Deeper Than Rap

Deeper Than Rap (No Officer Ricky)

I hadn’t had the motivation to write a blog in quite some time, but when people do stupid shit I have an obligation to you all to offer my insight. Most of you are probably too young to remember any of the music that Roxanne Shante put out. Doesn’t matter, that’s not what we’re here to discuss. Let’s instead focus on how she was interviewed numerous times in magazines, blogs and even on TV about how she got Warner Bros. Music Group to put up $200,000 to fund her education since they screwed her out of her contract way back when Reagan put crack in the hood…I mean the 80’s. As Roxanne would have you believe she got her Bachelor’s from Marymount Manhattan College and had just completed her PhD from Cornell University (shout out to the Jewels). It kinda became a feel good story seeing as how the poor Black girl from the hood had won against the corporate giant and was now a doctor and a licensed psychologist. Doesn’t that just warm your heart?

After some deep investigation by the people at slate magazine it was discovered that Cornell had no records of her ever attending the school, let alone getting a degree. I don’t really think Roxanne Shante meant to lie to everybody. Remember she was somewhat of a local hood star back in the 80’s so who knows how much free basing and/or lines she snorted back then. I mean you don’t have to have PhD to be considered a doctor right? Look at Dr. Dre, but nobody ever looked into his academic history. In my personal opinion she was planning on making a comeback to the rap game and that was gonna be her new stage name. It was also later discover that she was not a licensed psychologist in the state of New York. Did anybody ever think that she was maybe the person that all of her friends and family went to when they had problems. So I figure during the interview she probably said something along the lines of “Sometimes I feel like a licensed psychologist in the state of New York.” But people tend to get nervous in interviews, so maybe she stuttered a little bit; and then everybody just took that out of context.

Last but not least, after Slate magazine contacted Marymount Manhattan College they found out that she didn’t even get her Bachelor’s degree. I know what you’re thinking: this is getting out of hand, what possible explanation is there for this lie? The school says that Roxanne attended the school for about 4 months, and then she left and never came back. Anybody ever stop to think that maybe there was an administrative error on the schools part? I know some of yall went to an HBCU, and I don’t need you to explain to me how fucked up the administrative procedures are taken care of at those schools. Maybe when she went to enroll for the next semester the school just never recorded it, but poor Roxanne was still going to classes for the next three or four years (five or six if she’s like some people that I know whose names I won’t mention). So after all these years of going to class, she felt like she had the same education as anybody else whose paperwork wasn’t messed up. She just didn’t have the physical paper to prove it.

I’m on Roxanne Shante’s side. I think these schools are just keeping her records on hold because Warner Bros. hasn’t cleared that check yet for her tuition. That’s why I’m starting a fund for her to go and get a degree with some real substance. If you would like to make a donation please email us at myshoebag@live.com. Make all checks payable to Everest College.

Questions? Comments? Did she really think nobody would check this out? Let us know what’s on your mind.