New Article On MC Lyte

[bigted]

http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/8824/1

Before Eve, before Foxy Brown and before Lil' Kim, there was Lyte. Back when female hip hoppers were rocking door knocker earrings, one MC proved that she could hold her own in the male-dominated world of hip-hop and commanded respect in the process.

Hailing from the planet of Brooklyn, she commenced to dropping hits like "Cha Cha Cha" and "Roughneck" to the scathing "10% Dis," "The Ether" of its time. MC Lyte played the game by her own rules and proved that females could in fact get on and be appreciated for their lyrical prowess without having to put on a Vanity 6 routine.

The MC born Lana Moorer dropped her debut album Lyte As a Rock in 1988 and kicked down the doors and made the world take notice. But as hip-hop has gotten a little darker over the years, we've in turn been subjected to less Lyte. With a new album, Back to Lyte, on its way and a new book already on shelves, SOHH caught up with the pioneering MC to talk about her ventures away from the mic, the negative messages that hip-hop sends to youth and women and why the Smithsonian is recognizing game.

"It wasn't easy, although most of my struggle had nothing to do with other rappers," Lyte says of her days coming up as a female MC. "My struggle had to do with promoters who had to pay me and felt as if they didn't have to pay me what they paid male rappers."

Obviously unaware of how the Lyte gets down, naive promoters would soon learn that there would be no half-stepping when it came to the amount of money or respect due to the Brooklynite.

Turning adversity into an advantage, MC Lyte only used the temporary set backs as a motivational tool, which only made her work harder as a person and an artist. And while you may think that someone who has earned as many stripes as she has would understandably be a little cocky and possess a "diva syndrome," Lyte stays true to her humble beginnings when it comes to her props or lack there of.

"I've never been one to be resentful or come across as resentful towards the way that I'm treated in hip hop," she says. "I get my accolades from the people who express to me what I've done for them."

A renaissance woman to the fullest, MC Lyte has been flourishing away from the mic for years by honing her acting chops in several independent films including 2000's Luv Tale and a recurring role on the UPN sitcom Half and Half . She has also recently opened Shaitel, a Los Angeles boutique that specializes in accessories from belts to sunglasses that's sure to keep heads in LA looking fresh to def. "We sell a mixture of new and vintage [items]," explains Lyte. "We also have a few signature pieces that are done just for the store. We boast to bring a little New York flavor out here to California."

Between reading scripts and keeping shop, she still found time to pen her book, Just My Take, which she bills as a mixture of poetry, self-help and words of wisdom. But as with any true MC, their first love is always the mic. Lyte is readying her new disc, Back To Lyte, for a late spring/early summer release. The album features guest appearances by Kay-Gee of Naughty by Nature, Sadat X and DJ Premier.

"It's totally a hip-hop record," she exclaims. "I don't mean hip-hop as in just slamming beats, kicks and snares that make you want to bop your head. I mean hip-hop as in coming from the heart. People are gonna relate to it because its not fluff. I'm talking about real circumstances, real issues that can effect people's lives."

Some of the people's lives that she feels are being negatively affected by certain images in hip-hop and the media are the younger, more impressionable audience.

"I want to address [youth] in a positive light because so many rappers aren't," says Lyte. "With the way that the media is pushing them, they come out knowing more at 13 and 14 [years old] then I knew at 18."

Lyte also takes issue with the misogynistic practices in hip-hop that have seemingly become commonplace. She believes that the viewers and consumers must take more of an active approach if the cycle is to be broken.

"I want [the public] to understand their self-worth and let them know that they should not be so easily entertained," she candidly laments. "Record labels have, to some degree, convinced artists that they're not enough, so they have to add all of this other stuff for people to be entertained."

Though hip-hop definitely has some growing left to do, the culture still has impacted many lives in a positive light and was recently recognized with an exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History entitled "Hip-Hop Won't Stop," of which MC Lyte was a part of. She donated a rhyme book and journal with handwritten lyrics to the prestigious exhibit which will forever enshrine the artist's work.

With honors in hand and a new album around the corner, MC Lyte is poised to bring back integrity and lyricism to the art of MCing. Fortunately for us, the future is in good hands.

"It's almost like watching theatre or a movie," Lyte says. "It's like watching a bad ass actor, and I think a lot of hip-hop is comprised of that right now. But luckily, I'm here to save the day."

[Guest thebigmac]

:1-say-yes:

[JumpinJack AJ]

YES!! SOME NEW MC LYTE!!! IT'S ABOUT TYME!!! I gotta check out this book 2. Thanx 4 posting this!!