#juice crew

Roxanne Shanté truly asserted her status as the first woman battle rapper with the release of her 1987 single, "Have A Nice Day." She had already started the Roxanne Wars in 1984 with her Marley Marl-produced debut, "Roxanne's Revenge." The 14-year-old Queensbridge emcee had dissed UTFO and set off a litany of response records from at least 30 other artists. Boogie Down Productions released "The Bridge Is Over" in 1987 and made the mistake of saying that Shanté had no value outside of the bedroom. Shanté came back with "Have A Nice Day" later that year and reminded everyone that she was the mother of microphones and BDP really stood for "Broken Down Punks."

Roxanne Shanté lyrically demolished another all-male crew before she would release her first album two years later. Those witty beatdowns opened up a place for every female rapper after her to be a merciless wordsmith in a rap combat. She wasn't just the queen of her Juice Crew but of rap in general. KRS-One admits that when Roxanne Shanté confronted him and asked why her name was mentioned on "The Bridge Is Over," he said, "I Don't Know." In 2018, the biopic about her life, Roxanne Roxanne, premiered on Netflix. She also launched her Have A Nice Day daily show on LL Cool J's Sirius XM Rock The Bells Channel in 2018. Since 2021 the Have A Nice Podcast has aired on Thursdays and it is the official after-show to her daily lineup. In 2025, Roxanne Shanté became the first female rapper to receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. 

The hip-hop community mourns the loss of St. Theron “T.J. Swan” Grant, who passed away on November 22, 2024. As a pivotal member of the legendary Juice Crew, T.J. Swan’s soulful vocals and melodic hooks left an indelible mark on the genre during its formative years. Early Life and Musical Beginnings Born on December 10, 1966, in the South Bronx, New York, T.J. Swan was immersed in music from a…

Big Daddy Kane's "Smooth Operator" was an honest self-boast about his popularity with women. He wrote and produced the song for his second full-length album, It's A Big Daddy Thing, which was released in 1989. Kane was known for his ability to rap fast, but on "Smooth Operator," he was conversational. The Mary Jane Girls' sample of "All Night Long" and Kane's casual delivery made "Smooth Operator" sound like a rapper making an R&B song. Consequently, "Smooth Operator" had a presence on the rap, R&B, and dance music charts. The video was an illustration of everything that made Kane so debonair. He played pool, had his nails done, had his shoes shined, sat on his throne, socialized with beautiful women, and performed one of his well-known James Brown-inspired dance routines with his dancers.

Chris Rock, Al B. Sure, Kwame, and Kim Porter had appearances in the video. It's A Big Daddy Thing is Kane's most commercially viable album and one of the most important rap albums ever. In 2024, Big Daddy Kane is still marveling audiences with his legendary skills. He recently weighed in on the rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Big Daddy Kane will appear with MC Lyte, Rakim, DJ Spinna, and more at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on October 19, 2024, for represent! social justice through spoken art.

"But let me explain to him what he should do: He should be like me, a fly MC Don't never have to bite, we're always right I have the freshest rhymes that I do recite"

Marcel Theo Hall (born April 8, 1964, July 162021), better known by his stage name Biz Markie, was a rapper, beatboxer, DJ, record producer, and television personality. He is best known for his single" Just a Friend," a Top 10 hit in 1989 that was a top ten hit worldwide. Biz was popular in the underground circuit because of his beatboxing and rhyming skills; he gained more notoriety after being interviewed in the 1986 hip-hop Documentary Big Fun In The Town. After that, he released his first album, Goin'"' Off, which had several hit singles, including the popular single" "Make the Music with Your Mouth Bi," which brought him a fair amount of attention on the underground circuit. He didn't reach a mass audience until he released his second album," The Biz Never Sleeps," which featured the famous single" Just A Friend." With the booming popularity of" "Just A Friend," Biz released his third album, I Need A Haircut, in 1991. The single" "Alone Again" from the album ran into trouble because it sampled Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again without permission.