Ain't No Other

About

After the pop-rap concessions of <i>Act Like You Know</i>, MC Lyte left Atlantic and returned to the sound of pure street rap on 1993’s <i>Ain’t No Other</i>. She sounded so incensed on the leadoff single, “Ruffneck,” that many fans couldn’t help but feel that the album represented the joyous release of long-repressed rage. Just as Lyte had fit in easily among late-'80s emcees like Rakim, Biz Markie, and Big Daddy Kane, she fit easily within the new generation of jazz-inflected street rap heralded by Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Main Source, and Redman. She completely sinks her teeth into every track on this album, from “Brooklyn” to “Ain’t No Other” and even the slowed-down “I Go On.” In a year when Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were under a storm of criticism for their use of the word “bitch,” Lyte jumped into the fray and completely upended the gender conversation with songs like “F**k That Motherf**king Bitch” and “Steady F**king.” She came on stronger than almost any other rapper alive. Even extemporizations like “Hard Copy” and “Who’s House” turned out to be some of the album’s best tracks, simply for their spontaneous energy.

via Apple Music