Del.icio.usRoxanne Shante
Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Gooden) is an American hip hop vocalist and pioneer. She rose to prominence due to her hit Roxanne's Revenge, which sold over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. Her career began unusually, at the age of 14, as she ran into three men talking about U.T.F.O., who had recently cancelled their performance at a show they were performing. Shante offered to record an answer to U.T.F.O.'s recent hit, "Roxanne, Roxanne", which was about a woman who would not notice them. The men agreed and the result was "Roxanne's Revenge", a confrontational and profane song that made her a star within the hip hop community, and sparked off the massive Roxanne Wars. Her early tracks were all produced by Marley Marl, one of rap music's most influential producers.
In 1986 (see 1986 in music), she and Rick James had a hit with "Loosey's Rap". In 2000 (see 2000 in music) she collaborated with UK producer Mekon on the track "What's Going On?". She also took part in a series of Sprite commercials in the late 1990s, as well as acted as a mentor to young female hip-hop artists.
At the age of 18, after several discrepancies with her royalties, pay-cuts, and a pregnancy, Roxanne Shante began to call it quits, which became finalized at the age of 25. She now has a Ph.D. in psychology with a successful practice in New York. She is a practicing vegan.