MC Lyte is woman. Hear her roar. On her 1988 debut, Lyte as a Rock, the savvy Brooklyn native balances her obvious battle skills with perceptive street-corner observations, delivered fresh over funky drum-machine beats (provided by Audio Two, and Prince Paul, among others). Lyte introduced herself to the rap world with the single "I Cram to Understand U," a potent tale of losing her man to the real femme fatale: crack. With that song, she established herself as one of the few MCs able to make an antidrug song without drowning in clichés ("Capuccino"" is a later antidope gem of hers). Lyte's stories work because she tells them from a smart-mouthed tomboy perspective--always pragmatic, never pedantic. On "Paper Thin," she gets raw about romance, putting potential suitors in their place: "Maybe we'll kiss on the fifth or sixth date," followed by "and then maybe I'll let you play with my feet." Though her dating guidelines may seem quaint compared with the raunchy raps of Lil' Kim or Foxy Brown, they remind one that in 1988 female MCs were rocking the rap world with skills, not skin. Lyte still does: check her blazing cameo on Common's "A Film Called Pimp."