Rapper mc lyte biography mc

She began rapping when she was 12, learning from her brothers Milk and Gizmo of the rap group Audio Two. Her father, Nat Robinson, started the First Priority record label in , and her brothers appeared on her first three albums. The single, released when Lyte was still a teen, set a standard for adult, hard-core rap that has rarely been equaled since.

Her first album, Lyte as a Rock, was released on First Priority in and produced by her brothers. Despite the assertive, in-your-face persona Lyte shows in her music and onstage, the artist is known for her soft-spoken demeanor behind the scenes. The result was a smoother, more soulful turn for the artist. I worked with some young, hungry … rappers.

Being around them gave me a whole different feel. They want to party, so I gave them fat beats and fat lyrics about me. She spent the summer of on a sold-out tour, opening for Janet Jackson.

Rapper mc lyte biography mc

It also found her with a heightened sense of responsibility for the music she made, and the impact it had on her fans. L Cool J. Beyond recording records and releasing increasingly popular singles, many female MCs began to diversify in the late s. Some started record companies, some went into acting. Lyte went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

She also appeared in the independent film A Luv Tale. Hers was the voice behind a national advertising campaign for Wherehouse Music. She also signed a three-year deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. She also hosted a talk show for Sirius, interviewing black celebrities and entertainers such as Whoopi Goldberg , Vivica Fox, and Tisha Campbell.

Despite not having a great commercial performance, it is considered one of the best and most important rap albums, both in the 80s and in history. Together they released the single " Self Destruction " in response to violence in the hip hop and African American communities. The song debuted at 1 on the first week of Billboard Hot Rap Singles existence [ 32 ] and the proceeds were donated to the National Urban League.

In October Lyte would publish her second album Eyes on This. This album, like its predecessor, received a great critical reception and is recognized as a hip hop classic. This single peaked 10 on Billboard Black Songs. On May 1, , Lyte performed on "Yo! Also during that year Lyte began work on her next album, titled Ain't No Other , which was released on June 22, With this album, in which she adopts a more hardcore hip hop sound, Lyte achieved better critical reception than her predecessor.

Blige's " You Bring Me Joy ". This new collaboration with Xscape reached 10 on the Billboard Hot , her highest position on this chart as main artist, getting a gold certification. It also enters the top 40 of various charts outside the United States, being 1 and certified platinum in New Zealand. This would have a poor commercial and critical reception despite having the collaboration of famous producers and artists such as The Neptunes , LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, L.

This track would later be released as single. The album has little commercial impact and mixed reviews, but the single " Ride Wit Me " get a nomination for the 46th edition of the Grammy Awards in the Best Female Rap Vocal Performance category. Lyte would be the first female solo rapper to achieve this recognition. Fresh , Slick Rick , and Whodini.

Concert Series in Brooklyn. In that year also released the single with a Reggae -oriented sound "Brooklyn". That year she also released the single "Dopestyle" and her own Mobile app MC Lyte App , where publishes her exclusive musical releases. In April , MC Lyte released Legend , her eighth solo album and her first full-length studio album in 12 years.

During , she continued to release a strand of singles, one of which was 'Easy', in response to her British audience claiming that artists who recorded new jack swing were sexually explicit. The psychological thriller film, titled The Memo , starred Kyla Pratt. In , she guest starred in the Regular Show episode "Rap It Up", portraying a member of a hip-hop group also including characters voiced by Tyler, the Creator and Childish Gambino.

Lyte signed with the production unit, Duc Tha Moon, for three years and eventually made a deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. MC Lyte talked about her career in rap music and what it was like during the beginnings of hip hop. She also performed a concert of her most famous hits. The program was produced by Rex Barnett. MC Lyte opened Shaitel, a Los Angeles boutique that specialized in accessories from belts to sunglasses.

We boast to bring a little New York flavor out here to California. She did the voice of Tia for the Mattel toy line Diva Starz from to In February , her diary, as well as a turntable , records , and other assorted ephemera from the early days of hip hop, were donated to the Smithsonian Institution. She also claimed to know "all the words" on Kurtis Blow 's records.

