Exclusive interview with MC Lyte on partnership with AT&T for Black History Month

These are the stories we seldom hear … of those everyday people who dedicate their time, skills and fewer resources to make a change. Recently, AT&T relaunched its Black History Month celebration, “AT&T 28 Days,” prompting people to give back and support those who gave their lives and ignited change in the black community.

Partnering with AT&T for a second year in a row is female rapper MC Lyte who says that creating change is not about words, but action. Check out what this iconic celebrity had to say about what AT&T’s 28 Days campaign means to her and how you can get involved below.  –ruthie hawkins/@ruubabie

How did you connect with AT&T for this project?
I actually first linked with AT&T last year. I had the opportunity to go down to Atlanta with Rickey Smiley as the host and I had a really good time talking to the people. It may have come by way of the agencies I’m involved with and they pitched me to AT&T or AT&T came looking, it never really mattered to me. I am only there to be an inspiration to the people. They’re creating history in the best way we know how and that’s by touching lives positively. That’s why I got involved.

Name two of your top role models: one in your field and one in another field.
I can’t think of just one specific role model because there have been just so many throughout the years that have touched my life, but I can name two, both of which affected me at a very young age in high school. Mr. Tab, who was the actual principal and Mrs. Goldberg who was the dean and sometimes guidance counselor.

I was headed down the wrong path and quickly the dean pulled me in and made me a dean’s monitor, which definitely gave me something to do. I think that they thought that I was intelligent but too street smart for my own good so they pulled me in and me a monitor as well as enrolled me in an after-school program, which allowed me to get to know the people in the school a bit better. It also exposed me to a lot of cultural events that were going on throughout the city. I looked up to them because I thought that it was so cool that the people who were getting paid just to teach us and go home became so much more involved in the kids lives in our community and they didn’t have to.

That right there told me much later on in life, that I wanted to put together a foundation that would allow kids a certain level of exposure that would enlighten them because that didn’t exist in their communities. Be it Broadway. Be it museums. Be it art exhibits. That gave me the foresight I needed to know what I wanted to do when I got older.

Now in my career specifically, it’s funny because I never looked to one person for everything. I looked for inspiration in many of them. I would have to say Chuck D for his strength in saying everything it is that he wanted to say. I looked to Salt & Pepper because they are women and it’s a male-dominated field, always has been and you have to fight for your right to party. I looked to KRS to be unafraid and smart. Say what it is that you know and say that you got it from a book. But don’t just say you got it from a book, pick up that book and read it!

Do you most often actively seek inspiration or does it find you? Or is it a combination of the two?
The example I witnessed in high school being that of Mr. Tabb and Mrs. Goldberg taking it the extra mile definitely inspires me in my day-to-day life. So for me, forget half mast, giving all that I possibly can is just the way to do things period. It’s never been a question that I can just give a little.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
I think the path that AT&T has laid before us is so remarkable and so different from anything else that I have seen or been involved with and that’s taking the things we love anyway and making them work in a positive way. For me that makes all the sense. So if I had to say something that I would change, it would be heightening the level of awareness for young people, that activism is something to strive for.

I think that is in a totally different sector than what AT&T does but because I’m from the hip-hop world, I think that so many of us — and I am speaking as a hi- hop lover, are now made to sit still and no one is being challenged and I think that AT&T with this campaign is not only challenging people all across the continent but also it just so happens that hip-hop will be touched by this. And that’s where I come in so that I can spread that word and also you and your publication.

So is it safe to say that your love for hip-hop is what led you to your career?
Absolutely! My love for hip-hop definitely led me to my career. The first hip-hop record that made an impact on me was “The Message,” by Melly Mel and to hear the words, a vividly painted picture that I could attain from the words that he spoke was just enough for me to know that wow, I want to do that. I want to verbally paint pictures for people and because of that, I became a story teller. Then once I heard Salt and Pepper it was over. I had to be involved.

