For three decades, Roxanne Shanté has reinvented herself to remain in entertainment. One of the women emcees to do so, she captures our innovators highlight for our, The Light Series
Lolita Shanté Gooden famously known as Roxanne Shanté will forever be the queen of reinvention. The 1980s breakout hip hop star who is the most sampled voice in hip hop, Shanté currently hosts a three-hour daily show, “Have A Nice Day,” exclusively on LL COOL J’s Rock The Bells Radio on SiriusXM.
When Ark Republic first launched, Roxanne Shanté was one of the first to congratulate us on the venture. To do more, she even agreed to host an event called, Break Bread & Build, put on by AERI Online in which we and the Chicago Teacher’s Union were co-sponsors.
Those five days were a crash lesson in learning how to stay relevant by simply being your authentic self, and continuously flipping an opportunity into a memorable connect. Through her talks, we discovered that Roxanne Shanté is a two-time breast cancer survivor, moved to Newark, New Jersey to call her home and invests in the community. She is a firm believer of staying where you are to develop your community.
Putting her philosophy to work, she is also youth advocate with an organization helping girls. Between her days at the non-profit and on SiriusXM, Roxanne Shanté hosts numerous events and rocks the mic several nights a week.
Fat Joe and super producer, Dre stopped by Roxanne Shanté SiriusXM show, “Have A Nice Day.” Photo courtesy of Roxanne Shanté’s Facebook page
Roxanne Shanté blasted onto the newly genre of hip hop in the 80s with her single, “Roxanne’s Revenge.” In her neighborhood, she was known for her freestyle skills and winning local battle raps. “Shante represents classic hip hop culture to the fullest,” said LL COOL J. “She’s one of the wittiest freestylers to ever touch a mic!”In 2018, Netflix released a biopic movie about her life called, Roxanne Roxanne. The movie was noted as the best debut for Netflix that year.
Ark Republic is ending the year with a series of mixed-media stories of hope, empowerment, leadership, courage, brilliance family and affirmation. We want to enter into the New Year with a community collaboration called, “The Light Series.”
The Light Series is a month-long exploration of all things light and love. So, we invite you to walk with us. Even, we ask that you participate in highlighting those in your community who need some shine, or even yourself, your business or your superpower.
Our first week, December 1 to December 7, we will feature stories of innovators in our communities. Next, from December 8 to December 15, we share stories of inspiration from our entrepreneurs. Afterwards, from December 16 to December 25, we explore spiritual, religious and family traditions, as well as, winter rituals. Finally, from December 26 to January 1, we will end the series with stories of affirmation and forward movement in this next cycle, 2020.
If you would like to submit a personal essay, article, video, poem/spoken word or other media presentation of your work, just provide basic information and answer at least five of the questions. Once finished, send your answers and a high resolution picture(s) to the following: thelight@arkrepublic.com.
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Ark Republic is an independent media company that provides a platform for free-thinking folk to tell stories as complex and colorful as possible. We need your help to keep the wheels churning and the stories flowing. Please become a member or donate to an organization dedicated to giving you stories that keep you informed.
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