MC Lyte Albums (9)
'The Shit I Never Dropped'
Release Date 8/12/2003
Tracks 25
Label Hoodlum
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Da Da Undaground Heat, Vol. 1'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 17
Label ARTISTdirect
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What The Critics Say
Four and a half years after parting ways with EastWest (a subsidiary of major label Warner) in the wake of her last album, Seven & Seven, MC Lyte, at the advanced age of 31, attempted a comeback with Da Undaground Heat, Vol. 1. Pacting with the production team Maad Phunk!, she benefits from contemporary-sounding beats and gimmicks while her own rap approach remains determinedly old school. She is still relentlessly self-congratulatory, praising and mythologizing herself in a style reminiscent of her 1980s origins. The best and most unusual track is "Boy Like That," which uses a sample of the song by the same name from West Side Story. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ten years after releasing her first album, MC Lyte delivered Seven & Seven, her sixth album. During that time, Lyte remained remarkably unchanged, and Seven & Seven proves to be startlingly similar to the slick, R&B-influenced hip-hop she's been turning out since Lyte as a Rock. At times, that's not too bad, although the album has an exhausting 77-minute running length. There are good songs on the album, to be sure. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Whenever a hardcore rapper becomes more commercial, hip-hop's hardcore is likely to cry "sellout." That's exactly what happened to MC Lyte when she increased her R&B/pop appeal with 1991's Act Like You Know. The album wasn't without grit or integrity and even had some strong sociopolitical numbers, but hip-hop purists can be every bit as rigid as jazz purists -- and they tend to be wary of any attempt to cross over. So in 1993, Lyte ditched the pop elements and emphasized hardcore rap on Ain't No Other. The song that did the most to define the album was "Ruffneck," a catchy, inspired single that found Lyte expressing her preference for ragamuffin street kids from the inner city. "Ruffneck" expressed Lyte's allegiance to hip-hop's hardcore, and she's equally rugged and hard-edged on tunes like "Fuck that Motherfucking Bullshit," "Hard Copy," and "Brooklyn." As a bonus track, First Priority includes a remix of "I Cram to Understand U," the song that had put Lyte on the map in 1987. Not earth-shattering but generally decent, Ain't No Other will appeal to those who prefer Lyte's more hardcore side. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Act Like You Know'
Release Date 1/1/1991
Tracks 19
Label First Priority
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What The Critics Say
Though highly respected in rap's hardcore, MC Lyte was never a platinum seller. Atlantic Records no doubt encouraged her to be more commercial on her third album, Act Like You Know -- a generally softer, more melodic, and often R&B-ish effort than either of her first two LPs. But even so, the album is far from a sellout -- Lyte's music still has plenty of bite, substance, and integrity. Like before, she's at her best when telling some type of story instead of simply boasting about her rapping skills. Especially riveting are "Eyes Are the Soul" (a poignant reflection on the destruction caused by crack cocaine), "Lola at the Copa" (a warning about how a one-night-stand can lead to AIDS); and "Poor Georgie," which describes a young man's life and death in the fast lane. Lyte's change of direction proved to be short-lived -- with her next album, Ain't No Other, she returned to hardcore rap in a big way. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A rapper with considerable technique and a fine sense of humor, Lyte was one of the most highly regarded female MCs of the late '80s and early '90s -- especially on the East Coast. Eyes on This, the Brooklyn native's second album, tends to be one-dimensional lyrically -- she spends too much time bragging about how superior her rapping skills are and how inept sucker MCs are. Though it's hard not to admire the technique and strong chops she displays on such boasting fare as "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)" -- an attack on Lyte's nemesis, Antoinette -- and "Slave 2 the Rhythm," she's at her best when telling some type of meaningful story. Undeniably, the CD's standout track is "Cappuccino," an imaginative gem in which Lyte stops by a Manhattan cafe and gets caught in the crossfire of rival drug dealers. In the afterlife, she asks herself: "Why, oh why, did I need cappuccino?" Were everything on the album in a class with "Cappuccino," it would have been an outstanding album instead of simply a good one. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
'Lyte as a Rock'
Release Date 1/1/1988
Tracks 10
Label First Priority
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In the earliest years of the hip-hop game, women were quite frequently overlooked until a new breed of female lyricist came along and gave the proverbial middle finger to a male-dominated game. MC Lyte's debut ushered in the era of the female MC -- confident, brazen, and not afraid to put male MCs in their misogynist place without flinching. The album starts off with a rather slow introduction before kicking things into high gear with the now classic title track, which put Lyte in the center of a media frenzy. With Lyte reasserting her femininity over and over again without compromising production quality or lyric delivery, Lyte as a Rock has aged better than most records that came out during hip-hop's formative years, although at certain moments it has become dated since its release. But what has aged is more than compensated by the classic tunes and the disc's potent historical impact on a generation of women MCs. A classic. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
