The Roxanne Wars

In 1984 the hip hop group UTFO released a song called “Hanging out,” and it was bad. Nobody liked it. However, The B Side was a song called Roxanne Roxanne and that’s what people liked. Unfortunately, they no showed a concert. When 14-year-old Lolita Shante Goodwin who was part of the Juice Crew met DJ Mr. Magic and the then unknown but now legendary Marly Marl, they talked about that concert.  

This led to them agreeing to make a response record. Marly Marl took the beat from “Roxanne Roxanne,” and remixed it. Then Roxanne did a 7-minute freestyle in 1 take, recorded in Marly Marl’s basement. They called it “Roxanne’s Revenge,” and had an instant hit.

Response records weren’t new. Not in hip hop, or music in general. But no other song created so many responses. “Roxanne’s Sister,” “The Young Roxanne,” “The Real Roxanne,” “Roxanne’s Parents,” and dozens more. Everyone wanted a piece. There are no less than 30 different tracks spawned from a UTFO B Side and a missed concert. Forget Game vs G-Unit or Nas vs Jay Z and Roc-A-Fella, a 14-year-old kicked off the most extensive rap beef in history.