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Longevity in the hip-hop world is a rare but coveted crown these days. Only a handful of performers have sustained long term careers in the face of all the upheavals that rappers have to contend with in the '2000's. And if you're a woman trying to gain ground, you have to double your efforts to knock stereotypes and produce rhymes that remain vital to both the street and hip hop's all-encompassing commercial beat. The Lyte is On!! She's been on point for more than a decade now, combining meticulous wordplay with a signature wit and style that is completely her own. "It's funny, but when I make a record now my producers will say "let's twist it this way or that, but with some of that old MC Lyte stock'," she laughs. "When you've been able to last, there is usually a good reason for it. People like to see you draw from that part of you that has always connected with your audience. Some even like to create remixes for themselves."

Reared in Brooklyn, Lyte is "connecting" on both coasts now, keeping her finger on hip hop's pulse while she quietly pursues an acting career, as well. "I know I can do both," she says. Landing roles in several situation comedies including Moesha, In The House, New York Undercover, and the recurring role of Lana on Holly Robinson Peete's, For Your Love has helped her get more of a taste for the acting game. "But hip hop is my first love," she says. Lyte also acted in "A Luv Tale", an independent film.

Nowhere is that passion more evident than on MC Lyte's newest album, LYTRO-Underground Heat Vol. I. It's the first time in Lyte's career where one production team was responsible for the entire project. Lyte feels, "MADD PHUNK! was a perfect duo, the vibe was definitely there and I completely trusted them. It's hard to find a rhythm using several different producers on an album, although it is often done. But working within such a short timeframe, 4 days to be exact, one production team made it that much easier." Underground Heat was originally recorded for the die-hard fans that have supported her career over the years. The recording of the CD was completed at Jamie Foxx's Foxx Hole studio. Jamie Foxx also hosts the album and shared the mic with Lyte on the track 'Where Home Is.' Lyte explains, "Some of my best work has been created through collaboration where everyone has a common goal, to make a hit!"

It's precisely Lyte's uniqueness that has enabled her to keep making viable hip hop records. As she prepares to drop her seventh career LP, she laughs as she remembers how young she was when she began to make up her first rhymes. "I was 12 years old. Now that's going back." Her first release was a cult classic, "I Cram To Understand U (Sam)," which eventually lead to her first album in 1988, the historic Lyte As A Rock. Her fierce style belied her modest demeanor off stage, adding to the Lyte mystique, which even in the face of female hip hop's current, more sultry flow, has made Lyte one of the rocks in the genre. "There's room for everybody's style," she says. "Every new movement has an audience that recognizes something in it. Something they identify with. That's the key to hip-hop. That's what makes it great." Lyte knew that early on, following up with the critically acclaimed sophomore disk Eye on This, which exceeded everyone's expectations. It spawned a number one rap single "Cha Cha Cha," and the anti-violence nugget "Cappuccino." Her third album, Act Like You Know, helmed by Bell Biv Devoe's writers and producers Wolf and Epic, took a more soulful turn. Lyte suped it up a bit in 1993 with Ain't No Other, which critics praised as her return to harder rhymes. It was Lyte's inspiring anthem to the boyz, the classic "Ruffneck," nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Single, that gave the rap world it's first gold single ever achieved by a female performer.

Lyte has also became active in many social projects, involving herself in anti-violence campaigns, and doing PSA's for Rock the Vote, as well as contributing her time and expertise to several AIDS events. She also found time to collaborate with Atlanta's X-Scape on the Soul Train Award winning, "Keep on Keepin' On," which appeared on The Sunset Park soundtrack, the second gold single in Lyte's illustrious career. In 1996 she released the LP Bad As I Wanna Be, featuring her crisp, tart style head-on, with several of the tracks produced by Rashad Smith (Busta Rhymes, Tribe Called Quest, among others.) The album featured the aforementioned dust with Missy Elliot, "Cold Rock A Party."

It's been an incredible ride for MC Lyte, and now with the release of LYTRO and the first single Ride Wit Me, she shows no signs of slowing down. "God gives us all a gift," she says. "I think one's goal should be to use that gift to one's greatest advantage. If you can be true to yourself and your fans in this business, the rest is easy."