Lyricist Lounge presents Origin Stories: An intimate conversation and performance along with archival footage screening from the vault of the legendary Lyricist Lounge.

The conversation will be hosted live in person by both co-founders Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro alongside panelists and special guest performers Roxanne Shanté, Rah Digga, and ShaaBiggaa & Hiii Siddity of Girll Codee.

Roxanne Shanté was raised in the Queensbridge Public Housing Projects in Queens, New York. She released her first single at the age of fourteen titled Roxanne’s Revenge, the first response record for the UTFO song Roxanne Roxanne. She prompted The Roxanne Wars which included over 86 response records, aimed directly at Roxanne Shanté. She was the first female rapper to have Platinum singles and Gold albums. She was the first nationally known female rapper and helped launch the careers of Hip Hop icons Big Daddy Kane, Unsung; Biz Markie, Hip Hop History; MC Shan, where it all began, Beef I and II; and NAS as stated in the motion picture Illmatic. She has been an influence and role model for many, not just female emcees.

Roxanne has withstood the test of time with her unique voice, allowing her to do voice overs on video games and animation films. She is presently on SIRIUSXM as the host of ‘Rock the Bells’ radio show with 7 million listeners per day. She is also one of the most sampled cross-genre voices, sampled by artists including Janet Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Nas, Jay-Z, J-Cole, and Basement Jaxx.