Take out your hip-hop history book and you'll definitely see the name of MC Serch. The man who was a part of the Vanilla Ice hate movement with 3rd Bass, also brought a young Nasir Jones to the BBQ and it was on from there. After years of being behind-the-scenes, Serch returned as host of VH1's The White Rapper Show, a hilarious pairing between him and the ego trip collective that led to his turn as co-host of Miss Rap Supreme with Yo-Yo. The Queens hip-hopper breaks bread with The Urban Daily as he gives John Brown the gas face, explains why 'rap is not growing,' and snatches Khia's cat back.

TUD: After doing The White Rapper Show, why come back to reality rap and do Miss Rap Supreme?

MC Serch: I just think that after we did that show the guys at ego trip thought it out and came to the conclusion that the thing that’s more difficult than being a white rapper is being a female one. We thought it would’ve been an interesting show. I was really interested in it. It wasn’t a question of whether I’d be down or not. But when we first got started with these women, the thing was they were just having fun with it. In the next four episodes, though, it gets really serious. For me, the cat fighting and the beefing isn’t really what the show is about. The show is about having skills. It’s always something that I’ve enjoyed. Once we get past that and start breaking down the skills, it becomes entertaining. It’s not my place to say what the viewer should enjoy, but the culture needs more females out there making records.

TUD: The girls aren’t exactly cut from the Bahamadia cloth, you know? So, being a hip-hop purist does it make you want to challenge the girls to branch outside of their comfort zone?

MC Serch: I think they do! It’s a great point. Byata is definitely cut from a Bahamadia cloth. [The girls] are out of their comfort zone, having to write and memorize a song in an hour. You’re not really put in those frame of minds, as a rapper or songwriter, so you’re out of your comfort zone, period. To have to write a rhyme, memorize it and perform it in under an hour in order to win 100,000 dollars is a serious task. Equally, these challenges are pretty much rapid-fire. You have to come up with a hook, a verse, and a dance in less than an hour. It pushes the talent curve to its highest degree.

TUD: Now that you’ve been reincarnated as a television star is there any chance of you and John Brown doing a show together?

MC Serch: [Laughs] Yeah … It’s going to be a religious show with me and John Brown called “Hallelujah Holla Back.” [Laughs] Nah, man … That’s not going to happen. I’m sure if someone presented me an idea, I’d like it, but I just don’t see the value of doing a John Brown/MC Serch show. If it were to be great and special, then I’d consider it, but one of the things that happens -– it’s good that you said ‘reincarnated’ –- when you’re reinvented, people will come out and have all these great ideas for you. It’s interesting to see what people think you are versus who you know you are. I do this show because I know who I am. I love critiquing an emcee. I love being around emcees. I love being around people when the pressure is on. They perform or they go home and real emcees do that better than rappers do. I’m not interested in being on TV for the sake of being on TV. I believe that this [Miss Rap Supreme] gives a new wrinkle into the culture.

TUD: Khia and you had an online spat and she said that she was just using the show as promo for her own work. For those who don’t know –- could you bring them up to speed on what happened between you two?

MC Serch: [Laughs] Yeah. She came to the audition in Atlanta and while we were making our decision, we thought it’d be great to bring her to the house. It was going to be a good look. She didn’t come out of a clique or a camp, she had a record that made the top five on the charts and never latched on to a Trick Daddy or anyone else. She was an island to herself. We thought that it would be great to help her reinvent herself. On the show, we asked the girls to write a 16-bar verse about respect. Her rhyme was so-so, but come to find out that it was pre-written and pre-recorded on an album of hers. We had to disqualify her. At the time, she took it very well, but once the show aired, she took offense to it. She ended up dissin’ all the people involved. I wrote a response to her on my Myspace blog. She has done an amazing job of taking her 15 minutes and extending it to 45. She just came through every market promoting her single. It’s not my job to fuel the fire. I don’t get anything out of it. She said something about me and I felt that I had to respond. This is the first time and last time that I had to say something.

TUD: Hip-hop is everywhere and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, but you’ve always been one of the few who’ve pulled the cards of people disrespecting the culture. Do people still care about hip-hop or is it just an escape?

MC Serch: Great question. I think that there is movement in the culture; I just think that the movement is making the moves that should’ve been made 20 years ago. Artists like Cage, Talib Kweli, Ill Bill –- there are a bunch of artists who are making a career for themselves, that never have to deal with the mainstream and still have a major fan base. I see the growth within that in spades. Could that growth be transferred to radio? Probably not. You’re never going to see Henry Rollins on the top of the pop charts, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a life in the underground. Rap is not growing at all. While you have small bits of growth -– like Lupe [Fiasco] -– they’re only small victories for hip-hop. You don’t see too many other artists who’ve been able to do what Lupe and Kanye are able to do. In the same vein, you’d want the same for Slum Village, but it just doesn’t happen for them. It doesn’t mean that they’re not successful, but they utilize other avenues. You have these great stories of underground artists who persevere, but I just think that those stories need to be focused on better.

TUD: Word is there’s another season of The White Rapper Show in the works. Can you tell us what to expect this time around?

MC Serch: It’s not really true that there is going to be a second season. We’ve definitely talked about that, but that’s really a Sacha Jenkins question. I would do anything that ego trip does. I believe in those guys, I believe that anything that I’m a part of with them is well worth it.

TUD: Between the two shows what was one of the funniest things that happened behind the scenes?

MC Serch: Wow … Nicky2States molesting the blow up doll was hilarious [laughs]! We were in the control room and we were on the floor dying. Man, there was so much of that that we could not show. If we ever make a DVD, it’ll be on there. She was really lonely and she took it out on the blow up doll [laughs]. It’s great ego trip stuff. That was the funniest thing that I’ve seen so far -– Nicky2States molesting 69 Cent [laughs].