eWritten by | Ray Cornelius
Legendary female rapper MC Lyte was in the “A” this week promoting her new venture, Café Mocha Radio. The nationally syndicated show is hosted by Lyte along with Angelique Perrin and comedian and The Real host Loni Love. According to the website, Café Mocha Radio features the ladies giving their ‘two cents’ on today’s top issues as well as social commentary. Of course, there will also be celebrity interviews, inspirational self-help advice and the best in urban contemporary music.
In addition to her radio program, Lyte was also in town promoted her new reality series on BET entitled Hip Hop Sisters. As previously reported, the show follows Lyte along with Yo, Yo, Lady of Rage, MC Smooth, Monie Love and her protégé Lil Mama as they attempt to re-launch their careers.
“The show is about our lives to a certain degree. It’s also about getting on the road while working on a new project as well as seeing if there are any new female MCs to be found,” said Lyte. “In the midst of that is all of this life that is happening to each and every individual and it’s a lot. We start taping this weekend in New Orleans, so it’s going to be quite an event.”
Lyte is also receiving this year’s I Am Hip Hop Award during tonight’s taping of the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta’s Boisfeuillet Jones Civic Center. She will be honored for ground-breaking work as a pioneering female rapper and has no problem being labeled hip-hop.
“The award is called I AM Hip Hop and that I am! (LOL) I have no problem owning up to that. I guess in years to come had I not received it now, I would have wondered, “What is going on because I am hip-hop.”
When asked how she has maintained her individuality over the years she replied, “Outside and inside I’m just me. I came into the business at an early age and in a space where record labels were appreciative of that and they just let us be who we were. And that’s why were so distinctly different from one another,” said the Grammy-winning artist known for her anthem, “Ruff Neck.”
“Today’s record labels are looking for a cookie cutter scenario like, ‘Oh that sounds good, you gotta do something that’s going to work like that inside this mix.’ You then end up having a lot of songs that sound alike. But there are some female MCs out there that seem to pierce through all of that. I also think there are a lot of original MCs out there that are not being given the time of day to show their skills to the masses.”
The BET Hip Hop Awards will air on October 15 at 8 p.m. and is hosted by Uncle Snoop.
Photo Credit: RayCornelius.com and CafeMochaRadio.com
