Stickin' It to the Man - Literally

Roxanne Shante who was one of the first women in hip-hop, fooled her label and everyone else into paying for her education! Her label, thinking that she would never really finish school, gave her a clause in her contract that she got at age 15 that said they would pay for her education. Many, many years later, she is now a Ph. D. and they paid for ALL of it.

At the age of 23, after two albums, pay cuts, several discrepancies with her royalties and a pregnancy, Roxanne Shanté decided to change careers. At the age of 25, she retired from the recording industry (and took them up on their offer). However, she continues to make occasional guest appearances and live performances, as well as mentor young female hip-hop artists. She also took part in a series of Sprite commercials in the late 1990s. She is married and has one son and one daughter, and, now with a PhD in psychology, has a practice in Queens. She is a vegan and owns Hip-Hop Ices ice cream parlor in Queens.