Club, New York (founded 1903).
• Oldest major “outlaw” motorcycle club: Outlaws MC (originating 1935, McCook, Illinois).

Taken together, these benchmarks cover the leading interpretations of “MC” and clarify why different sources may point to different “firsts.”

How Historians Corroborate These Claims

For hip-hop, primary sources include interviews and accounts from DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock, event flyers, and timelines curated by museums and scholars documenting the August 1973 parties and their influence. For motorcycle clubs, club archives, period newspaper clippings, and records from organizations such as the early Federation of American Motorcyclists (founded 1903) and later the American Motorcyclist Association help validate founding dates and continuous operation claims, with Yonkers MC and the San Francisco MC maintaining extensive historical documentation.

Summary

If you mean an MC as a hip-hop performer, Coke La Rock is widely regarded as America’s first, debuting with DJ Kool Herc in the Bronx in 1973. If you mean an MC as a motorcycle club, the Yonkers Motorcycle Club (1903) is generally recognized as the oldest continually active in the United States, with the Outlaws MC (1935) often cited as the earliest of the “outlaw” tradition. Context determines the correct “first.”

Who started MC Clubs?

The outlaw biker subculture emerged in the United States in the late 1940s, as disenfranchised service members returned from World War II and founded motorcycle clubs to replicate the camaraderie and psychological stimulation they had experienced in the war.

What was the first outlaw MC?

The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois, in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in the world.

What is the oldest MC in the US?

The Yonkers Motorcycle Club
The Yonkers Motorcycle Club is the oldest active motorcycle club in the world.

Was Indian or Harley first?

Harley-Davidson: A Tradition of Excellence
Founded in 1903, just two years after Indian Motorcycle®, Harley-Davidson has become the oldest continuously operating motorcycle manufacturer in the world.