Doing her thing with an '89 swing, MC Lyte's Eyes on This finds her to be a confident lady microphone controller, throwing braggart like a gattling gun. But it's pretty easy to puff up, like Lyte does on nearly all 13 tracks ("Slave 2 the Rhythm", "Throwin' Words at U", "Shut the Eff Up! [Hoe]") when you have some of hip-hop's best producers in your corner. EPMD's Parrish Smith, Brand Nubian's Grand Puba, and Audio Two mix the majority of the tracks, while family man Milk pops in for vocals. Even Marley Marl gets off the throne to produce "Cappucino," with MC Lyte dropping her grudges just long enough to weave something metaphysical around a bad cappuccino experience. Eyes on This is, if nothing else, a cool trip back to drum machines (listening to the great bounce of "Stop, Look and Listen" feels like following one of those 10 cent superballs down an endless flight of stairs) and a totally free license to sample. --Todd Levin