Rap icon MC Lyte celebrated her 50th birthday on Sunday, Oct. 11. The songwriter, model, actress, motivational speaker spent her birthday serving as the announcer of “The Phoenix Awards” on BET Network.
MC Lyte was born Lana Michele Moorer in Brooklyn, New York City. She began rapping at the age of 12 under the stage name “Sparkle.”
At age 17, she released her her debut single, “I Cram To Understand U (Sam),” which she wrote at age 12.
In September 1988, she released her debut album, Lyte as a Rock, which featured the hit songs “Paper Thin,” and the diss track “10% Dis,” a response to rapper Antoinette.
Her sophomore album, 1989’s album Eyes on This featured the hit single “Cha Cha Cha,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles; “Capuccino,” and another diss track to her rap rival Antoniette, “Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe).”
“Self Destruction”, a collaborative effort for the Stop the Violence Movement, featured rappers Boogie Down Productions (BDP), Public Enemy and Heavy D, among others.
Her third album, Act Like You Know, released on September 17, 1991, spawned the hit song “Poor Georgie”.
Lyte’s follow-up album, Ain’t No Other, released on June 22, 1993, spawned her fourth No. 1 Billboard Hot Rap single “Ruffneck.”
She was nominated twice for Grammy Awards in 1994 for “Ruffneck” (Best Rap Solo Performance) and in 2004 for “Ride Wit Me” (Best Female Rap Vocal Performance).
Lyte was married once to a man, Marine Corps veteran and entrepreneur John Wyche. She filed for divorce in August 2020 after three years of marriage.
