MC Lyte On How Female Rap Has Changed: Some Things You Hear Now, You Would’ve Never Heard Back Then

MC Lyte

MC Lyte On How Female Rap Has Changed: Some Things You Hear Now, You Would’ve Never Heard Back Then

MC Lyte is sharing her thoughts on how music, specifically from female rappers, has changed over the years.

The rapper and actress opened up to Page Six on the state of female emcees in today’s culture compared to the 80s and 90s.

She said:

“Some things you hear now, you would’ve never heard back then. There are women who have been here before and paved that trail for the next female MC to come out and be comfortable being wild.”

She continued:

“I’m sure if you talk to any female MC from my day, we all wanted to say something crazy. For us, we had to do a lot of holding back. Holding back because it just wasn’t proper to say, or holding back because it would be beyond anyone else’s belief that that would be in our vocabulary.”

She added that while new female rappers have the freedom to “say exactly what it is they want to say and dress exactly how they want to dress,” that liberty also “comes with responsibility.”

“The growth has happened, but in some areas, it can become unruly.”

While rap has certainly changed over the years, MC Lyte said there’s still room for other women to bring it back to its roots.

“It only takes one to break the mold. It takes one to swing it all the way back. She might already be out there. It could be a Rapsody, it could be a Tierra Whack, it’s just that the record labels need to support those efforts just as much as they do the others.”

Do you agree with MC Lyte? Comment and let us know.