MC Lyte
MC Lyte , actually Lana Michele Moorer , (born October 11, 1971 in Queens , New York City , New York ) is an American rapper and actress .
Life
In the mid-1980s, a time when hip-hop was dominated exclusively by men, Lana Moorer discovered her talent for rap. With only twelve, she recorded her first single I Cram to Understand U on. Her way of rapping was quickly heard. So the record label Priority Records , which counted rap greats like NWA , Master P , Ice Cube , Mack 10 and Snoop Dogg among its protégés, became aware of Lyte.
Together they worked on the debut album Lyte as a Rock , which was released in 1988. The combination of self-confident, socially critical texts and her extraordinary talent also earned the New Yorker recognition from her male colleagues.
Her second studio album, Eyes on This, followed just a year after the debut . The included track Cha Cha Cha entered the US R&B charts. She made her final breakthrough in 1993 with the song Ruffneck , her answer to Apache's provocative song Gangsta Bitch . The song rose to the top 10 on the R&B charts and went gold .
MC Lytes 'most successful releases are the 1996 singles Keep On, Keepin' On and Cold Rock a Party , both collaborations with the band Xscape . Both songs climbed into the top 5 of the R&B hit list, but also reached notable chart positions on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as in Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain.
Parallel to the music business, Lyte played in various films and series, including a. she played "Ky", a record label boss, on the sitcom Half & Half .
style
The genre of the first two albums is unmistakably hardcore rap . Loose sayings and rough rhymes were her trademark. In 1991 her style changed to R&B . Why she decided to do so was never publicly communicated. Some suspect that their record company advised the type change to increase sales. However, social criticism remained an integral part of Lyte's music.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1988 | Lyte as a rock | - | - | - | - |
R&B50 (16 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1988
|
| 1989 | Eyes on This | - | - | - |
US86 (20 weeks) US |
R&B6 (30 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 1989
|
| 1991 | Act Like You Know | - | - | - |
US102 (16 weeks) US |
R&B14 (33 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 17, 1991
|
| 1993 | Ain't no other | - | - | - |
US90 (16 weeks) US |
R&B16 (25 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1993
|
| 1996 | Bad as I Wanna B |
DE95 (1 week) DE |
- | - |
US59 (6 weeks) US |
R&B11 (25 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 27, 1996
|
| 1998 | Seven & Seven |
DE87 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
R&B71 (1 week) R&B |
First published: August 18, 1998
|
| 2003 | Since Undaground Heat Vol. 1 | - | - | - | - |
R&B95 (1 week) R&B |
First published: March 18, 2003
MC Lyte Is Lytro; Hosted by Jamie Foxx |
More albums
- 1997: Badder Than B Fore: The Remix Album
- 2003: Shit I Never Dropped (release: August 12th)
- 2015: Legend (release: April 18th)
Compilations
- 2001: The Very Best of MC Lyte (released September 4th)
- 2005: Rhyme Masters (release: October 4th)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1989 | Cha Cha Cha Eyes on This |
- | - | - | - |
R&B65 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1989
|
| 1991 | When in Love Act Like You Know |
- | - | - | - |
R&B14 (13 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 1991
|
| 1992 | Poor Georgie Act Like You Know |
- | - | - |
US83 (5 weeks) US |
R&B11 (19 weeks) R&B |
First release: December 1991
including samples from Totos Georgy Porgy and The Supremes ' My World Is Empty Without You |
| Eyes Are the Soul Act Like You Know |
- | - | - | - |
R&B84 (4 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1992
