|
|
|
Contributor
 
Group: Moderators
Last Login: 6/30/2010 10:04:36 AM
Posts: 46,
Visits: 75
|
|
Over the years, MC Lyte has become more than just one of the best female emcees to ever hold it down. We got a chance to chop it up and among other things she explains her winning creative process, what she’s been up to and her continuous appreciation for the love she still receives from today’s teens.
What does Brooklyn mean to you and how has its environment influenced your style?
Brooklyn means curry goat, Brooklyn means the finest beef patties and coco bread, Brooklyn means home, trees and hard *** concrete, skellys and stickball, tag, run and catch. It’s everything that raised me.
It’s not easy for many to sustain such a consistent career like you have. What do you think are the main reasons that you’ve been able to maintain for this long?
I never had a gimmick. This is what allows me to still maintain as an emcee and people not look at me like I’m cross-eyed. It’s just me being able to be me. In the midst of it all there’s no gimmick that I have to put down or come at it another way. That outfit that I was wearing now has to be changed because of… That’s on the artistic side. As for me spiritually maintaining in the business is just that I have an insatiable need to play this game. In playing the game, it doesn’t matter how many times I fall and scrap my knee or the skin may come off of my elbow but I’m still gonna pick my *** back up and I will play the game because I love to play it. That’s it.
You’ve recorded an impressive body of music. What’s the best song you’ve ever written?
Oh boy! Probably the best rhyme I’ve ever written has never been heard. I think I always want to elevate so I’m never quite satisfied. I’m always pushing to make it that much hotter. I’m an emcee’s mc so I want to make sure that I can impress an emcee.
When you write songs do you ever write a song and arrange it for a particular setting. For example, I’m gonna do this one at a show or I want the listener to really get an experience when their listening on the headphones riding the train or an Ipod or I’m writing this and I want people to enjoy this at a party or whatever?
Absolutely! I think that’s in just choosing the music. It’s like okay, I really like this track but what does it mean at the end of the day. Can I do this in a stadium or is this like a small S.O.B.’s situation in NYC. I think it’s the music that sort of for me dictates how small or large that audience will be in hearing it. I’m clear as to who Wu- Tang makes music for. I’m also clear as to who Kanye [West] makes music for. It’s not to say one is better or worse than the other. It’s just they know who they’re trying to capture and I think it’s evident in the music so when you ask me that… absolutely when I hear the music I think about who it is that I wanna affect, how do I want to leave them, what type of venues I want to play. What song do I want this played in between like after and before what other artists. I take all of those things in to consideration.
Who is or who are some of the most creative producers that you’ve worked with and who would you want to work with in the future?
I would definitely have to say the Neptunes are extremely creative. I probably was their first release right before they did “Superthug” with N.O.R.E. in ’97 I think it was…and they did four songs for me. On those songs they were very instrumental in the flow and in the hooks. They produce a song and that’s what I like most is one who can get involved in the song-making process of it and not just the beat. You have producers that go: “I got a hot beat!” but then what? I admire that about them and I think Jermaine Dupri is the same way. Honestly, I think it’s evident when we look at who do major record labels go to for tracks. It’s those producers that are gonna take the extra step and go the extra mile to make sure that the song defines them well. I’ve heard producers say: “Yeah, I gave that beat to so and so but he aint really do it justice.” Well, whose fault is that? You should have challenged him! The producer should be part of a team that’s looking to make the hottest record that they can possibly make. Sometimes I think producers get caught up in competing against one another on a record. Like: “They did that record but my joints gonna be hotter on that record.” It’s like no… it’s a cohesive situation here. If there are three hot songs on a record because one producer did those songs, that doesn’t mean that joint is gonna sell. Nobody will reap any benefits so it’s better if the whole album is tight as opposed to just a few songs.
|
|
|
|