She's got one of the most memorable voices in the whole genre, hails from Queensbridge, and holds a Ph.D. in Psychology. If you need a refresher on Ms. Shante, OldSchoolHipHop.com has this to say:
Born Lolita Shante Gooden, Roxanne Shante was part of a phenomenon that took place in 1984. UTFO's song "Roxanne Roxanne" was a huge hit that year about their attempts to seduce a woman named Roxanne. One night Shante overheard WHBI's Tyrone Williams, Mister Magic, and Marley Marl discussing the fact that UTFO has skipped out on promised appearance. Shante offered to record a dis record. Her skills seemed up to par despite only being around 14-15 years old. Marley produced and she rapped the song, "Roxanne's Revenge" and it made them both famous. In fact, Shante couldn't go to school because so many people would stand outside of her classroom. Following her success there were over one hundred more "Roxanne" answer records. She began to tour constantly, freestyling her way through all takers. He war with UTFO continued as she would do anything to sabotage their shows and make them look bad. She had a few other hits (written by Big Daddy Kane) like "Have a Nice Day" and also "Go on Girl" from the movie Colors. She also did a duet with Biz Markie in 1986 called "Def Fresh Crew". She also worked with Rick James on a "Loosey's Rap." Other tracks of note were "Payback" and "Freestyle" in 1987. 1990 saw the release of "Big Mama" which took on every other female rapper in the game.
DJ Dee-Ville is not a new name to readers of this blog. He runs his own blog called Ain't It Good To You and has made a name for himself making compilations of obscure or underappreciated songs from artists such as Positive K and The Audio Two. His latest compilation centers on the subject of this post and comes highly recommended. Hearing Roxanne rip Frukwan (of Gravediggaz fame) at the New Music Seminar is priceless. Download this fan-made compilation and be sure to support whatever DJ Dee-Ville's doing over at his spot.
R.O.X.A.N.N.E. [Click To Download]
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