Roxanne Shanté To Receive Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award

Roxanne Shanté has been breaking barriers since her 1984 hit “Roxanne’s Revenge.” Now, she’s making history again—this time as the first solo female rapper to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.

 

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The honor recognizes artists whose contributions have left a lasting impact on music. Shanté will receive the award on February 1 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, joining an esteemed class of recipients that includes Frankie Beverly, The Clash, Dr. Bobby Jones, Taj Mahal, Prince, and Frankie Valli.

Hip-hop legends Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Salt-N-Pepa, and N.W.A. have received the award in previous years. Now, it’s Shanté’s turn. Speaking with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, she reflected on the moment: “When you enter the music industry, you dream of three things—getting paid, making Billboard, and winning a Grammy.” King pointed out that Shanté has now done all three.

Before this milestone, Shanté received another major honor—the Grandmaster Award from the Paid in Full Foundation. The award, which she said came with a $1 million prize, was presented by Nas at a special ceremony in Las Vegas last October.

Nas took to social media to celebrate the event, which honored Kool Moe Dee and Grandmaster Caz alongside Shanté. “These pioneers were often overlooked, but without them, there would be no us in hip-hop,” he wrote. “They changed the world. We thank you.”