MC Lyte, the first person profiled for Billboard’s Ladies First initiative highlighting “Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop,” discusses Rap feuds in the article, including her dispute with Antoinette.
“I had only met Antoinette once, and never seen her again except at the World, but nonetheless it [’10 % Dis’] was done in the spirit of Hip Hop,” MC Lyte says. “I was the baddest MC. If you don’t think you’re the baddest MC then you might as well just sit down cause that’s what Hip Hop is all about. It’s braggadocio. You can come up and win a different type of way, but you stand the chance of your ground being shaken. You have to put your stakes in and say, ‘I have to come at you some point.’
“That was then,” Lyte continues. “Now there are MCs who can go at one another lyrically, and it’s respected as just that. But then when it comes out of the record, it’s when it becomes an issue. Even then, it feels as though, that with a little time they’re able to work things out. I just saw most recently Rick Ross and Young Jeezy have worked out their differences, which is a big deal. I’m sure there were other guys around who pushed and promoted that to happen. I hope the same for the ladies, if given a space where there’s an altercation that’s able to be worked out.”
In 2009, MC Lyte spoke with HipHopDX about her perspective on her career.
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“I still feel like I am one of the best to ever have done it and will continue to do so until I feel like I want to put the mic down,” Lyte said at the time. “But, also I am overwhelmed with wanting to help people or wanting to have someone relate to what it is that I’m talking about. In order for them to relate, I’ve got to be spitting some truth. Truth is recognizable all over the globe. I’ve likened it to this before, but it’s like watching a movie. One bad actor can ruin a whole movie. But, if the movie is okay and there’s one actor in it who’s so truthful through his theatrics, you’ll cry. You dont cry for bad acting. You cry because you connect to it and you feel it. Of course, I’m not really looking for people to drop tears when they hear a 16 from MC Lyte. But, I do want them to experience what I’m going through.”
Angel Haze is the second rapper profiled in the Billboard Ladies First article.
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