Cappucino is the third and final single from MC Lyte's album ''

Eyes on This ''Eyes on This'' is the second studio album American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on October 3, 1989, via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and featured production from Audio Two, as well as Grand Puba, The King of Chil ...

''. It was published on August 2, 1990. In its single version it is a remix by Ivan "Doc" Rodríguez of the original version of the album produced by Marley Marl. In this song MC Lyte seeks to warn about violence around

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s and addictions. In October 1990 it peaked 8 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles, being her third consecutive single in the top 10 of that chart. "Cappucino" was listed in the ''Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era'' (2005) by Bruce Pollock.

Conception and composition

In the song Lyte tells how she goes to a cafe in Manhattan and once there she is murdered after being caught in the crossfire of rival drug dealers. So Lyte says she feels ''"on the other side/between lives"'', where she meets various people who have had deaths associated with violence and the use of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

. Later Lyte tells that everything has been part of a dream and that she was glad to realize this when she woke up, feeling everything as a warning message. Then she makes a description of the Cappuccino and ends the song saying that now she prefers tea because the Cappuccino seemed to ''"too fly for me"''. The original version on the album is produced by Marley Marl, but the single version is a remix by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez. Another of the Remixes included in the single is produced by

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

and Terminator X from Public Enemy:

Samples

The original version contains a sample of The Blackbyrds's "Spaced Out" bass. The remix incorporates vocal samples from

The S.O.S. Band The S.O.S. Band (sometimes written as S.O.S. Band; abbreviation for Sounds of Success) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and Boogie (genre), electro-funk musical ensemble, group who gained fame in the 1980s. They are best known for the songs ...

's " Just Be Good to Me" and The Dells's "Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation", the bass from Dennis Edwards with Siedah Garrett's " Don't Look Any Further" and drums from Fantasy Three "It's Your Rock". It also includes a sampling of Lyte herself on the charity single "

Self Destruction Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors have been shown by many people throughout the years. It is on a continuum, with one extr ...

Music video

The music video was directed by

Ric Menello Richard "Ric" Menello (August 20, 1952March 1, 2013) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. Menello co-directed the landmark music video for the Beastie Boys' 1987 single, "''(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)''". His contributio ...

, who had previously worked for the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

and was released on November 1, 1990. 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), the writer Jennifer R. Young would comment on the video: It was included on his compilation video album ''Lyte Years'' (1991).

Appearances

"Cappucino" was included in his compilation albums The Very Best of MC Lyte (2001), ''The Shit I Never Dropped'' (2003), and ''Cold Rock a Party - Best Of MC Lyte'' (2019). On May 1, 1991, Lyte performs the song on "Yo! Unplugged Rap", the first MTV Unplugged to feature rap artists. Her performance was praised by Entertainment Weekly's

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

, who commented "MC Lyte performed her song ”Cappucino" like a rapping

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

: Lyte brought out the soul in her lyrics."

Critical reception

In his review of the album Eyes on This, critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

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." For his part,

Mike Boehm Mike Boehm (October 23, 1955 - May 2, 2019) was an American music critic and arts reporter. He wrote for the ''Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angel ...

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

Single track listing

12" Vinyl

A-Side

# "Cappucino" (D.J. DOC Remix) (5:24) #*Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez # "Cappucino" (Remix Instrumental) (5:24) #*Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

B-Side

# "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Chuck D & Terminator X Remix) (4:00) #*Produced by

and Terminator X # "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Audio Two Remix) (3:51) #*Produced by

Audio Two Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". History The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was ...

# "I Cram To Understand U 1990" (D.J. DOC Remix) (4:43) #*Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

Cassette

A-Side

# "Cappucino" (Edited Remix Version) (3:40) #*Produced by Ivan 'Doc' Rodriguez

B-Side

# "Not Wit' A Dealer" (Chuck D & Terminator X Remix) (4:00) #*Produced by

and Terminator X

Personnel

Credits are taken from the liner notes. *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)

Charts

References

{{authority control MC Lyte songs 1989 singles 1989 songs Atlantic Records singles Songs about drugs Songs written by MC Lyte Song recordings produced by Marley Marl