As rap music grew in popularity and became seen as more of a commodity, the stakes in rap battles rose. By the 1980s, rap battles provided an on-ramp for new artists to enter the industry and for producers to sell more albums. The “Roxanne Wars” represented the first notable—and profitable—rap “battle on wax” in the 1980s. In 1984, the hip-hop group UTFO scored a hit with their song “Roxanne, Roxanne,” which was a catcall song about a fictional woman named Roxanne who refused the rappers’ advances. After UTFO pulled out of a performance organized by rap producer Marley Marl, radio DJ Mr. Magic, and his manager, Tyrone Williams, Marley Marl invited Lolita Shanté Gooden, who was 14 years old at the time, to record an answer record to “Roxanne, Roxanne.” “Roxanne’s Revenge” picked up where UTFO’s song left off and responded to the men with ridicule.
Roxanne Shanté’s UTFO diss initiated what observers called the “Roxanne Wars,” as more artists joined in the battle. Sparky D heard Shanté’s response and recorded “Sparky’s Turn (Roxanne You’re Through).” Shanté dissed Sparky D on “Queen of Rox.” The two songs inspired a battle LP, Round 1, featuring disses from the two women. UTFO also recruited Elease Jack to perform as The Real Roxanne. However, UTFO replaced Jack with Adelaida Martinez who then recorded under the moniker.
While the Roxanne Wars popularized the “answer record” in hip-hop—artists responding to others’ songs—the initial battle also illustrated how rap beef, or battles, boosted the hip-hop economy. If we thought Lamar and Drake produced too many records in their battle, the Roxanne Wars generated at least 30 songs with titles like “Roxanne’s Doctor—The Real Man,” “The Parents of Roxanne,” and “Roxy (Roxanne’s Sister)” by artists like Dr. Freshh, Gigolo Tony and Lacey Lace, and DW and the Party Crew (some have said nearly 100 response records were released) over the next few years. This sprawling rap battle was a boon for Select Records, which produced UTFO’s “Roxanne, Roxanne,” and Pop Art Records, which released Shanté’s “Roxanne’s Revenge.” Both songs were hits and sold hundreds of thousands of copies when the rap music industry was still in its infancy. Most rap record companies were small and major labels like Sony and Warner Music Group had not started investing capital in the burgeoning genre. These records allowed Select Records and Pop Art Records to expand their rap talent and business operations and to demonstrate the growing genre’s profitability.