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Paper Thin (MC Lyte song)

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For the Illenium collaboration, see Paper Thin (Illenium, Tom DeLonge and Angels & Airwaves song).
"Paper Thin"
Single by MC Lyte
from the album Lyte as a Rock
B-side"Spare The Rod"
Released1988
Recorded1988
GenreGolden age hip hop
Length5:15
LabelFirst Priority, Atlantic Records
Songwriter(s)Lana Moorer, Freddie Byrd
Producer(s)King of Chill
MC Lyte singles chronology
"10% Dis"
(1988) 		"Paper Thin"
(1988) 		"Lyte as a Rock"
(1988)
Music video
"Paper Thin" on YouTube

"Paper Thin" is the third single from MC Lyte's debut album Lyte as a Rock.[1]

Produced by King of Chill, who also has songwriting credits along with Lyte, the song is about MC Lyte confronting her boyfriend for an infidelity.

In 2003, The Source placed Paper Thin No. 24 in their list "Top 151 Rap Songs of All-Time".[2] Also ranked No. 23 on About.com's The 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time list.[3]

Conception and composition

In an interview with Rolling Stone, MC Lyte says she wrote the lyrics to "Paper Thin" in his rhyme book long before recorded the song "probably '82" at 12 or 13 years old.[4] Lyte also tells that the lyrics are not based on her own personal experiences.

(...) I didn’t have my first boyfriend until I was 14. But it was just pulling things from what I had seen, what I had heard. It’s amazing what a kid can learn in the company of adults and just listening to them talk."[5]

"Paper Thin" was produced by King of Chill of the rap group Alliance, who also has songwriting credits. According to an interview with King of Chill in 2019, the initial production work was done in his family's apartment with a Alesis drum machine, and followed by mixing at Firehouse Studio in Brooklyn Heights. The producer has also stated that the success of the song was a "dream come true"

The goal when you start rappin' is to be the coolest dude on your block and in the neighborhood. But after a while, you tryin' to be heard in the clubs that you frequent, which is Latin Quarter, Union Square, Rooftop, places like that. At the point to now we can hand the record to the deejay, and it's not a hassle for them to play it. You couldn't be nobody and hand the record to the deejay. So we get to "Paper Thin", and he puts it on, and it's just lightin' up the dance floor, that was the greatest thing! Not only that, we had a video to support it on [local cable rap show] Video Music Box, which was our MTV, that was the greatest.[6]

Samples

The song contains samples of Prince's "17 Days" guitar riff,[7] Al Green's "I'm Glad You're Mine"'s drum,[8] and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star" hook.[9] The song also has a chorus interpolation from Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack", in which Lyte changes "Jack" to "Sam."[10]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Lionel C. Martin,[11] was filmed at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn and features cameos by, among others, the clothing designer urban April Walker, MC Serch of the rap group 3rd Bass and DJs Jazzy Joyce, D-Nice and K-Rock.[4]

Legacy and influence

Accolades

In 1999, Ego Trip's editors ranked Paper Thin No. 29 in their list Hip Hop's 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1988 in Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists.[12]

In the book That's the Joint !: The Hip Hop Study Reader (2003),[13] sociologist Tricia Rose commented on the song:

MC Lyte's underground hit, "Paper Thin",is one of the most scathing raps about male dishonesty/infidelity and the tensions between trust and vulnerability. Lyte has been burned by Sam, but she has turned her experience into a black woman's anthem that sustains an uncomfortable balance between brutal cynicism and honest vulnerability (...) Lyte's public acknowledgment that Sam's expressions of love were paper thin is not a source of embarrassment for her, but a means of empowerment. Lyte presents commitment, vulnerability and sensitivity as assets, not indicators of female weakness.[14]

In 2003, The Source placed Paper Thin No. 24 in their list "Top 151 Rap Songs of All-Time".[2]

