Legendary rapper Roxanne Shante (born Lolita Shante Gooden), best known for her infamous single "Roxanne's Revenge", not only battled on the mic but against her former record label Warner Music. Two and a half decades after the young, rap diva was cheated out of her royalty checks she made the biggest come back of her life meanwhile setting an extraordinary precedent...
Roxanne Shante first came into the rap game at the tender age of 14. Unfortunately, that fact did not cut her any slack. Her hit "Roxanne's Revenge" [an explicit dis against UTFO's hit 'Roxanne Roxanne'] was released in 1984. In NYC alone the single sold 250,000 copies and made Shante hip hop's first female celebrity. This accomplishment opened the door for female rappers to come such as MC Lyte, Yo-yo, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Lil' Kim and more. Yet, she did not see the same success. "After two albums, Shante said, she was disillusioned by the sleazy music industry and swindled by her record company. The teen mother, living in the Queensbridge Houses recalled how her life was shattered [Walter Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS]."
"I'm an example that you can be a teenage mom, come from the projects, and be raised by a single parent, and YOU can still come out of it a doctor."
Roxanne Shante first came into the rap game at the tender age of 14. Unfortunately, that fact did not cut her any slack. Her hit "Roxanne's Revenge" [an explicit dis against UTFO's hit 'Roxanne Roxanne'] was released in 1984. In NYC alone the single sold 250,000 copies and made Shante hip hop's first female celebrity. This accomplishment opened the door for female rappers to come such as MC Lyte, Yo-yo, Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Lil' Kim and more. Yet, she did not see the same success. "After two albums, Shante said, she was disillusioned by the sleazy music industry and swindled by her record company. The teen mother, living in the Queensbridge Houses recalled how her life was shattered [Walter Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS]."
"Everybody was cheating with the contracts, stealing and telling lies; and to find out that I was just a commodity was heartbreaking."
All hope was not lost. A then, 19-year old Shante remembered a certain clause within her Warner Music recording contract: the company would fund her education for life. However, the multi-million dollar label commenced to give her the run-around. "They kept stumbling over their words, and they didn't have an exact reason why they were telling me no", Shante said [Warner Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS]. She continued to pursue the issue along with the help from her former Dean at Marymount Manhattan College, Marguerita Grecco. "I told Dean Grecco that either I'm going to go here or go to the streets, so I need your help, Shante recalled. "She said, 'We're going to make them pay for this!' [Warner Dawkins, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS] Grecco was relentless. She submitted all academic bills to Warner Music. Finally, the label surrendered to the terms of the contract and agreed to pay [but] only after Shante threatened to go public. Winning the battle against the reluctant label she eventually went on to continue her education at Ivy League institution Cornell University. In 2001 she graduated with her Doctorate degree in Psychology. Her total tuition cost hit the tune of $217,000. Warner Music paid every cent. Now 38, Dr. Roxanne Shante is an active member within the community. Notably, she has put her own unique twist to her therapy services by incorporating [you guessed it] rap! Through these "rap sessions", she encourages her clients to unleash their inner MC. Reportedly, she claims this method gets people to shout out their frustrations which in turn allows them to vent what is on their mind(s). Go girl!
KUDO - Gooden offers $5K in college scholarships each semester to female rappers through the non-profit HIP HOP ASSOCIATION as well as gives advice to young women in the music busines via her Myspace: myspace.com/roxanneshante