|
|
| 1993 | Ruffneck Ain't No Other |
- | - |
UK67 (1 week) UK |
US35  (20 weeks)US |
R&B10 (21 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1993
|
| I Go On Ain't No Other |
- | - | - | - |
R&B68 (11 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 1993
|
|
| 1996 | Can't hang |
- | - | - |
US50 (16 weeks) US |
R&B16 (16 weeks) R&B |
First release: February 1996
Xscape feat. MC Lyte |
| Keep On, Keepin 'On Bad As I Wanna B |
DE32 (16 weeks) DE |
CH41 (3 weeks) CH |
UK27 (4 weeks) UK |
US10 (20 weeks)US |
R&B3 (24 weeks) R&B |
First release: March 1996
feat. Xscape from the soundtrack of the film Sunset Park including samples from Michael Jackson's Liberian Girl |
|
| Everyday Bad As I Wanna B |
- | - |
UK81 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
R&B44 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: July 1996
|
|
| Cold Rock a Party Bad As I Wanna B |
DE15 (15 weeks) DE |
CH22 (18 weeks) CH |
UK15 (4 weeks) UK |
US11 (20 weeks)US |
R&B5 (22 weeks) R&B |
||
| 1997 | Come on Paradise |
- | - | - |
US44 (19 weeks) US |
R&B19 (20 weeks) R&B |
First release: March 1997
Billy Lawrence feat. MC Lyte |
| I'm Leavin U (Gotta Go, Gotta Go) |
DE59 (9 weeks) DE |
- |
UK78 (1 week) UK |
- | - |
First release: October 1997
Bootsy Collins feat. MC Lyte |
|
| 1998 | Curious Levert - Sweat - Gill |
- | - | - | - |
R&B28 (12 weeks) R&B |
|
| I can't make a mistake |
- | - |
UK46 (2 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: August 1998
|
|
| It's all yours |
- | - |
UK36 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First release: December 1998
feat. Gina Thompson |
|
| 2000 | Jammin ' A Rebel's Dream |
- | - |
UK42 (2 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First release: June 2000
Bob Marley feat. MC Lyte |
| 2004 | Girlfriend's Story |
- | - |
UK38 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First release: April 2004
Gemma Fox feat. MC Lyte |
| Fighting Temptation The Fighting Temptations (Soundtrack) |
DE24 (7 weeks) DE |
CH42 (6 weeks) CH |
- | - | - |
First released: July 2004
Beyoncé , Missy Elliott , Free and MC Lyte from the soundtrack of The Fighting Temptations |
|
More singles
- 1987: I Cram to Understand U (Sam)
- 1988: 10% Dis (release: March)
- 1988: I Want Your (Hands on Me) ( Sinéad O'Connor with MC Lyte; release: April 13th)
- 1988: Paper Thin
- 1989: Stop, Look, Listen (with DJ K Rock)
- 1989: I'm Not Havin 'It (with Positive K)
- 1989: cappuccino
- 1991: All That
- 1991: Act Like You Know
- 1992: Ice Cream Dream
- 1996: Lyte of a Decade
- 1996: TRG (The Rap Game)
- 1997: Have U Ever (Sharam Jey Mix)
- 1998: Woo Woo (Freak Out)
- 1998: Party Going On
- 1998: Propa
- 2000: Time for a Change (Rapsody feat.MC Lyte, Danacee and Khaled)
- 2002: Ride wit Me / God Said Lyte (MC Lyte Is Lytro)
Filmography (selection)
- 1998: For Your Love (TV series, four appearances)
- 1998: Go to Hell Hollywood (To Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn)
- 1999: A Luv Tale
- 2000: Train Ride
- 2002: Civil Fire
- 2002: Half & Half (TV series, 14 appearances)
- 2003: Playa's Ball
- 2011: American Revolutionaries: DMC
- 2018: SWAT (TV series season 1 episode 20)
Web links
- Official website (requires Flash )
- MC Lyte at Allmusic (English)
- MC Lyte at Discogs (English)
- MC Lyte at laut.de
- MC Lyte at the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Singles Albums DE UK US
- ↑ a b gold / platinum database US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | MC Lyte |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Moorer, Lana Michele (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rapper and actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 11, 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Queens , New York City, New York, United States |