Rap pioneer MC Lyte is spearheading a new campaign to help her female hip-hop peers pick up more Grammy Awards. Lyte, who became the first female rapper to score a gold single, is using her position on the Grammy committee to reinstate the female rap category at music's big awards night.

"We have not had a female rap category at the Grammys since 2003, and I'm trying to get this thing reinstated for 2009," she says. "I'm getting all of these sisters ready, whether they're signed or unsigned."

Lyte has also taken up the cause for female MCs in the legal system. The rapper feels that courts are sexist when it comes to punishing the ladies of hip-hop, because they tend get harsher sentences than their male counterparts.

She cites the sentences handed down to Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim, while T.I. served a house arrest term on illegal weapons charges and R. Kelly’s child pornography case took six years to get to court.

In a recent statement on her personal blog, MC Lyte wrote, "After allegedly purchasing firearms and such, T.I. gets to stay home in the comfort of his luxurious Atlanta home, while nearly every woman in the game that has been taken in for something has either done time or (they’re) waiting on pins and needles to know the outcome of their cases."

Lyte is now a member of hip-hop trio Almost September, with two producer/writer/vocalist Whitey and producer/writer Jared Lee.