Roxanne Shanté is the queen of Queensbridge rappers. As a teenager in the 1980s, she lyrically demolished all comers. In this B-side outtake, we talk with Roxanne about meeting Prodigy, encouraging Hav to go solo, and how the water in Queensbridge bestowed her with rap superpowers.
LANGUAGE WARNING: The Realness contains strong language that some listeners may find offensive.
WNYC’s health coverage and The Realness by Only Human is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jane and Gerald Katcher and the Katcher Family Foundation, Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Audio of Prodigy on Questlove Supreme is provided by Pandora, which also has a recording of Mobb Deep's classic hit "Shook Ones (Part II)" performed by Nas.
Join Us on 'The Stakes'
Only Human Presents: Undiscovered
The Realness Ep6: Missing You
The Realness Ep5: Go See About the God
The Realness Ep4: The Most Racist Judge in Nassau County
The Realness Ep3: Son, They Shook
The Realness Ep2: T'Chaka
The Realness Ep1: This Sunny Day Right Here
Aftereffect Ep8: “They call him Cheese”
WNYC Studios presents: The Realness
Aftereffect Ep7: “The man behind an empire”
Aftereffect Ep6: “When they don't behave”
Aftereffect Ep5: “I need to believe”
Aftereffect Ep4: “I Baker Act you. You Baker Acted me.”
Aftereffect Ep3: “He was definitely a handful”
Aftereffect Ep2: “Suck it up, buttercup”
Aftereffect Ep 1: “Let me get this on camera”
Aftereffect: A SWAT team, an autistic man, an American tragedy.
Caught: "The Teenage Brain is Like a Sports Car"
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