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Ok. So I've seen a few of these type of posts from a few heads concerning ghostwriting when it comes to women emcees. And I want to set the record straight historically. Specifically on MC Lyte....
2) Now let's start off with the foundation of why male hip-hop heads always seem to jump head on into the SHE DOESN'T WRITE HER OWN RHYMES trope. Which is quite misogynistic and misses the point about the power dynamic between men/women that has existed in the hip-hop industry.
3) For much of the '80s and '90s hip-hop was controlled by male gatekeeping producers and label heads. In the early '80s women MC's were seen as a mere novelty. The likes of Sha Rock and Angie B were in aberration. These early women pioneers wrote their own rhymes.
4)But once hip-hop started to become a serious money making commodity it became more male dominated on every level. So we get a 15 year old Roxanne Shante who started out writing her rhymes battle rapping. No small feat.
5) But with the rise of Cold Chillin and rising moguls like Fly Ty ghostwriting it was ALL about having the power to simply release music to the market. Hip-Hop as a recording biz was still relatively a novel idea beyond Flash, Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow.
6)And so ghostwriting was a foundational part of hip-hop throughout the '80s. Everyone knows Big Hank's iconic verse on Rapper's Delight was ghostwritten by Grandmaster Caz. They didn't even try to hide it. IT'S IN THE LINERS NOTES.
7) And most of the time ghostwriting (which u really can't call it that if names are actually published) was used as a way to put on new artists, fulfill a contract or create revenue streams for up and coming talents.
8) And so u have instances where a YOUNG LL Cool J before the release Radio wrote a song for Run-DMC ("Can You Rock It Like This"); Run and D wrote for the Beastie Boys ("Slow & Low"); and Big Daddy Kane AT TIMES wrote for Shante and Biz Markie.
9) Again, back then, this was not an issue. No one questioned your pedigree as an emcee. It was strictly BUSINESS. So flash forward to '88-- "Self Destruction," the all-star record KRS-One brilliantly put together to take a stand against crime in the Black community.
10) Everyone from Chuck D and Flava Flav and Doug E Fresh to Stetsasonic, Kool Moe Dee and Heavy D (RIP) were involved. It was basically some of hip-hop's biggest names at that time. Well, except a few glaring omissions....
11) Run DMC, the biggest hip-hop act on the planet were nowhere to be found. The same for Rakim, Kane (he's in the video and not on the record), Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and......
12) LL Cool J, who is the basis of this thread. LL and Run and them specifically caught hell for coming off like they were seemingly above it all. It was as if they were TOO BIG fro contribute to such an important cultural moment. But there some serious politics happening.
13) Russell Simmons, head of Def Jam and Rush Management, which had a strangle hold on hip-hop did not want his most popular artists on Self Destruction. So he blocked Run, D, and Jam Master Jay from being on the record.
14) From KRS himself (in an interview I did for VIBE): "LL Cool J showed up, too, but he got a phone call from Def Jam in which somebody told him not to perform on the record or else he was going to be kicked off the label. This was a big threat, but he still came to the studio."
15)The same thing happened with Run and them: "And Run-DMC wanted to be on the record, too! But they couldn't be on it because of Rush. And Jam Master Jay was angry about this. Not just on some homeboy shit."
16) And Jive Records (and Rush management) stopped Will and Jazz from being a part of "Self Destruction". So now we get to the LL/MC Lyte story...
17) Lyte is one of the greatest MC's to ever touch a mic; a force of nature during her prime run. But yet there are some knuckle draggers and a few misinformed folks who insist that she had ghostwriters. And the reason? A lack of nuance:
hiphopdx.com/news/id.21227/…
hiphopdx.com/news/id.21227/…
18) When Twista says LL ghostwrote a few songs for Lyte, he's off the mark. LL did indeed write for Lyte. But all is not what it seems...
19) After LL was told that he COULD NOT participate in "Self Destruction" he made a decision to secretly defy Russell. And so he got together with Lyte and KRS. And it was decided that LL would write Lyte's verse on "SD.."
20)KRS to me: "I will always respect LL for that. He sat down with Lyte and CO-WRITE her part. There was a lot of love there."
21) So when u see someone claiming that arguably the greatest woman MC of all time relied on ghostwriters it's a essentially a way to diminish the contribution of women in hip-hop....
22) Yes, artists like Queen Latifah, Lil Kim, and Foxy Brown have at times used ghostwriters or co-writers on songs. But as noted a string of male rap artists have done so as well including the likes of Eazy E, NORE, Dr. Dre, and Kanye. And yet their skills are not questioned...
23)like their women counterparts. Knock it off. If u don't know the history of ghostwriting and the story behind certain ghostwritten/co-written songs then do your research. This app makes anyone think that a remedial understanding of Google, Youtube, or Wiki = journalist/end.
20)KRS to me: "I will always respect LL for that. He sat down with Lyte and CO-WROTE her part. There was a lot of love there."
So I don't have anything to specifically push given I'm ALWAYS writing. But follow the kid....And thanks for the read!
