[1] It was released on April 19, 1988,[2] via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and was produced by Audio Two, Prince Paul, and King of Chill and his group, Alliance.

For instance, “Paper Thin.” So it just came from that book of wanting to be prepared for my moment.”[23]Many of the songs included contributions from the rap duo Audio Two, who had been close to Lyte since childhood,[24] King of Chill and his group Alliance.

The track "Mc Lyte Likes Swingin" had Prince Paul of Stetsasonic in production, who later gained recognition for his work with De La Soul.

In addition to "I Cram to Understand U", three other songs were released as singles: "10% Dis" (a diss track to then-Hurby Azor associate Antoinette),[21] "Paper Thin" (in which she confronts her boyfriend for an infidelity)[25] and the eponymous "Lyte as a Rock".

During the MC Lyte tribute at the 2006 VH1 Hip Hop Honors Da Brat and Remy Ma sang the chorus for the track "Kickin' 4 Brooklyn".

"[31] Robert Christgau from The Village Voice was more reserved in his praise, finding that Lyte "knows how to talk tough without yielding to the stupid temptations of macho", but that the album's producers "chill too close to the max as she attempts to carry the music with her bare rap.

"[35] In retrospect, Rob Theakston of AllMusic commented that "Lyte as a Rock has aged better than most records that came out during hip-hop's formative years, although at certain moments it has become dated since its release.

"[29] Trouser Press concluded that "not only is Lyte's assessment of the sexual battlefield a refreshing change of pace, the chip on her shoulder yields cleverly vicious putdowns.

[1] In October 2017 Complex magazine's Michael Gonzales commented "MC Lyte emerged from the depths of Brooklyn caring more about her rhyme skills than her make-up.(...)

"[7] XXL's Dominique Zonyee considered that with the release of her debut album Lyte "indirectly challenged anyone who said she couldn’t or wouldn’t have success as a rapper."

50 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums, it helped usher in a whole new era of confident female MCs, including Bahamadia, Queen Latifah and Monie Love.