AMES, Iowa -- One of hip-hop's pioneer feminists will speak at Iowa State University about the negative changes in today's hip-hop culture.
MC Lyte will present "Redefining Hip Hop Culture with Respect and Dignity" at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. Her presentation is the keynote address for the annual Big XII Conference on Black Student Government. It is free and open to the public.
Lyte gained fame in 1988 as the first solo female rapper to release a full album. Lyte is the first rap artist to perform at New York's historic Carnegie Hall and the first female rapper to achieve a gold single. She has made nine albums, appeared on several others and has worked as voice-over talent and an actress. Last September, she was honored with the "I Am Hip-Hop" lifetime achievement award at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards.
An advocate for hip hop as a poetic art form that reports the truth on real-life issues, Lyte calls for the end to the pervasive misogyny and sexism in hip-hop culture.
Lyte is the CEO of Sunni Gyrl, an entertainment management and production firm, and author of "Unstoppable, Igniting the Power Within to Achieve Your Greatest Potential." She is also active in social projects, including anti-violence campaigns and Rock the Vote. MC Lyte is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority and chair and founder of the nonprofit Hip Hop Sisters.
Lyte's lecture is co-sponsored by the Big XII Conference on Black Student Government, ISU's Black Graduate Student Association, the Multicultural Student Programming Advisory Council and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body. More information about ISU lectures is available online at http://www.lectures.iastate.edu, or by calling 515-294-9935.
