by Sibylla Nash
Before there was Megan, Nicki, or Lil' Kim, there was MC Lyte.
It was 1988 when Lyte, born Lana Moorer, made Hip-Hop take notice with her debut album Lyte as a Rock. At the time you could count the number of solo women emcees on one hand, and when she came on the scene, she kicked down doors and paved the way as the first woman rapper to drop a solo album. Lyte accomplished a lot of firsts. She was the first Hip-Hop artist to perform at Carnegie Hall, first woman Hip-Hop artist to have a gold single and solo Grammy nomination for her 1993 track “Ruffneck,” and first solo woman rapper to be honored/inducted on VH1’s Hip Hop Honors.
I don’t remember when I first heard her, but I remember how I felt. Emboldened. Empowered. Ready to kick some…booty or get some. I dare you to listen to “Ruffneck” and not want to bust a move. After being inundated with male rappers' bravado, it was liberating to hear a woman emcee flip the script with her lyrics. She eviscerated the fragile male ego in “Paper Thin.” Her 1989 single, “Shut the Eff Up (Hoe),” another diss track for her rival Antoinette (in case “10% Dis” didn’t get the point across) let you know she was battle rap-ready. Her distinctive voice, smooth with a punch of bass, head-nodding beats, and lyrical wordplay were hypnotic.
She was hard, yet owned her femininity, and was unapologetically talented. She was the Mike Tyson of rap; she didn't come to play. Stripped of embellishments with her t-shirts, sweatsuits, and sneakers, she’d knock you out with a lyrical one-two punch. She set the bar for all rappers, with her complex storytelling and lyrics that sometimes straddled political subject matter yet still got the crowd hyped.
She achieved platinum sales, both domestic and international, with the 1996 singles “Keep On Keeping On” featuring Xscape and “Cold Rock A Party” with Missy Elliott. She has collaborated with ground-breaking artists including Beyonce, Sinead O’Connor, New Kids on the Block, Janet Jackson, Sinbad, Brandy, Missy Elliott, Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat, Johnny Gill, Xscape and Jamie Foxx to name a few.
You get the picture; she's dope.
But before she was MC Lyte she was just a girl with a notebook who loved dancing, acting, theater and chronicling life in Brooklyn as she saw it. She and her mother went to museums and found all sorts of free things to do in the city. Her mother had a friend that worked at one of the theaters.
“I went to a lot of plays. Heard a lot of music. Through a bunch of different relatives, I was introduced to hip hop in Harlem in the late 70s,” remembers Lyte.
“I Cram to Understand U (Sam),” her first single, was the first song in her rhyme book and put her on the map. It detailed the effects of crack cocaine and how it destroyed a burgeoning relationship.
Her origin story, as told, was one of destiny. Her brothers Giz and Milk Dee of Audio Two had found success with their 1987 hit, “Top Billin’” (still sampled today) on their father’s label, First Priority. They turned to little sis when the time came to release another album. In reality, DJ Clark Kent (before he was DJ Clark Kent and was just Tony) helped her with a demo of “I Cram to Understand U."
“He was friends with a co-worker of mine who took me to Latin Quarter, [a club in New York City]” says Lyte. “We met there and talked about music and recording. I told him I had a rhyme written, and he had a studio at his house. We recorded ‘I Cram 2 Understand U’ there first. He was extremely supportive through my journey.”
When she was a junior in high school, Eric Cole, who had been a classmate in junior high and was a member of the rap group, The Alliance, took her to audition for First Priority Music because they were looking for a female emcee.
“I can’t remember what time of year it was, but it was cold because it was in Staten Island. I remember the frost over the water taking the ferry over... I auditioned,” she chuckles, “and it worked out.”
After he heard her demo, Nat Robinson, founder of First Priority, remembers thinking, “This girl is a hit, she’s going to blow up. I told Milk, ‘she’s going to take over the female part of the game.’ She was unique, had a raw, powerful voice that just dominated.”
Robinson put her in the studio, and she re-recorded the track with Milk Dee as a producer.
A former corporate executive and club promoter, Robinson worked his magic pushing the single from his storefront on St. John's in Brooklyn. He plastered the city with stickers on subway cars and phone booths, and stood in front of clubs to give away records. It paid off.
Lyte stayed true to her Brooklyn roots and included the track, “Kickin’ 4 Brooklyn,” on her debut album: “That's the thing about Brooklyn, they never get enough, Of the rap and the music and all the good stuff.”
Her lyrics were prescient as Brooklyn has consistently gifted us with Hip-Hop legends like Notorious B.I.G., Lil Kim, JAY-Z and so many others. Since Lyte’s debut over 30 years ago, she’s added actress, entrepreneur, and philanthropist to her resume. And she’s never compromised as an artist and keeps her Brooklyn roots close.
Her firm, Sunni Gyrl, handles production and development of television and film projects. She also manages several artists, performs voice over, and acts.
“I’m grateful to do what I love,” says Lyte.
Her non-profit, Hip Hop Sisters Foundation, has given away over a million dollars in scholarship funds to young women and men attending college.
“It’s a beautiful gift from God to be in a position to give!”