James McNamara can formulate a rap lyric about a fly swatter on the spot.

“Seeing that I’m sly, well I gotta be a bee when I swat you like a fly.”

That lyric and many others – about everything from napkins to an ice scraper – recently helped land the School of Arts and Sciences student a coveted spot representing the United States at an international hip-hop event in London.

With his arms whirling in motion, McNamara, 22, who prefers to be referred to by his stage name of "Dirty Mac," bursts in and out of rap lyrics as he describes his plans to launch a full-time career as a hip-hop artist, or MC as it’s known in rap circles, once he graduates from Rutgers.

“I love the fact that I can perform in front of a lot of people,” McNamara said. “You use creativity to build energy and anticipation so that you stand out as an individual.”

McNamara developed a knack for impromptu, or “freestyle,” rap nearly a decade ago, while sitting by himself during lunch at Grover Cleveland Middle School in Elizabeth. The seventh grader saw other students rapping and jumped in, hoping a short rhyme would help him fit in.

He has long since forgotten the topic of his first rap, but it had enough style to get noticed by students, many of whom were fans of Eminem, a white rap artist who was popular at the time and has since won several Grammy Awards.

“There wasn’t anyone else around my school who was white and who did that,” McNamara said. “They didn’t know what to make of me. I didn’t understand rap at first.  I just did it to prove a point – to show I had a talent. I figured if you don’t like me, you can like me for this.”

McNamara soon moved to Scotch Plains, sending him in search of friends once again.  This time, he wrote out a rap he called “Now and Then” about his transition from his days in Elizabeth and donned sunglasses and a Yankees baseball cap to perform it in a school talent show.

“It was something about gaining acceptance,” he said. “This was my identification.”

By the time he started high school, McNamara’s skinny frame, long hair, and oversized clothes helped earn him the nickname “Dirty Mac” among friends – the name he still uses on stage. He decided school clubs and sports weren’t for him and instead rapped for friends in school hallways and wrote out rhymes at home, filling stacks of notebooks that still sit in his house.

After graduating from high school, McNamara focused on rhyming while earning an associate’s degree at Union County College. In December 2006, he made his first appearance at End of the Weak, an open mic event at The Pyramid Club in Manhattan. End of the Weak has chapters in France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

McNamara slowly built up a name for himself among other hip-hop artists as he graduated Union County and enrolled in Rutgers. But his profile soared when he got a spot in the MC Challenge of Champions at Southpaw in Brooklyn in November 2008.

The contest had five rounds: a prepared verse over written music, an a cappella verse, a freestyle verse based on five random objects, a verse with the DJ over three random beats, and a back-and-forth verse with a competitor.

The judges awarded points based on the quality of the lyrics, creativity, stage presence, crowd response, delivery, and flow. McNamara got the top marks, earning himself a paid trip to London for the international championships in February.

Though he didn’t win, McNamara said the chance to compete against other rappers from the United Kingdom, Germany, and France was exciting.

“The whole room was just packed,” he said. “It was just great.”

History Professor James Livingston, who has taught McNamara in two courses, said that kind of attitude is what makes McNamara an outgoing student in the classroom.

“He's open to the world,” Livingston said. “That openness equips him to improvise in his chosen field.”

McNamara said he plans to major in journalism at Rutgers in hopes of boosting his writing skills and learning more about the media. “I feel like it will help me with the writing in my songs,” he said. “The whole purpose of doing hip-hop, rapping, and rhyming is really just poetry.”