Roxanne Shante Caught The Vapors
Last week on our Facebook page I posted this really amazing story about Roxanne Shante earning her Ph.D and how she so cleverly had her record label pay for her entire academic ride. It was impressive. Redemptive even. I was thrilled to hear that one of my favorite female rappers had the foresight to include in her contract a provision for her educational expenses. Homegirl had juiced the music industry and had her doctorate in psychology to show and prove. But yesterday on Twitter, Questlove of The Roots posted some disturbing news. Roxanne Shante had allegedly made-up the whole thing. I’m heartbroken. Female MC’s back then and especially now have to struggle for validation. 25 years later, clearly Roxanne Shante is still dealing with issues of self-empowerment and validation. What’s so ironic (and just as disturbing) is the lie itself. An Ivy League post grad degree? How middle-American? How traditional? Having been such an active force in hip-hop when hip hop was so anti-establishment it’s interesting that Roxanne chose this story as a vehicle to authenticate her success. Never mind that her single Roxanne’s Revenge sold $250,000 copies in NYC alone or that she owns an ice cream parlor in Queens. Someone caught the vapors big time!
WTF–damn this is disappointing. Well I think that your point about self-esteem and the female struggle for validation 25 years later is a good one and reinforces what we already know–that the struggle continues. But man you talking about taking the wind out of your sails. I’m having another Chris Rock “its hard to defend this isht” moment:) Keep it hot.