Spin of the Week · No. 01
Roxanne's Revenge · Roxanne Shante · picked by Neil
Why this one: probably the first female MC I ever heard, and she had me hooked at 10 years old.
A tape at a birthday party
In 1985 I went to a friend's birthday party. His big brother was playing a tape, and I knew straight away I had to have it.
It was the Street Sounds compilation Electro 6. And on it was Roxanne Shante.
I think it was the first time I'd ever heard a woman rap. I managed to borrow the tape and played it non-stop for days. I was 10. I'd never even seen a picture of her. Didn't matter. The way she went after UTFO on that record had me hooked.
The start of a habit
I made sure I got my own copy of Electro 6. Then I tried to get every other Street Sounds Electro album too, the old ones and every new one that came out. That's what one tape at a party can do to you.
Roxanne's Revenge was her answer to UTFO's record. I reckon it was probably the first rap beef ever to make it onto vinyl. There have been a few since.
She was only 14 when Marley Marl found her.
Why it still works
[One or two lines from you. What do you hear in it now, 40 years on?]
Every week I'll pick one thing for Spin of the Week. Some weeks a classic like this. Some weeks a playlist or an album. Now and then, one of mine.
What was the first rap record that got you?
