Queens hip hop icon Roxanne Shanté will visit VCU tomorrow as part of the university’s celebration of Women’s History Month.
Shanté rose to fame during the 1980s for her song “Roxanne’s Revenge”, an answer to hip hop group UTFO’s song, “Roxanne, Roxanne.” This then spurred over 100 answer records and hip hop rivalries which became known as the “Roxanne Wars.”
At the time of the release of her song, Shanté was just 14-years-old and she was one of the first female emcees to pave the way for women in hip hop. She continued to rap into the mid 90s and in 2008, “Roxanne’s Revenge” was ranked No. 42 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs.
Shanté’ also has an upcming biopic, “Roxanne, Roxanne” coming out later this year which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was co-produced by Forest Whitaker and Pharrell Williams.
According to the VCUnews site, the retired rapper and now mentor will speak at VCU in the T. Edward Temple Building at 901 W. Main St. on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. A reception in foVCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs will follow.
