MC Lyte - Poor Georgie

Among the most influential emcees of all time, across genders, MC Lyte’s critically acclaimed 1988 debut (full) album, Lyte As A Rock, was the first solo female rap album ever released.  Only seventeen with the record dropped, the Brooklyn native who had been rapping since the age of twelve carried on to become a hip hop (feminist) legend, busting open new space for female artists and bringing messages of female respect to the masses. Her lyrics are smart and witty, often taking on critical social issues such as misogyny, poverty, violence, sex, drugs, money, death, government and love with a smooth tomboyish charm. Her rhymes are always pragmatic, never pedantic. In 1993, popular single, "Ruffneck," earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Single and turned out to be the first gold single ever achieved by a female rap artist. Her second gold single, Keep on Keepin on (1996), appears later in this compilation.

As one of the pioneering women of hip hop, MC Lyte made her way into the hall of fame through flashing her skills, not her skin. She often donned power suits, sports apparel, baggy jeans, and oversized jackets, projecting a fierce no-bullshit femininity comin’ straight from the hood. In many of her videos she alternates between girlish-styles and more G-styles, exemplifying her ability to transition through a wide range of personas seamlessly and without hesitation. As a straight woman, it’s so refreshing / empowering to see a fly (hetero) female emcee dressed in baggy clothes, a style which today would be considered highly unfeminine or even queer, rapping about what she expects from a man who wants to get with her. I can’t think of any white women who exemplify an equivalent type of female power, strong, bold, rough, fierce, independent, sexy, and in control of her sexuality. Lyte oozes self-confidence and technical prowess; after a short time of listening to her lyrics, “the fiction you been living (she’s) gonna fill with facts!”