Roxanne Shante

I was reading a few interviews about Where Are They Now? from allhiphop.com and in the midst of the Roxanne Shante interview - saw this dope quote, which is the message that I've been trying to preach to anyone since Day 1. It's disheartening to see artists drop everything (especially education) to pursue Hip Hop - believing that this is what they want to do forever. They don't have a plan beyond Hip Hop. The average time-span for a rapper is probably one-two albums at most - and that's if you become popular enough to solely make money off of it!!! And now-@-days so many aspiring artists, especially the young ones think that this is it - I'm gonna be a rapper and that's it. I'm not saying that you shouldn't follow your dreams or ambitions but while doing so, don't cut off the option of school. I'll stop rambling; the quote sums up what I am trying to say.



AllHipHop.com: You're one of the few MCs that have been able to transition successfully to other venues outside of Hip-Hop, education wise and business wise. Was this a conscious decision early on in your career or were these ventures you pursued once you saw the direction Hip-Hop was going in?

Shante: Well the reason I was able to make such an easy transition was due to pursuing my education. With education it opens a lot of doors and the more knowledge you have the more choices you’re able to make. And I really credit going to school for that, because that wasn’t something I always thought about. At the age of 14 I’m thinking about Gucci sneakers and bamboo earrings. I wasn’t thinking about purchasing a jewelry store and probably could have done that by the age of 17 if someone had guided me in the right direction. But I’m blessed and really happy at the choices I made in the timeframe that I did.