Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Shanté Gooden on November 9, 1969) is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the legendary Juice Crew.
Shanté’s career began at the age of 14 when she encountered influential record producer Marley Marl, radio DJ Mr. Magic, and Tyrone Williams talking about how UTFO had canceled their appearance at a show they were promoting. Shanté offered to record an answer to UTFO’s recent hit “Roxanne, Roxanne,” which was about a woman named Roxanne who rejects the members of the group. The men agreed and the result was “Roxanne’s Revenge,” a confrontational and profane song in which Shanté assumed the role of Roxanne, dissing UTFO over its own instrumental, which sparked the Roxanne Wars and made her a hip-hop star in the process. The single would go on to sell over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. Aligning with the Juice Crew, most of her tracks would be produced by Marley Marl, with the exception of several songs on Shanté’s last album, 1992’s The Bitch is Back. |
