thee dr. of revenge

When a rapper drops out of college, that’s not news. But when a rapper graduates with a Ph.D and gets her record label to foot the bill, now that’s not something you hear about everyday. Some of you were probably in Superman Underoos when Roxanne Shante, a pioneering female MC, had her run with “Roxanne’s Revenge” at the tender age of 14. The single, a response to UTFO’s “Roxanne, Roxanne,” sold an amazing 250,000 units. Shante would go on to release two albums but she found herself constantly being ripped off by her record label. Then she had an aha! moment and remembered one throwaway clause in her contract that required Warner Music to pay for her education. The then 19 year old took advantage of that offer and today, Dr. Roxanne Shante has a Ph.D in Psychology from Cornell University to show for her contract. Why settle for a royalty check when you can get a Ph.D and a royalty check?