"Lyte as a Rock"
Single by MC Lyte
from the album Lyte as a Rock
B-side"Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)"
Released1988
Recorded1988
GenreGolden age hip hop, Hip house
Length4:30
LabelFirst Priority, Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)Lana Moorer and Kirk Robinson[1]
Producer(s)Audio Two, King of Chill (House Mix)[2]
MC Lyte singles chronology
"Paper Thin"
(1988)		 "Lyte as a Rock"
(1988)		 "I'm Not Havin' It"
(1989)
Music video
"Lyte as a Rock" on YouTube

"Lyte as a Rock" is a 1988 single from the album of the same name by American rapper MC Lyte. Although in its version on the album it is produced by Audio Two, the single and the music video use a house music mix produced by King of Chill. The song was composed by Lyte With Audio Two's Milk Dee.[1]

In 2000 the song was part of the soundtrack of the Gina Prince-Bythewood movie Love & Basketball.

The song was performed by Lil' Kim at the MC Lyte tribute at the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors.[3]

Content

In the song you hear a dialogue from producer King of Chill and Milk Dee from Audio Two talking about the meaning of "Lyte as a Rock":

Milk Dee: Do you understand the metaphoric phrase 'Lyte as a Rock?' It's explaining, how heavy the young lady is You know what I'm saying King?
King of Chill: Yes my brother, but I would consider 'Lyte as a Rock' a simile because of the usage of the word 'as' And now.. directly from the planet of Brooklyn MC Lyte -- as a Rock![4]

The B-side "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)" is a diss track to Hurby Azor's associate, Antoinette.[5]

Samples

The song contains samples from vocals of Ashford & Simpson's "Solid" and drums from Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea".

Appearances

It was later included on the compilation album Cold Rock a Party – Best of MC Lyte (2019).[6]

Later it was sampled in other songs of her like on "I Am the Lyte" from her second album Eyes on This (1989), "Ice Cream Dream (Remix 12")" (1992) and "The Wonder Years" (2006). It was also sampled in songs by others artists, such as De La Soul's "Cool Breeze on the Rocks" interlude on their album 3 Feet High and Rising and Gang Starr's "The Planet".

In 2000 the song was part of the soundtrack of the Gina Prince-Bythewood movie Love & Basketball.

The song was performed by Lil' Kim at the MC Lyte tribute at the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors.[7]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Lionel C. Martin,[8] shows MC Lyte rapping in different historical periods such as the paleolithic period, as queen of ancient Egypt and as a member of a pro-black social movement and features a brief cameo by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. It was included on her compilation video album Lyte Years (1991).[9]

Critical reception

In 1999, Ego Trip's editors ranked "Lyte as a Rock (House Mix)" at No. 7 in their list of "10 Hip House Songs That Don't Suck" in Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists.[10]

In September 2004, as a result of a survey of over 200 musicians, songwriters, disc jockeys and radio programme producers, the song ranked No. 81 on the Top40-Charts Top 100 Greatest Hip-hop/Rap Singles of all time list.[11]

In March 2016, XXL's Dominique Zonyee commented:

"She slapped the sexist game dead in the face with her groundbreaking single, "Lyte As a Rock." The iconic metaphor, as described in the first lines of the song, is symbolic for female MCs."[12]

In 2018, on the 30th anniversary of its release, Albumism's Jesse Ducker reviewed the album Lyte as a Rock where he commented that with the song, MC Lyte "attempts to prove her lyrical dominance straight out the gate. Over the drums and organ from Tommy Roe's 'Sweet Pea', transmits directly from the Planet of Brooklyn, exhibiting complete mic dominance." He also considered the "more rugged" original version superior to the remix house.[13]

Track listing

12" Vinyl

A-Side (Funky Side)

  1. "Lyte as a Rock" (House Mix) (4:30)
    • Produced by King of Chill
  2. "Lyte as a Rock" (Soul Shock Music) (4:50)

B-Side (Spunky Side)

  1. "Lyte as a Rock" (Miami Mix) (3:16)
  2. "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)" (5:49)

Personnel

Credits are taken from the liner notes.[14]

  • Executive-Producer – Nat Robinson
  • Mastered By – Dennis King (D.K.)
  • Producer, Written-By – Audio Two (tracks: A2 to B2), King Of Chill (tracks: A1)
  • Programmed By, Engineer, Music By [Music Performed By] – Audio Two
  • Written-By – MC Lyte

References

  1. 1 2 "ASCAP Repertory entry for this song". ASCAP. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  2. ↑ "King of Chill · Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ "LIL' KIM, MC LYTE PUT FEMALE MCS CENTER STAGE AT HIP-HOP HONORS". MTV (website). October 9, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  4. ↑ Perry, Imani (2004). Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. p. 64. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3446-1
  5. ↑ "MC Lyte's 'Eyes On This' Turns 30 - Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. October 2, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Cold Rock a Party Best Of - MC Lyte - Release Info". Apple Music.
  7. ↑ "LIL' KIM, MC LYTE PUT FEMALE MCS CENTER STAGE AT HIP-HOP HONORS". MTV (website). October 9, 2006. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ "MC Lyte". IMVDb. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Lyte Years - MC Lyte · Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Hip-Hop's Greatest Singles By Year (Ego Trip Magazine)". Genius. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  11. ↑ "25 years of Hip-hop: Top 100 Greatest Hip-hop/Rap Singles of all time". Top40-Charts. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  12. ↑ "25 years of Hip-hop: Top 100 Greatest Hip-hop/Rap Singles of all time". Top40-Charts. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "MC Lyte's Debut Album 'Lyte as a Rock' Turns 30 - Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. September 12, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ Lyte As A Rock (track listing). M C Lyte. First Priority Music. 1988. 0-96596.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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