MC Lyte is one of the game's OGs, having been putting in work since the late eighties when her debut album Lyte As A Rock first arrived. Now, with plenty of legendary milestones under her belt, Lyte took a moment to hold it down on DJ Paul & HNHH's new Mafia Radio podcast, where the pair swapped stories about DJing for Michael Jordan's birthday and how meeting Drake's mom led to a platinum plaque.
"I started DJing in 2008," she reveals, explaining that Biz Markie and Kool V encouraged her to take up the craft. "[Biz] was like 'you know music. You can play what you love and people are going to love it. Then Kool V sent me my first library and I haven't turned back since." She reveals that she actually DJ'd for Michael Jordan's 50th birthday party as well as his wedding. "I did a bunch of stuff for them in between, I used to do all of the All-Star parties. But it's very easy to play for MJ, he tells you what he likes. You're able to mix in what he likes with what you likes."
DJ Paul Talk DJing For Michael Jordan & Fruitful Meeting With Drake's Mom ">Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic/Getty Images
"A little Frankie Beverly and Maze when he walks in the door," she continues. "So he can have his little smooth walk." Paul proceeds to shift the topic to another one of her major milestones -- becoming the first female artist to land a gold single. "At the time, it was like I'm getting it done," she remembers. "But you remember how it was. In your early twenties, everything goes by so fast. You just in it, and you just working and moving. It's not until you get older that you can actually see things happening in real time...It's great to be older and wiser, more mature, able to make better decisions."
As the conversation winds down, Paul actually shares an interesting anecdote stemming from a chance encounter with Drake's mother. "I ended up moving into a condo, and when I moved into a condo I end up running into a neighbor of mine that was Drake's mom," he reveals. "I didn't know who she was, she didn't know who I was, but she was like 'he's such a nice guy,' she asked the security who I was and then told Drake. Drake hit me on the DM like 3-4 in the morning. 'Hey man, my mama told me she ran into you, a really nice guy named DJ Paul, but I need some beats," reflects the Three 6 Legend. "I sent him a beat, he ended up putting Jay-Z on it, and ten million copies later we got this." He points to the Scorpion plaque on his wall behind him.
For more from MC Lyte and DJ Paul, be sure to check out the full episode of Mafia Radio exclusively on HNHH. For more from MC Lyte, be sure to peep her latest mix for Red Bull Radio right here.