Growing up listening to New York radio in the ’80s, the author recalls the rise of Roxanne Shanté and her diss track that became a popular phenomenon.
Growing up listening to New York radio in the ’80s, I was exposed to a parallel universe of rap singles that missed the pop Top 40 but were treated by local deejays as if they were mainstream hits. Grandmaster & Melle Mel’s “”—these records were played on the Z100s of the day alongside the latest by Madonna or Duran Duran.
But the underground-gone-overground rap hit that really detonated across the airwaves in 1984–85 was Brooklyn crew UTFO’s “who’s “all stuck up” and wouldn’t give any of the troupe’s three members the time of day. The record was so notorious it drew a response. A Queens teenager named Lolita Shanté Gooden, who fancied herself an MC and regarded UTFO’s song as an affront to women and an empty boast, redubbed herself Roxanne Shanté and recorded a seven-minute freestyle dissing the trifling trio for their wack come-ons. Titled “Roxanne’s Revenge,” itas a popular, if not pop, phenomeno
Roxanne Shanté Diss Track Rap Phenomenon Music
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