Her style of rap has been described in the book Listen to Rap! Exploring a Musical Genre as "mid-tempo but aggressive lots of plosives and carefully articulated, with emphasis on end rhymes. MC Lyte was considered by both the specialized press and fans as one of the best and most important Hip hop artists, [ 13 ] [ ] [ ] [ ] mainly among female artists.

Greg Prato of AllMusic , referred to her as one of the first female rappers to "point out the sexism and misogyny that often runs rampant in hip-hop", often taking the subject "head on lyrically" in her songs. In the early s, Lyte was in a relationship with Todd "Todd 1" Brown — , then the producer of Yo! MTV Raps [ ] and at that time she would also make public in an interview that they were engaged.

Brown later said that the latter was part of a joke started by one of the hosts of the show Tyrone "T Money" Kelsie "he came up with the marriage idea and then mayhem ensued. After the initial show, the story got so big that an interviewer actually asked Lyte about her "marriage" Later these rumors were denied by Arnold. In early , she started dating Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur John Wyche, after meeting him on Match.

They announced their engagement in May It's been a long time, this single life, and I thank you all for your prayers and kind words of hope," she wrote in an Instagram post dated January 21, For all of you waiting on LOVE- don't give up — keep God first and he will see that you meet your match. Reggae Congo bands played as Lyte walked down the aisle, and the couple's friend Kelly Price serenaded them during the ceremony.

Afterward, an intimate gathering with only close friends and family members was held. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American rapper born New York City , U.

Albums singles videography. John Wyche. Charles Hamilton cousin. Musical artist. Early life [ edit ]. Musical career [ edit ]. Beginnings: Lyte as a Rock and Eyes on This — [ edit ]. Other ventures [ edit ]. Acting [ edit ]. Business and commerce [ edit ]. Voiceover [ edit ]. DJing [ edit ]. Speaker [ edit ]. Leadership and philanthropy [ edit ].

Artistry [ edit ]. Influences, style and rapping technique [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Personal life [ edit ]. Discography [ edit ]. Main article: MC Lyte discography. Filmography [ edit ]. Film [ edit ]. Television [ edit ]. Awards and nominations [ edit ]. Grammy Awards [ edit ]. Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards [ edit ]. Billboard Music Awards [ edit ].

BET Awards [ edit ]. Other accolades [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Notorious B. Wu-Tang Clan Biography. Hip Hop in Education. Commercialization of Hip Hop. MC Lyte Digital Biography. Her father started the record label First Priority in , and her brothers performed and did production work for the label. Known as Milk and Gizmo of the rap unit Audio Two, Lyte's brothers went on to contribute to each of her three records.

With their assistance she recorded the single "I Cram to Understand U," and its reception raised expectations for her First Priority debut album, Lyte as a Rock, in Lyte's plaintive tone and her self-deprecating story add up to a complex emotional statement. Musically, Lyte's first album is relatively spare; its beats and samples are minimal and seem designed to emphasize Lyte's raps rather than function as songs.

In she moved further in the direction of popular success with Eyes on This. The album, which Rolling Stone called a "slamming, street-smart" effort, yielded a number one rap single, "Cha Cha Cha," and two other top ten tracks, "Stop, Look, Listen" and "Cappucino. This song, as Michele Wallace remarked in Ms. In Lyte went on tour with rap superstars Heavy D.

In addition to playing concerts, Lyte toured schools and appeared at press conferences as part of Stop the Violence, an organization working to end violence in the black community. As a leading woman of rap, Lyte is in an ideal position to communicate to a large audience her opinions on a variety of social issues. An ardent activist, she articulates her concerns about drug abuse, racism, and sexism through both her songs and her no-nonsense demeanor.

For instance, Mother Jones quoted her response to male rappers calling women "bitches": "If you allow someone to call you a bitch and you answer So it's a matter of women taking a stand and telling them that they're not going for it. As far as the strong language in her own raps is concerned, Lyte sticks to her guns. I wanted to rap about it to show them that they're not the only ones going through this, and that, yes, it is possible for somebody to fall in love with someone and not know they're on drugs