MC Lyte ‘Tickled Pink’ by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Categoria: Musica
She joins Queen Latifah, Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti & Gram Parsons as early influence honorees.
Por Billboard | 13/11/2026
Lana Moorer — aka MC Lyte — first made history in 1988 as the first female rapper to release a full-length solo album: Lyte as a Rock . Now her pioneering achievements will take center stage tomorrow (Nov. 14) when she’s inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the early influence award. Also being inducted alongside her are f ellow 2026 early influence honorees Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Gram Parsons and sister in rap Queen Latifah. Chatting with Billboard ahead of the ceremony, Lyte says she and Queen Latifah “are going to have fun. La and I recently had a chance to talk, and we’re just amazed by these milestones in our lives. She was there to introduce me for the first hip-hop performance at the White House for the Obamas [2014]. I was there to help produce her tribute segment at the Kennedy Center Honors [2023]. Now here we are together being awarded as early influencers by one of the most prestigious organizations in the music industry. We’re tickled pink.” Other milestones in MC Lyte’s storied career include being the first solo female rapper to earn a gold record (for her 1993 top 10 hit “RuffNeck”); first solo female rapper nominated for a Grammy; first rapper to perform at Carnegie Hall and the first solo female rapper to gain entry on the Billboard 200 (with 1989 sophomore set Eyes on This ). Along the way, the Brooklyn-raised rapper-songwriter scored additional hits such as “Poor Georgie,” “Keep On, Keepin’ On” (with Xscape) and “Cold Rock a Party.” Born out of her poetry writing, Lyte’s smooth conversational style — paired with her distinctive, bass-punched voice — made people sit up and take notice of the small dynamo, who could also hold her own as a battle-ready emcee. Equally arresting were her sharp, incisive lyrics as she helped bring social consciousness to the hip-hop forefront, addressing such topics as cocaine addiction in her debut single “I Cram to Understand U (Sam).” The early activist also joined KRS-One’s Stop the Violence Movement and appeared on the initiative’s chart-topping benefit single “Self-Destruction.” Lyte has since supported women’s rights, voter education and other causes, in addition co-founding the Hip-Hop Sisters Network in 2006. Not one to rest on her laurels, MC Lyte operates the production, artist development and management company Sunni Gyrl Inc. and has also branched into film and television via 3L Productions. She teamed with Grammy-winning songwriter/producer Warryn Campbell for her first studio album in nine years, 1 of 1. The 2024 release features guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, Common, Queen Latifah, Q-Tip and Big Daddy Kane, among others. Below, MC Lyte looks back with Billboard at the road she traveled to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. What moment made you declare, “Rap is what I’m going to do”? There were two phases. First, when I said I wanted to be onstage at the theater with my mom watching Dreamgirls . But when I wanted to actually rap, it was because of hearing Salt-N-P