Though MC Lyte has been doing a great deal of acting lately, she remains committed to hip-hop. Last year she released the single "I Can't Make a Mistake" and the LP Seven & Seven.

MC Lyte was born Lana Moore 28 years ago today in Queens, N.Y. Raised in Brooklyn, she began rhyming to music at age 12.

Lyte's first recording, "I Cram to Understand U (Sam)," earned her a cult following in the rap community. In 1988 she released the provocative Lyte as a Rock, her debut LP. The album featured songs such as "Lyte Versus Vanna White" and "M.C. Lyte Likes Swingin'."

She received critical acclaim for her sophomore LP, Eyes on This (1989), which included the #1 rap single "Cha Cha Cha."

Act Like You Know (1991) was more soulful and less abrasive than MC Lyte's previous albums. But she was her old upfront self on Ain't No Other (1993), which contained the Grammy Award-nominated "Ruffneck," the first gold single by a female rapper.

"Keep on Keepin' On," Lyte's gold-selling collaboration with X-scape from the movie "Sunset Park," was featured on her Bad as I Wanna Be (1996). The album featured production work by R. Kelly and Jermaine Dupri. It also included Lyte's duet with Missy Elliott, "Cold Rock a Party."

Last year MC Lyte issued the single "I Can't Make a Mistake" and the LP Seven & Seven, with such titles as "Give Me What I Want" and "In My Business" (RealAudio excerpt).

Of the album, which featured Elliott and LL Cool J, Lyte said: "Either you play it safe and come out with something that sounds like everyone else's songs or you take the risk and come out with something different. I'd rather come out with something different than stick to the realm of what everyone else is doing."

Lyte has acted in the TV shows "Moesha," "In the House" and "New York Undercover."

This year she acted in her first feature film, "Train Ride," which is currently in post-production.

Lyte is also involved in humanitarian efforts such as Rock the Vote and lends her support to various AIDS-awareness efforts.

"MC Lyte really knocked down a lot of walls and opened up a lot of doors for women in hip-hop," said Zenobia Simmons, the compiler and executive producer of Rhino Records' three-volume retrospective Fat Beats & Brastraps: Women of Hip-Hop. "She came along at a historical moment and showed that women could go toe-to-toe with male MCs."

Other birthdays: Gary Mallaber (Steve Miller Band), 53; Daryl Hall, 50; Andrew Woolfolk (Earth, Wind & Fire), 49; Jon Langford (Mekons), 42; Scott Johnson (Gin Blossoms), 37; and Dottie West, 1931-1991.