Shantae roxanne biography

(1969-)

Who Is Roxanne Shante?

With her distinctive raspy-squeaky voice and fearless gloves-up delivery, Roxanne Shanté cut an idiosyncratic dash through the male-dominated world of 1980s hip hop.

shantae roxanne biography3

She was the first female rapper to have a record — and sparked the first-ever hip-hop beef, the Roxanne Wars. Shanté courted controversy in 2009 when her claim to possess an undergraduate degree and a PhD was disputed by the Slate writer Ben Scheffner.

Early Life

The First Lady of Rap was born Lolita Shanté Gooden on November 9, 1969, and raised in the Queensbridge Projects — the largest public-housing development in north America and one of the epicenters of hip-hop culture.

Shanté told the website Jezebel.com that her mom entered her in a local rap battle when she was just 10 years old — and Shanté won $50. "It just grew from there," she said. "I was already a great little battle rapper." Soon she was taking on all-comers on street corners — Roxanne Shante - Songs, Kids & Albums - Biography WOKO