Regardless of title, the right-hand man, hype man and manager all play integral roles in the life of a Hip-Hop superstar. The Source highlights these supporting characters and makes the distinction between the three, just in case you had it twisted.

Hype Man

Traditionally, the job of the Hype Man is to get the audience “hype” before the headlining performer comes out on stage. His or her job is also to keep the momentum going during the show, especially during the down times like wardrobe or set changes. Hype men usually work the side of the stage the MC isn’t, yelling classic lines like “Throw ya hands in the air!” “All the ugly people be quiet!” “When I say_________, y’all say _________!” These call and response strategies to get the crowd motivated first originated in Hip-Hop back in the ’80s by early hype men Creole and MC Cowboy from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

The role took on a heavy work load during the show in the early days. Years later though, the job has become less demanding, often resulting in a small army of so-called hype men milling around the stage brandishing water bottles and towels.

Flavor Flav is often the first to come to mind when mentioning Hip-Hop hype men. While a part of the group, Flav proved to be the outspoken comic relief to the fiery rants of Public Enemy mouthpiece Chuck D. Characterized by his over-sized clock medallions, ill costumes and clownish behavior, Flav was also known for various catchphrases like “Yeeeaaah Boooy!” Born William Drayton, Flav met Chuck D at Adelphi University in Long Island, New York in the early 80s and the two created arguably one of Hip-Hop’s greatest groups. But after years of falling below the radar come the mid nineties and after dealing with personal issues, Flav reemerged in 2006 on VH1’s where-are-they-now reality show The Surreal Life. His appearance resurrected mad love for Flav including his own shows Strange Love and the infamous Flavor of Love series (and its spin-offs).

But sometimes the line between hype man and right-hand man is blurred, like in the case of everyone’s favorite current hype man, Spliff Star. William “Spliff Star” Lewis has been close friends with Busta Rhymes since he was 9 years old, having grown up with him in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He witnessed the rise of Leaders of the New School, Busta’s first stab in the commercial business of music and saw Busta’s successful departure into a solo career through to the addition of other Flipmode squad rappers and business partners. He even rapped a little (and not just repeating Busta’s punchy one-liners). To this day, Spliff can be seen in almost every Busta video and is now CEO of his own label Paperrock Records, where he released Contraband, his i-Tunes only album in 2008.

Right-Hand Man

Tony and Manolo. Goldie and Slim. Priest and Eddie. Throughout history every superhero has had their own theme music and every successful rapper, mogul or hustler has had their own right-hand man. The extra eyes and ears, the one who bigs ‘em up, tears ‘em down and bigs ‘em up again, the mystery shopper in the entourage who will bomb first out of loyalty to their main man. That is the role of the right-hand man. At the beginning of Hip-Hop’s mainstream success front man for R&B group The Time, Morris Day (who started as Prince’s right-hand) and Jerome Benton embodied the archetypal main man/right-hand man relationship and showed Hip-Hop heads how to do it. From getting girls to come on stage (and backstage) to valet parking and handing Morris his mirror, Jerome was the ultimate friend and assistant.

For Jay-Z, Mr. Power 30 2009, Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith is that dude. From allegedly scrapping with Jim Jones and his goons over disparaging comments made about Hov to spraying R. Kelly with pepper spray in his defense, this 5’4” right-hand man has Jay’s back whether Jay is in the building or not. Ty Ty’s the one you “pass the burner” to when you see the flashing lights in the rear view. And for his boundless loyalty, Ty’s name is heard referenced by Jay on many songs.

In some cases the right-hand meets or exceeds the success and popularity of their main man. Remember when Jim Jones used to be that unaccounted for, scruffy light-skinned dude always alongside Cam’Ron? Or Farnsworth Bentley was Diddy’s unusually dapper umbrella holder and cheesecake retriever? Or when 2Pac was just that skinny kid who stood out among the many members of Digital Underground? In recent years, even Kanye West’s lifelong best friend GLC turned being a right-hand man into a being a rap artist. Signing onto Ye’s G.O.O.D. Music label in 2004, the Chi-Town native appeared on Mr. West’s “Spaceship” in 2004 and “Drive Slow” in 2005. GLC, which stands for Gangsta L. Crisis, now has his own single “Big Screen” generating a buzz, as well as another creeping up called “Flight School,” featuring Kanye and T-Pain. Expect an album from GLC later this year.

Upgrade U: From Right Hand To Manager

Like the character "E" on HBO’s Entourage, going from childhood friend to experienced business manager can have its challenges and its rewards. And there is perhaps no better testament to this than Jay-Z. Ironically, Jay started as a right-hand to Jaz-O (then known as Big Jaz), appearing in Jaz’s 1989 video for "Hawaiian Sophie" donning a high top fade and a Hawaiian shirt. Jay then spit his Das EFX/Fu-Schickens-inspired verse on Original Flavor’s underground hit "Can I Get Open" in 1993, which garnered even more attention. But in 1996, Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Damon Dash and Jay-Z formed Rocafella Records and released Jay’s first single "Dead Presidents." Under parent company Fireside Records, a subsidiary of Priority Records, the single and b-side —"Aint No N*gga" featuring an unknown Foxy Brown— led to Jay-Z's landmark debut album Reasonable Doubt. And Jay was off and running. While many know the ups and downs of his partnership with Dame, no one really gives props to Hov for what the Rocafella Records brand has since become. The Roc serves as the label home to Rihanna, Kanye West and is currently more viable than ever with a hand in most facets of media, sports and clothing.

The original Cash Money brothers, Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams are a prime example of keeping management and ownership in the family. The N'awlins natives founded Cash Money Records in 1991, initially releasing local then-unknown artists like Juvenile and the Hot Boys, and selling hundreds of thousands of albums without ever releasing a music video or scoring a Billboard hit. Eighteen years later, they are still collecting major revenue from the mega-success of the youngest member of the crew (and once overlooked) Lil Wayne. Lately, they've been diversifying their label by adding rock artists such as Kevin Rudolph to their Cash Money roster, resulting in the biggest Rap/Rock record ever, the triple-platinum single "Let It Rock," featuring you guessed it, LilWayne.

Grand Hustle CEO Jason Geter, who is T.I.’s business partner, serves multiple roles including right-hand and manager, although the very low-key Harass Snake is T.I.’s true daily right-hand man. Geter, who started in the game as an intern in the ’90s formed Grand Hustle Entertainment with Tip in 2003, after the latter’s underground success was ready to go commercially higher. He now manages Big Boi from Outkast, DJ Drama as well as Grand Hustle artists 8Ball and MJG, Killer Mike, Big Kuntry King, Yung LA and Young Dro. Under Geter’s watch all of T.I.’s albums have been successful, including Paper Trail, one of the few Hip-Hop albums in 2008 to go platinum.

Though these people don’t always stay in their lanes and often have to multitask as it relates to different aspects of their main man’s career, image and safety, they are considered family to the MC. Many times they are the only real family the MC has on the road and in the world of the music business, they deserve to be recognized and honored. To all right-hands, hype men and managers, salute! -— DC Greene