By TUREKA TURK
Michigan Citizen
Lyte's grown up. She's a
big girl now. No I nger is she
the subway bopping teen­
ager, clad in a warm-up suit
and mushroom hairstyle,
belting a sucker dissing rap
called "Paper Thin ".
Now gone full circle into
"Ruffneck", her mad new re­
lease from "Ain't No Other"
,
Lyte has greatly matured but
continues to throw hard-hit­
ting, straight-to-the-point, no
short rhymes.
Lyte is one female that
stands up and demands her
d p, the main reason why
he' go members from
hip-hop jun i to sophi ti­
cated ladies.
Her rhymes, brewing with
longevity, have always been
the consciousness of young fe­
males across the nation.
Why? Because the sub­
jects Lyte deals with are
within the internal beat of a
woman's mind.
Take -ur Paul", another
track on "Ain't No Other", for
. example:
"Yeh, we f----- and you didn't
call
But that's alright 'cause I'm
doin'
your boy; Paul"
"Lil' Paul" ain't a no-
moral, whore jam. It finally
lets brothers know what's up
after they try their "love 'em
and leave 'em" wrap. Broth­
ers, Lyte's not having it and.
neither are we!
"The stuff I'm rapping
about, like 'Lil Paul', is the
shit that's going on out there;
part of being a rapper is being
an observer, someone who
can relate to the real deal,"
she says.
reluf
Actin' like he don't care
When all I gotta do is beep him.
911
And he'll be there
Right by my silk with his
ruffneck tactics
Ruffneck attitude, the ruffneck
bastard"
Lyte has always been one
to hold her own against even
the roughest of the roughest
'People are gonna hear
, teady F ---ing' and say
'Damn! I can't believe
Lyte aid all that hit.'
And, finally, a track that
plainly states what some sis­
ters really want in a man!
"Ruffneck" should get mad
props just 'cause it has the
Potential to cancel out all of
those bubble gum songs that
claim to know what a sister
wants. Forget the fake ro­
mance, clandestine rendez­
vous, and too-descri pti ve
promises of what's to come.
"Starlin' beef is how he spells
hard-core male rappers,
which has gained her much
respect from the likes of the
brothers Boogie Down Pro­
ductions.
And for those who question
the validity of Lyte's waver­
ing between commercial rap
and hardcore, stop your wor­
rying.
"I know thatsome folks are
going to think, 'OK, all the
other ladies are going hard­
core, so Lyte's doing the same
10 e
,
coupl he a young b by daughter. If th y are
indeed breaking up, The Scoop ks: -Mirror, .
mirror On t I. ho' th next blond Quincy
will call?"
Ar enio Return To Hi Root:
A nio Hall attended the N tional i tion
of Blae Joul'nalist&' (NABJ) conference, which
took place in Ho ton ntly. He w th re to
promo the n w movi "BOPHA;- which h
utive producer.
Th film marked the directorial debut of.
actor Morgan Fr man, nd sta Danny Glover
and Alfre Woodard. The movi tells th tory of
th inter .. con11i , both socially and perso lly,
betw n a Bl ck South Mrican police om r
nd hi n, who' the 1 ader of a radical form
thing.
h nte hould holding up
whit flag ny d y now.
And what 1 Ly r cord
without a am jam?
"] Cram To Understand U
( am)-1990" i cool r minisce
of the original r I in
19 8, only this r mix i hel­
luva and ju tin
Th track spm: w bbed
tal of h r involv m nt with
broth r m rried to th pipe
. In h way only Ly manages
to drop. Her tal nt of bring­
mg forth urban r alitytal is
unmatchabl
,ow, Ly
d of
can.
hante nev r r alized that
th on group of rapp rs in
th industry who will r main
upportiv are her sist rs
who ex ri nc h am ills
h d
ri n
f w fern I r p­
strong founda-