Lana Michele Moorer
October 11, 1970
MC Lyte
She is an American rapper, DJ, and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first solo female rapper to release a full album with 1988’s critically acclaimed Lyte as a Rock. She released a total of eight solo studio albums (2015’s Legend being her latest) and an EP with Almost September.
With songs like “Cha Cha Cha”, “Paper Thin”, “10% Dis”, “Ruffneck” (with which she became the first female solo rapper to achieve gold certification, and “Poor Georgie”, MC Lyte became a pioneering figure in hip hop and has been cited as an influence to many female rap figures. She has also had collaborations with mainstream artists such as Sinéad O’Connor, Janet Jackson, Brandy, Xscape, Will Smith, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Moby, Aerosmith, Beyoncé, and will.i.am. In addition to her career as a rapper, she has worked in parallel as a voiceover talent for various events, writer, and DJ, and has starred in various roles in film and television. In 2022 has her directional debut with the short film Break Up In Love. Lyte has also worked with several charities, including her own foundation, Hip Hop Sisters.
She is the founder of the Hip Hop Sisters Foundation, which presented two $100,000 scholarships to college students each of the first two years of its inception and three $50,000 scholarships
MC Lyte was recognized for her career with the “I Am Hip Hop” Icon Lifetime Achievement from the BET Hip Hop Awards and was honored at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors. In September 2016 she was awarded with the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal, Harvard University’s highest honor in the field of African and African-American studies.
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. The Birmingham Times has credited her for helping transition hip-hop from the “feel-good, party vibe” of the late 1970s into a “socially conscious form of expression,” as the rapper addressed issues like racism, sexism, and the drug culture that had been affecting the African-American community. Billboard, The Washington Post, and NPR have cited her as a “hip-hop pioneer”.
MC Lyte has influenced the work of later female rappers such as Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim, Da Brat, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Monie Love, Eve,[ Rapsody, and Flo Milli, as well as rock artist Jack White. Also, About.com ranked her No. 26 on their list of the 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987–2007) and No. 6 in the Greatest Rappers Ever survey organized by NME. Furthermore, Vibe magazine has referred to MC Lyte as the “Queen of Rap”.
n February 2006, 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. This collection, entitled “Hip-Hop Won’t Stop: The Beat, the Rhymes, the Life” is a program to assemble objects of historical relevance to the hip-hop genre from its inception. MC Lyte served as the President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy (the Grammy organization) from 2011 to 2013. She was the first African American woman to serve in this role.
In 2016, producer and rapper Q-Tip revealed on his Apple Music 1 show Abstract Radio that he used to date Lyte in his days before landing a record deal with A Tribe Called Quest. In the early 1990s, Lyte was in a relationship with Todd “Todd 1” Brown (1970-2019), then the producer of Yo! MTV Raps[134] 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”… and instead of her shooting down the rumor, she went along with it.”[citation needed] Later it was speculated in the media that for a few years she had a relationship with actress Tichina Arnold. Later these rumors were denied by Arnold. In May 2015 some media speculated that Lyte had dated R&B singer Janelle Monae, but these rumors have not been confirmed by either of them.
In early 2016, she started dating Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur John Wyche, after meeting him on Match.com. They announced their engagement in May 2017. “What can I say, except thank you, Lord!!!… 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, 2017. “God has sent me true love. For all of you waiting on LOVE- don’t give up – keep God first and he will see that you meet your match.” In August they exchanged their vows during a musical wedding in Montego Bay, Jamaica. 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. In August 2020 she filed for a divorce after three years of marriage. She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.