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== Conception and composition ==
== Conception and composition ==
Exploring about the violence around drugs and addictions, Lyte narrates how when she goes to a [[Manhattan]] cafe she is caught in the crossfire of rival [[Illegal drug trade|drug dealers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/eyes-on-this-mw0000201996|title=Eyes on This - MC Lyte - Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.albumism.com/features/mc-lyte-eyes-on-this-turns-30-anniversary-retrospective|title=MC Lyte’s ‘Eyes On This’ Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective
In the song Lyte tells how to go to a cafe in [[Manhattan]] she is caught in the crossfire of rival [[Illegal drug trade|drug dealers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/eyes-on-this-mw0000201996|title=Eyes on This - MC Lyte - Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.albumism.com/features/mc-lyte-eyes-on-this-turns-30-anniversary-retrospective|title=MC Lyte’s ‘Eyes On This’ Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective
|date=October 2, 2019 |access-date=February 6, 2021 |website=Albumism}}</ref>
|date=October 2, 2019 |access-date=February 6, 2021 |website=Albumism}}</ref>


Revision as of 10:34, 5 May 2021

Not to be confused with Cappuccino (song).
"Cappucino"
Single by MC Lyte
from the album Eyes on This
B-side"Not Wit' A Dealer" (Chuck D & Terminator X Remix)
ReleasedAugust 2, 1990[1]
Recorded1989
StudioMarley Marl's House of Hits
VenueNew York, NY
GenreGolden age hip hop
Length5:24
LabelFirst Priority, Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)Lana Moorer
Producer(s)Marley Marl[2]
MC Lyte singles chronology
"Stop, Look, Listen"
(1990) 		"Cappucino"
(1990) 		"When in Love"
(1991)
Music video
"Cappucino" on YouTube

Cappucino is the third and final single from MC Lyte's album Eyes on This. It was published on August 2, 1990.[1] In its single version it is a remix by Ivan "Doc" Rodríguez of the original version of the album produced by Marley Marl.[3]

In this song MC Lyte seeks to warn about violence around drugs and addictions.[4][5] In October 1990 it peaked No. 8 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles.[6]

The song was listed in the Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2005) by Bruce Pollock.[7]

Conception and composition

In the song Lyte tells how to go to a cafe in Manhattan she is caught in the crossfire of rival drug dealers.[8][9]

The original version on the album is produced by Marley Marl, but the single version is a remix by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez.[10] Another of the Remixes included in the single is produced by Chuck D and Terminator X from Public Enemy:

“The ‘Cappuccino’ remix came about from P.E. finding me to do their ‘Night of the Living Baseheads’ video. By that time I had already seen them perform at Latin Quarters and I became a big fan. So to get that call from them was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy…this is dope…this is hot!’”[11]

Samples

The song contains a sample of The Blackbyrds's "Spaced Out" bass.[12]

Music video

The music video was directed by Ric Menello, who had previously worked for the Beastie Boys and was released on November 1, 1990.[13] For the video the remix of Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez, who also has an appearance, was used.

In the book Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture (2007),[14] the writer Jennifer R. Young would comment on the video:

“Cappuccino” is another one of Lyte’s videos in which movement through the urban streets is essential to the storyline and video plot. The video follows the song pretty closely, taking viewers to the cafe´, to heaven, to Lyte waking up in her bed from a bad dream (even in bed, she arises in a business suit), and then back to the cafe´. A black man in a white suit with dark sunglasses seems to represent an angel of sorts, especially since he appears and dissolves just as quickly. This angel stays with the protagonist through many of the scenes. In the end when she refuses the cappuccino and accepts the pink flower from the angel (who looks remarkably like KRS-One), viewers are left to discern the moral choice of coffee or no coffee, drugs or no drugs. Lyte drives off at the end of the video in a black luxury convertible with a red leather interior. She yells, “Leave them drugs alone!” The camera pans out to show the late-day sunlight hitting the brick stone buildings. Like Paper Thin, this video has many visual elements that suggest homage to the culture. Hip hop itself is likened to a funny valentine, one with unconventional beauty but undeniable appeal.”[14]

It was included on his compilation video album Lyte Years (1991).[15]

Appearances

"Cappucino" was included in his compilation albums The Very Best of MC Lyte (2001), The Shit I Never Dropped (2003),[16] and Cold Rock a Party - Best Of MC Lyte (2019).[17]