Now, touching a bit on that, when you hit the scene, there were very few female rappers in the game. How did you step out and define yourself and your brand?
Back then, I didn’t necessarily sit down and come up with a brand. I think that just within the recent year’s developing a brand has become important within the hip-hop and entertainment communities. But prior to that, we were doing the same thing, but it just wasn’t under the guise of let’s build a brand. It was let’s build an artist or let’s build a celebrity. For me, it was just about the charts and that may involve making choices that other people are not very fond of.

You know like another artist asking if we can do a record together but we  are from completely different things and I’m responsible to my listening audience, so it would just look crazy for me to do a song with you. Like it would be just inexplicable.

As a matter of a fact, there is a record that I did with Common some time back. He came to me and said I have this record, I want you hear this and I heard it and said there is no way I can do a record like this. So what he did was he altered the title of the song and gave us a different foundation for us to be able to do the song and have my fans be okay with it. So I take a lot of responsibility in taking care of my fans because they take care of me.

What does it take to be iconic and build a career of longevity?
Being true to what it is you do, is how you become iconic and build a career of longevity. When you specialize in one thing, you become known for that and respected for that and that is where the growth comes in.

I would say tho those who are looking to make a career in something to specialize something. Know everything but specialize in that one thing so that you will be able to deliver what other people can’t and you’ll be known for that thing.

So you think of a female MC who can come speak at a event. How many can you think of that can actually do it? How many people can you think of that want to do it? And how many people can you think of that your audience would gravitate towards because it is authentic?

I think that is where longevity lies. Build the right team. Study what you do before you do it. Have supportive people around you and keep your eye out for what the next trends will be.

We are heading into Black History Month, in saying that, what is your fondest childhood memory of Black History Month and why?
You know, I went to an African school for a large part of my childhood education and we did all sorts of things year round. But specifically for Black History Month, I remember being on the steps of the United Nations with a sign saying “Free Steven Biko.” So I do remember that at a very young age and us doing multiple things during Black History month.

But relating back to AT&T, what I love most about the 28 Days Campaign is that it’s not just about the history but it’s also about making history and prompting people to do more and create a legacy.

I remember when I attended Heavy D’s funeral — God bless my brother. Al Sharpton spoke and he said that he had just spoke at another funeral and he had such grand things to say about the man. Another person after the funeral came up to him and said to him how do I get you to spoke at me funeral? Al responded well, first you have to do something. You have to be worthy of someone speaking of you in that capacity.

So I think that with this campaign it challenges people to go out and work for the accolade that you think you deserve.  These days no one is really being awarded for activism and doing something in their communities and I think that AT&T is taking that stand.

Who is your hero in black history and why?
Well in modern day I would certainly say it’s Oprah. She has done so much for the world at large. She is somewhat outside actresses that are seen world wide. She has singlehandedly our beacon of light so to speak. She and Michelle Obama but of course with Oprah she has put in so many years in the public eye and when you have a genre such as hip hop that shows all of these visuals throughout the universe.

She is shows the world that there is another way to live. There is another model of an African American woman. So when you are looking for a role model, you can look to Oprah Winfrey who has done so man beautiful things throughout her career.

Coming back to your present work with AT&T, as we launch into Black History Month, what is the main message you would like people to receive?
Well, I think that the main objective is to get people involved in their communities and that it should be done in fun.

I’m personally excited because I get work with an organization called WriteGirl. I know that as a kid, my mother had me write about anything and everything I wanted to do. If I wanted to play handball, it was — well, why do you want to play handball? I had to write all of these positive things into an essay in order to be able to even go outside and get some exercise. So you can imagine and she kept all of my essays. It’s a trip when she starts to pull all of them out but it taught me so much.

So with WriteGirl it’s a perfect fit, because it gives teenage girls the access to creative writing and it’s also a mentoring program that I’m happy to say I’m getting to know because I was unaware of them prior to AT&T. I get to learn something in the process as well. I get to speak to some really cool, gifted young ladies.  I also get to meet some people who are ready to make a change in their community.