Roxanne Shante

Lolita Shanté Gooden (born November 5, 1969[1]), better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American hip hop musician and rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City,[1][2] Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2018 film Roxanne Roxanne is a dramatization of Shante's life.

Roxanne Shante
Shante in 2016
Background information
Birth nameLolita Shanté Gooden
Born (1969-11-05) November 5, 1969
Queens, New York City, New York, U.S.
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)Emcee
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1984–1996
2008–present
Labels
Associated acts
WebsiteRoxanne Shanté Twitter

Early life and career

Shante was born Lolita Shanté Gooden in Queens, New York City on November 5, 1969. She lived with her mother and sisters. She started rapping at the age of nine in 1979 and changed her name from Lolita to Roxanne at fourteen.[3][4] In 1984, the young rapper ran into Tyrone Williams, DJ Mr. Magic, and record producer Marley Marl outside the Queensbridge housing project. The three of them were discussing U.T.F.O. since the rap trio had failed to make an appearance at a concert.[2] 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.[5] Shante, who was a member of the Juice Crew, 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" started, and Shante continued to rap and started touring.

In 1985, Shante released a record together with 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.[6] 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.[7] Other hits included "Have a Nice Day” and “Go on Girl".[8] In 1985, Shante battled Busy Bee Starski for the crown of "best freestyle rapper" but lost due to improper judging. Judge Kurtis Blow later admitted to Shante that he did not vote for her because she was a girl.[9] 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.[10] 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;[11] 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.[12] In the same interview she said that KRS-One was one of her favorite rappers.

Biographical claims

It was reported by Blender in 2008,[13] and more extensively in a New York Daily News account in 2009,[14] that Shante earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan College and a master's and Ph.D in psychology from Cornell University, and that a quirk in her recording contract obligated Warner Music 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.[15] However, an investigation by lawyer and journalist Ben Sheffner for Slate 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, which was in turn distributed by Reprise/Warner Bros. Records 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.[16] The Daily News subsequently ran a five-paragraph correction.[14][17] Shante apologized in November 2009.[18]

Roxanne Roxanne film

A dramatized biopic about Shante's life, Roxanne Roxanne, was first shown at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. It received critical acclaim and the lead actress Chanté Adams won best breakout performance for her portrayal of Shante. The film was co-produced by Forest Whitaker and Pharrell Williams, and written and directed by Michael Larnell.[19][20][21] It was bought by the film studio Neon for general release later in 2017.[22]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums
  • Greatest Hits (1995)

Singles
  • "Roxanne's Revenge" (1984)
  • "Queen of Rox (Shanté Rox On)" (1985)
  • "Runaway" (1985)
  • "Bite This" (1985)
  • "I'm Fly Shanté" (featuring Steady B) (1986)
  • "Def Fresh Crew / Biz Beat" (1986)
  • "Pay Back" (1987)
  • "Have a Nice Day" (1987) (UK #58)
  • "Go On, Girl" (1988) (UK #55)
  • "Loosey's Rap" (with Rick James) (1988)
  • "Sharp as a Knife" (with Brandon Cooke) (1988) (UK #45)
  • "Live on Stage" (1989)
  • "Independent Woman" (1990)
  • "Go On Girl" (1990) (re-issue) (UK #74)
  • "Big Mama" (1992)
  • "Straight Razor" (1992)
  • "What's Going On" (with Mekon) (2000) (UK #43)
  • "Yes Yes, Y'all" (with Mekon) (2006)
  • "Queen Pin" (1996)

[23]

Soundtrack TV and Movie appearances

Sampling
  • Have a Nice Day - Hot Pants Road,The JB's
  • Knocking Hiney - Theme from Shaft, Isaac Hayes
  • My Groove Gets Better - Think, Lyn Collins
  • Skeezer - Games People Play,Sweet G

References
  1. Hess, Mickey. Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide. p. 55.
  2. "About Roxanne Shanté". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016.
  3. Thembisa S. Mshaka, "Roxanne Shanté" (2007), In Hess, Mickey. Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-08438-6.
  4. Bruce, Fetts (2018-03-20). "Roxanne Finally Gets Her Revenge, 3 Decades After Her Hit Single". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  5. "Full Force Recalls Making UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne," Revisiting Song For New "Full Force: With Love from Our Friends" Album". 2014-08-26.
  6. "About Sparky D". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016.
  7. "Round One: Roxanne Shante vs Sparky Dee - OldSchoolHipHop.Com". www.oldschoolhiphop.com. January 7, 2010.
  8. "Roxanne Shante Biography - OldSchoolHipHop.Com". www.oldschoolhiphop.com.
  9. Thomas, Dexter (September 2, 2017). "How the best rapper of 1985 was sabotaged because she was a girl". www.vice.com. Vice News. Retrieved 2021-01-07. Years later, Roxanne approached Blow and asked him why he sabotaged her. According to Roxanne, he said it was because she was a girl.
  10. "Are Female Rappers Authentic" by Athena Elafros in Hip Hop Icons, p.208
  11. "VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs". hiphopgalaxy.com. 2008-09-29. Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  12. The Sitdown with EmEz (23 August 2015). "The Sunday Sit Down With EmEz: Roxanne Shante" – via YouTube.
  13. Reilly, Dan (2008-12-08). "Life After Rock: Roxanne Shanté". Blender.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27.
  14. Dawkins, Walter (September 2, 2009). "Rapper behind 'Roxanne's Revenge' gets Warner Music to pay for Ph.D". Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
  15. Sheffner, Ben (5 September 2009). "Copyrights & Campaigns: Roxanne Shanté speaking about her 'Ph.D.'".
  16. Sheffner, Ben (2009-09-02). "Roxanne's Nonexistent Revenge: Heard about the rapper who forced her label to pay for her Cornell Ph.D.? It never happened". Slate.
  17. Daily News, "Correction", September 4, 2009, p. 33
  18. "ROXANNE SHANTE REVEALS BREAST CANCER BATTLE". The Boombox. 2009-11-02. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  19. Weingarten, Christopher R. (20 January 2017). "Sundance 2017: 'Roxanne Roxanne' Salutes Hard Life of Rap Pioneer".
  20. Gleiberman, Owen (27 January 2017). "Sundance Film Review: 'Roxanne Roxanne'".
  21. "Roxanne Roxanne (2017)" – via www.imdb.com.
  22. Winfrey, Graham (29 January 2017). "Neon Acquires Hip-Hop Drama 'Roxanne Roxanne' — Sundance 2017".
  23. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 494. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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