MC Lyte burst onto the New York rap scene at age 17 with 1987’s “I Cram to Understand U,” a nuanced portrait of a girl falling in love with a boy who tries in vain to hide his drug addiction from her. The song appeared the following year on Lyte’s debut full-length, Lyte As a Rock, which is chock-full of classic songs. Produced by members of Audio Two and Alliance (other founding groups signed to First Priority Music, Lyte’s fledgling label), songs like “Lyte As a Rock,” “Paper Thin,” and “10% Dis” combine tough and creative beats with Lyte’s hard-hitting rhyme style. Unlike the female rappers who preceded her, Lyte refused to play on the conventions of femininity. She refused to be a novelty, and her authenticity won her the respect of New York's notoriously judgmental hip-hop establishment. Thanks to her integrity, fans didn’t hear Lyte As a Rock as a female rap album—they heard a classic New York rap album. So when Lyte did take a stand for women—on songs like “Don’t Cry Big Girls” and “I Am Woman”—people felt the full force of her message.