Roxanne Shanté

• Name — Roxanne Shanté • Landscape — yes • Birth Name — Lolita Shanté Gooden • Born — 8 March 1969 • Birthplace — Queens, New York City, U.S. • Genre — Hip-hop • Occupation — Rapper • Years Active — * 1984–1996 • 2008–present • Label — * Pop Art • 10/Virgin (Ireland, UK) • Breakout/A&M • Cold Chillin'/Reprise/Warner Bros. • Livin' Large/Tommy Boy • Past Member Of — Juice Crew

Shanté was born March 8, 1969, in Queens, New York. In 1984, she met Mr. Magic and Marley Marl outside the Queensbridge housing project. They discussed U.T.F.O., 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. Shanté, who was a member of the Juice Crew, was contracted to write a track in rebuttal to U.T.F.O.'s rhyme, 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 Shanté, only 14 at the time, one of the first female MCs to become very popular. Then the "Roxanne Wars" started, and Shanté continued to rhyme and started touring with her producer, Marley Marl. In 1985, Shanté released a record together with rapper Sparky D, who had earlier released a diss track about her called "Sparky's Turn (Roxanne, You're Through)". 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 emcees 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, Shanté battled Busy Bee Starski for the title of best freestyle emcee but lost due to improper judging. Judge Kurtis Blow later admitted to Shanté 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 Shanté was nothing more than a sexual appendage to male rappers. In 1988, she rhymed on the Rick James single Loosey's Rap. In 1989, Shanté released Bad Sister, The Bitch Is Back in 1992, and a greatest hits anthology in 1995. In 1997, Roxanne was featured on Frankie Cutlass third single, titled "The Cypher Part III," which featured Marley Marl's juice crew emcees Big Daddy Kane, Big Markie, and Craig G.

By the age of 25 Shanté 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 made a cameo appearance on VH1's hip hop reality show Ms. Rap Supreme, giving rap-battle strategies to the finalists of the show. She was 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. Shanté re-recorded the song in 2009. In an interview with EmEz in 2015, she said that she had just been proposed to and that she had previously been married. In the same interview, she said that KRS-One was one of her favorite rappers. Shanté, as of December 2025, hosts the daily show Have A Nice Day (on Rock The Bells, via SiriusXM).

It was reported by Blender in 2008, and more extensively in a New York Daily News account in 2009, that Shanté earned a bachelor's degree from Marymount Manhattan College and a master's and Ph.D in psychology from Cornell University. The articles said that a quirk in her recording contract obligated Warner Music to fund her college education. These were not new claims by Shanté; she spoke at length about them on the Beef II documentary which was released in 2004. In 2009, an investigation by lawyer and journalist Ben Sheffner for Slate magazine found no evidence of Shanté's claims. She was never signed to a Warner Music label, but was under contract to the independent label Cold Chillin' Records, which was distributed by Reprise/Warner Bros. Records from 1987 to 1992. Academic records indicate that she attended only three months at Marymount Manhattan College. Shanté never earned a degree, and she is unlicensed by New York State officials to practice psychology or similar disciplines. The Daily News then ran a five-paragraph correction. Shanté apologized in November 2009.

• Bad Sister (1989) • The Bitch Is Back (1992)

Roxanne Shanté is recorded with the occupation musician. Classed in the genre hip-hop. Recorded as rapper, singer and musician.