MC Lyte to Be Inducted Into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rapper MC Lyte will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with its early influence award, with the ceremony set for Nov. 14. She told Billboard that she and Queen Latifah are "tickled pink" to be recognised as early influences.

MC Lyte is the stage name of Lana Moorer. The Hall's early influence group for 2026 also includes Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Gram Parsons and Queen Latifah, who is a fellow rapper.

The honour sits on a long list of firsts. MC Lyte released Lyte as a Rock in 1988, which was the first full-length solo album by a female rapper. In 1989 her album Eyes on This became the first by a solo female rapper to enter the Billboard 200, the US chart that ranks albums by sales and streams. Her 1993 single "RuffNeck" earned a gold record, and she was the first solo female rapper to earn one for a single.

She was also the first solo female rapper nominated for a Grammy, the first rapper to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, and a co-founder of the Hip-Hop Sisters Network, which she started in 2006.

Her most recent album is 1 of 1, released in 2024. It was her first studio album in nine years and was produced with Warryn Campbell, a producer who works on a mix of hip-hop and R&B projects.

A gold record is certified when a release reaches 500,000 copies sold in the United States, a threshold that marks sales rather than popularity alone. For MC Lyte, the milestones are a mix of chart history and firsts in live performance, and the Hall's recognition brings them together in one place.

For fans, the ceremony on Nov. 14 is the next chance to see the honour presented in person.