Eyes on This

As on the album Lyte as a Rock, most of the songs are produced by Audio Two and King of Chill, incorporating other producers on some specific tracks. "Capuccino" was produced and co-written by Juice Crew's Marley Marl and recorded at his "House of Hits" home studio in Chestnut Ridge. "Slave 2 the Rhythm" was co-written and produced by EPMD's PMD. "I Am the Lyte" and "Funky Song" was co-written and produced by Brand Nubian's Grand Puba. For his part, Positive K, with whom Lyte had previously worked on the duet I'm Not Havin' It, has songwriting credits on the track "Rhyme Hangover."[2]

The album addresses some social issues such as violence around drugs and addictions ("Cappucino", "Not wit' a Dealer")[2][7] and machismo ("Please Understand").[8] Regarding the content of Please Understand, Lyte told Deborah Gregory in an Essence profile "I’ve never let a man dog me and I never will, It’s just not gonna happen!".[8] The track "Survival of the Fittest" is a remix by King of Chill along with Audio Two of the original included on the compilation album The First Priority Music Family: Basement Flavor (1988). As the last track was included "K-Rocks Housin", a set by Lyte's disc jockey DJ K-Rock.

The diss track to Antoinette "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)", which was originally the b-side of the single Lyte as a Rock, was included on the album.[9] The diss track to Antoinette "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)", which was originally the b-side of the single Lyte as a Rock, was included on the album.[9] On the track "Slave 2 the Rhythm" she would say "It took a whole album for you to try and diss me/And ha-ha-ha, slum bitch, you still missed me/But yo, I'm off the dissin tip, cause that takes no creation" and would add "'Gangstress', don't make me laugh" in reference to Antoinette's nickname.[10]

"Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)" was later sampled on TLC's Hat 2 da Back, The Lox's "Goin' Be Some Shit" and Common's "Orange Pineapple Juice". "Slave 2 the Rhythm" was sampled by Naughty by Nature on "Strike a Nerve" and by electropunk group Mindless Self Indulgence on "Tornado".

The cover photo, taken by Robert Manella, shows Lyte with her DJ K-Rock with two Porsche Carrera '89. This was taken at pier 6 of Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the World Trade Center complex of buildings visible behind them.[11]

In December 2010 the cover was included by Flavorwire in their "11 Stylish '80s Hip-Hop Album Covers" list, reviewing "MC Lyte’s hairstyle and oversized power suit haven’t necessarily aged well, but her DJ looks smooth, and there’s something ageless about lounging by a couple of Porsches before the city skyline. The soft focus adds a touch of mystery to the proceedings."[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B+[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]

In his "Consumer Guide" column in The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau commented "backtalk like a pro, sometimes like an original --the rhythmic obscenities on the spectacularly unsisterly "Shut the Eff Up! (Hoe)" are mind-boggling. Her tales of the drug wars are tough and prowoman, and the narrative tone of "Cappucino"—part fable, part metaphor, part confessional revery, part dumb it-was-only-a-dream—is avant-garde. Elsewhere she's a pro." He also highlighted a better production compared to his debut album.[15] Rolling Stone magazine described the album as a "slamming, street-smart" endeavor.[8] People's Michael Small considered MC Lyte on the album “maintained her reputation as an insult-hurling tough talker who rapped to hard, simple beats”.[16] For his part, Jon Pareles of The New York Times would write in his review of the album "Most of the songs continue to brag and sling insults, a gambit that can wear thin in the course of an album" although he highlighted the presence of songs like Please Understand, Not Wit 'a Dealer and Cappuccino "Even so, MC Lyte still has her ears to the street."[1] John Leland reviewed for Spin magazine "(...) the new album is unrelentingly on, making a hard virtue of its simplicity and crudeness. In a genre that shows little patience for the vicissitudes of growing up, Lyte hangs onto her youth, battling more as a tomboy than a sexual warrior, all the while slipping into a childless world of drug dealers and casual murders."[17]

The song writing information is according to the ASCAP website.[21][22][23]

Credits are taken from the liner notes.[24]