MC Lyte is the most accessible of icons. The emcee from Brooklyn has been in the public eye for more than 35 years — yet there’s always been an easy relatability to her persona and her music. And on her new album, 1 Of 1, Lyte’s easygoing toughness projects the wisdom of experience while radiating a joie de vivre that comes from all that she’s successfully navigated.

She came roaring out of NYC as a teenager with the topical “Cram 2 Understand U,” before dropping the first full-length album by a female rapper with 1988s Lyte As A Rock and followed it with the successful Eyes On This (which spawned hits like “Cha Cha Cha” and Cappuccino”) a year later. Into the 1990s, she landed more mainstream chart hits like “Poor Georgie,” “Ruffneck” and “Keep On Keepin’ On” before branching out into acting and voiceover work into the 2000s. But even as Lyte became known to a new generation for TV appearances, philanthropy and award show omnipresence — she never paused as an emcee and artist. Lyte has always put in the work.

CHECK THE REST AT OKAYPLAYER