Roxanne Shanté
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Lolita Shante Gooden (born March 8, 1970), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the
Roxanne Wars The Roxanne Wars is a well-known series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. The dispute arose over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show. There were two Roxannes in question, ...
and was part of the
Juice Crew The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Cre ...
. The 2017 film, ''
Roxanne Roxanne ''Roxanne Roxanne'' is a 2017 American musical drama film written and directed by Michael Larnell. It stars Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips and Shenell Edmonds. The film revolves around the life of rapp ...
'', is a dramatization of Shante's life.


Early life and career

Shante was born March 8, 1970 and in 1984, the young rapper ran into Bruce Bailey and Billy Beaver, DJ
Mr. Magic John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, (March 15, 1956 – October 2, 2009) was a prominent hip hop radio DJ. Career Mr. Magic debuted in 1979 on WHBI in New York City with “Disco Showcase” on the pay-for-time FM station. It was a far cry from the prime ...
, and record agent
Marley Marl Marlon Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects ...
outside the Queensbridge housing project. The four of them were discussing
U.T.F.O. UTFO (an abbreviation for Untouchable Force Organization) was an American old-school hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group consisted of Kangol Kid (born Shaun Shiller Fequiere; August 10, 1966 – December 18, 2021), Educated R ...
since the rap trio had failed to make an appearance at a concert. U.T.F.O. had recently released a single called "Hanging Out," which did not gain much critical acclaim; however, the B-side "Roxanne, Roxanne", about a woman who would not respond to their advances, became a hit. Shante, who was a member of the
Juice Crew The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Cre ...
, was contracted to write a track in rebuttal to U.T.F.O.'s rap, posing as the Roxanne in the U.T.F.O. song. Marley Marl produced the song "Roxanne's Revenge" using the original beats from an instrumental version of "Roxanne, Roxanne". The track became an instant hit and made Shante, only 14 years old at the time, one of the first female MCs to become very popular. Following this, the "
Roxanne Wars The Roxanne Wars is a well-known series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. The dispute arose over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show. There were two Roxannes in question, ...
" started, and Shante continued to rap and started touring with her producer, the Real Roxanne. In 1985, Shante released a record together with rapper Sparky D, who had dissed her before in her track "Sparky's Turn, Roxanne You're Through" for disrespecting U.T.F.O. and being too young to be in rap battles. The record called "Round One, Roxanne Shanté vs Sparky Dee" was released by Spin Records and included six tracks: the two original battle tracks ("Roxanne's Revenge" and "Sparky's Turn") as well as "Roxanne's Profile" by Shante, "Sparky's Profile" by Sparky D and a battle track, in which the two rappers freestyle and dis each other, in a censored and an uncensored version. Other hits included "Have a Nice Day" and "Go on Girl". In 1985, Shante battled
Busy Bee Starski David James Parker (born October 26, 1962), known by the stage name Busy Bee, is an American old-school hip hop musician from New York, NY. First coming on the New York City music scene in 1977, Busy Bee worked with many of hip-hop's founding f ...
for the crown of "best freestyle rapper" but lost due to improper judging. Judge
Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...
later admitted to Shante that he did not vote for her because she was a girl. The ongoing battle with KRS-One hit its height when KRS-One claimed in his 1986 track "The Bridge Is Over" that Shante was nothing more than a sexual appendage to male rappers. Shante released ''Bad Sister'' in 1989, ''The Bitch Is Back'' in 1992, and a greatest hits anthology in 1995.


Hiatus

By the age of 25, Shante was largely retired from the recording industry. She continued to make occasional guest appearances and live performances, as well as mentor young female hip-hop artists. She did the latter by making a cameo appearance on VH1's hip hop reality show '' Ms. Rap Supreme'' and gave rap-battle strategies to the finalists of that show. She also took part in a series of Sprite commercials during the late 1990s. She returned to performing, and in 2008, her song "Roxanne's Revenge" was ranked number 42 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop; she re-recorded the song the following year. In an interview with EmEz in 2015, she stated that she had just been proposed to and that she had been married before. In the same interview, she said that KRS-One was one of her favorite rappers.


Biographical claims

It was reported by ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...
'' in 2008, and more extensively in a New York '' Daily News'' account in 2009, that Shante earned a bachelor's degree from
Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...
and a master's and Ph.D in psychology from
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, and that a quirk in her recording contract obligated
Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
to fund her college education. These were not new claims by Shante; she spoke on the subject at length on the ''Beef II'' documentary, which was released in 2004. However, an investigation by lawyer and journalist Ben Sheffner for ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine found no evidence of Shante's claims. She was never signed to a Warner Music label, but was under contract to the independent label
Cold Chillin' Records Cold Chillin' Records was a record label that released music during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. A producer-and-crew label founded by manager Tyrone Williams and run by Len Fichtelberg (d. November 4, 2010), ...
, which was in turn distributed by
Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...
/
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
from 1987 to 1992. Academic records indicate that she attended only three months at Marymount Manhattan College. Shante never earned any degree and she is unlicensed by New York State officials to practice psychology or similar disciplines. The ''Daily News'' subsequently ran a five-paragraph correction. Shante apologized in November 2009.


''Roxanne Roxanne'' film

A dramatized biopic about Shante's life, ''
Roxanne Roxanne ''Roxanne Roxanne'' is a 2017 American musical drama film written and directed by Michael Larnell. It stars Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips and Shenell Edmonds. The film revolves around the life of rapp ...
'', was first shown at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – ''I Don't Feel at ...
. It received critical acclaim and the lead actress
Chanté Adams Chanté Adams (born December 16, 1994) is an American actress. She starred in the 2017 biopic ''Roxanne Roxanne'', for which she received the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance. Life and career Adams was born and raised in ...
won best breakout performance for her portrayal of Shante. The film was co-produced by
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Forest Whitaker, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award ...
and
Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...
, and written and directed by Michael Larnell. It was bought by the film studio
Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...
for general release later in 2017.


Legacy

At the height of her career, Shante was referred to as the " Queen of Rap" by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and has been noted as a hip hop pioneer. ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' credited her for popularizing
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...
s. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' editor Natalie Weiner wrote that Shante's "blazingly male-shaming diss track" and "hip-hop's first recorded beef" helped move hip-hop further toward the mainstream, calling her "rap's first female star." ''
Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...
'' considered her "a mentor for generations of female MCs, and an early advocate in rap for female empowerment." In 1989, ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' stated that the popularity of rappers like Roxanne Shante,
Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...
and
MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first ...
created a path for the next generation of female hip hop artists.


Discography


Studio albums

* '' Bad Sister'' (1989) * ''
The Bitch Is Back "The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album '' Caribou'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth i ...
'' (1992)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shante, Roxanne 1970 births American women rappers African-American women rappers Cold Chillin' Records artists Five percenters Living people People from Long Island City, Queens Rappers from New York City People who fabricated academic degrees 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Juice Crew members 21st-century women rappers