In June 2012, WQHT's Peter Rosenberg placed it No. 2 on his list of the 25 best female rapper songs ever.[15]

In April 2013, the song was included No. 21 on Complex's "The 50 Best Rap Songs by Women" list, in which Rob Kenner reviewed "MC Lyte is one of the greatest rappers of any gender in hip-hop history ( ...) Aside from the battle rap "10% Dis," the album's standout track was this song, in which Lyte puts a two-timing loverboy in check. Unconcerned with inflaming her listeners' sexual urges, Lyte was always confident that her lyrics were more than enough."[16]

In December 2018, "Paper Thin" was ranked No. 23 on About.com's "The 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time" list, on which they commented

"Paper Thin," MC Lyte's tough talk on this song solidified her status as the new queen in town. [3]

In 2018, thirty years after its publication, Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone magazine reviewed "Paper Thin", calling it an "iconic hip-hop hit" and "Machismo-slaying anthem."[4]

Appearances

  • In 1992, X-Clan sampled the song on "Holy Rum Swig" from their album Xodus.[17]

Track listing

A-Side

  1. "Paper Thin" (Radio Version) (5:00)
  2. "Paper Thin" (Remix) (2:55)
  3. "Paper Thin" (Remix) (3:25)
    • Produced by Alliance

B-Side

  1. "Paper Thin" (Instrumental) (2:53)
  2. "Paper Thin" (Acapella) (2:25)
  3. "Spare The Rod" (4:26)

Personnel

Information taken from Discogs.[24]

  • Written By – MC Lyte (tracks A1 to B2), First Priority Crew (tracks: B3), King Of Chill (tracks: A1 to B2)
  • Producer – King Of Chill
  • Mastered By – Carlton Batts
  • Executive Producer – Nat Robinson

References

  1. ^ "Paper Thin". Discogs.
  2. ^ a b "The Source – Top 151 Rap Songs of All-Time (2003)". acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "The 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time". About.com. December 12, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Best of '88: MC Lyte's Machismo-Slaying Anthem 'Paper Thin'". Rolling Stone (website). December 10, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "Best of '88: MC Lyte's Machismo-Slaying Anthem 'Paper Thin'". Rolling Stone (website). December 10, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top Billin': First Priority Music and Brooklyn's Local Hip Hop History". Brooklyn College (website). Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "MC Lyte's Paper Thin Sample of Prince and The Revolution's 17 Days". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "MC Lyte's Paper Thin Sample of Al Green's I'm Glad You're Mine". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "MC Lyte's Paper Thin Sample of Earth, Wind & Fire's Shining Star". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "MC Lyte's Paper Thin Sample of Ray Charles's Hit the Road Jack". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "MC Lyte: Paper Thin (1988)". IMDb.
  12. ^ "Hip-Hop's Greatest Singles By Year (Ego Trip Magazine)". Genius (website). Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Forman, Murray; Neal, Marc Anthony, eds. (2004). That's the Joint: The Hip Hop Studies Reader (1 ed.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415969192.
  14. ^ Neal, Mark Anthony (2004). That's the Joint !: The Hip Hop Study Reader. ISBN 9780415969192.
  15. ^ "Peter Rosenberg's 25 Favorite Female Rap Songs". Complex. June 26, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Rap Songs by Women". Complex. April 8, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "X-Clan Holy Rum Swig Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  18. ^ "Take That Why Can't I Wake Up with You Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "De La Soul Area Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  20. ^ "Bahamadia Cover of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  21. ^ "Puff Daddy feat. Redman Fake Thugs Dedication Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  22. ^ "Timbaland and Magoo feat. Missy Elliott Cop That Shit Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  23. ^ "MF DOOM Paper Thin (MF Doom Special Blend) Sample of MC Lyte's Paper Thin". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  24. ^ "MC Lyte – Paper Thin / Spare The Rod (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  • [1] Official Music Video
  • [2] Lyrics of Paper Thin
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