On May 1, 1991 Lyte performs the song on "Yo! Unplugged Rap", the first MTV Unplugged to feature rap artists.[18] Her performance was praised by Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker, who commented "MC Lyte performed her song ”Cappucino" like a rapping Aretha Franklin: Lyte brought out the soul in her lyrics."[19]

Critical reception

In his review of the album Eyes on This, critic Robert Christgau highlighted the song "the narrative tone of "Cappucino"--part fable, part metaphor, part confessional revery, part dumb it-was-only-a-dream--is avant-garde."[20] For his part, Mike Boehm of the Los Angeles Times would comment

"With memorable, intelligently pointed story-songs such as "I Cram to Understand U" and "Cappucino", female rapper MC Lyte's peak material is several cuts above anything by Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie and most other rappers.[21]

Bruce Pollock listed the song in his book Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2005), which he described as "Spunky Brooklyn rapper visits the next world."[22]

In hindsight, Damon Brown of RapReviews would criticize the song, commenting that "doesn’t even make any sense",[23] while in his review of the album Alex Henderson of AllMusic considered Cappucino as "Undeniably, the CD's standout track".[24]

Single track listing

12" Vinyl

A-Side

  1. "Cappucino" (D.J. DOC Remix) (5:24)
    • Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez
  2. "Cappucino" (Remix Instrumental) (5:24)
    • Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

B-Side

  1. "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Chuck D & Terminator X Remix) (4:00)
  2. "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Audio Two Remix) (3:51)
  3. "I Cram To Understand U 1990" (D.J. DOC Remix) (4:43)
    • Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

Cassette

A-Side

  1. "Cappucino" (Edited Remix Version) (3:40)
    • Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

B-Side

  1. "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Chuck D & Terminator X Remix) (4:00)

Personnel

Information taken from Discogs.[25]

  • Executive-Producer – Nat Robinson
  • Lyrics By – MC Lyte (tracks: A1, A2)
  • Lyrics By, Music By – Milk (pistas: B1, B2)
  • Music By – Gizmo (tracks: B1, B2), Marley Marl (tracks: A1, A2)
  • Written-By – Audio Two (tracks: B3), Lyte (tracks: B3)

References

  1. ^ a b "MC Lyte - Cappucino [Vinyl Single] (12 inch Vinyl Single - Atlantic #96454)". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "MC Lyte - Eyes On This". Discogs.
  3. ^ "iDoc , the Story of Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez". Impose (magazine). Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "Eyes on This - MC Lyte - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  5. ^ "MC Lyte's 'Eyes On This' Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  6. ^ "MC Lyte - US Hot Rap Songs". billboard.com. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  7. ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (second ed.). Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97073-3.
  8. ^ "Eyes on This - MC Lyte - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  9. ^ "MC Lyte's 'Eyes On This' Turns 30: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. October 2, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "iDoc , the Story of Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez". Impose (magazine). Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  11. ^ MC Lyte (January 7, 2011). "Full Clip: MC Lyte Breaks Down Her Entire Catalogue (Brandy, Janet Jackson, LL Cool J & More)". Vibe.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  12. ^ "MC Lyte's Cappucino Sample of The Blackbyrds's Spaced Out". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  13. ^ "MC Lyte: Cappuccino (1990)". IMDb.
  14. ^ a b Hess, M. (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Vol. 2. Greenwood Press. p. 313. ISBN 9780313339042. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  15. ^ "MC Lyte – Lyte Years". Discogs. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "MC Lyte - The Shit I Never Dropped". AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Cold Rock a Party Best Of - MC Lyte - Release Info". Apple Music.
  18. ^ "When Hip-Hop Plugged Into 'Unplugged'". TV OZY. September 23, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "Unplugged". Entertainment Weekly (website). May 24, 1991. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. ^ "Robert Christgau Review". Robert Christgau (website). Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "O.C. POP REVIEW : Big Daddy Kane Sets a Very Rap-id Pace". Los Angeles Times (website). February 5, 1990. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  22. ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (second ed.). Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97073-3.
  23. ^ "MC LYTE :: THE VERY BEST OF MC LYTE". RapReviews. February 1, 2002. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  24. ^ "MC Lyte - Eyes on This". AllMusic. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  25. ^ "MC Lyte – Cappucino (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
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