Roxanne Shante
A battle-rap pioneer who, as a teenager from the projects, sparked the famed Roxanne Wars and helped lay the groundwork for every confident female MC who followed.
Born 1969 (age 57)·American rapper·Birthday: November 9·Generation X
Biography
Roxanne Shante's story is hip-hop lore: a 14-year-old girl from the Queensbridge projects who stepped into a booth and changed the game. In 1984, she recorded the blistering response track 'Roxanne's Revenge,' aimed at UTFO's 'Roxanne, Roxanne.' Its raw, boastful energy ignited the 'Roxanne Wars,' a series of answer records that demonstrated rap's potent, conversational power. As the lone female voice in the influential Juice Crew collective, Shante held her own with a flow that was both technically sharp and dripping with streetwise defiance. Her career, though impacted by industry battles and a legendary (and later contested) lifetime royalty contract, was brief but seismic. She proved that a young woman could be the most feared lyricist in the room, directly influencing the rise of a more assertive, complex female voice in rap. Decades later, her legacy is recognized as a foundational pillar, celebrated in film and her role as a radio host for Hip Hop Nation.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Roxanne was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Roxanne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Roxanne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 50
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 57 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Released the seminal answer record 'Roxanne's Revenge' at age 14, sparking the historic Roxanne Wars in hip-hop.
- Was a central member of the influential Queens-based hip-hop collective The Juice Crew.
- Had her life story dramatized in the 2017 Netflix biographical film 'Roxanne Roxanne.'
- Hosted the daily show 'Have A Nice Day' on SiriusXM's Hip Hop Nation channel.
Did You Know?
She recorded 'Roxanne's Revenge' in one take for just $900.
She earned a PhD in psychology, using her dissertation to study the correlation between rap lyrics and domestic violence.
The story that she secured a 'lifetime royalty' contract as a teenager has been a subject of both celebration and dispute in hip-hop history.
She is the mother of rapper K'Juan Shante.
“I was the first female rapper that made it acceptable to be as hard as the boys.”
