After the production of the series The Get Down: a series that tells the birth of rap, with many musical scenes, Netflix announced the release of Roxanne Roxanne with the first idea of paying tribute to a woman who launched female rap. A work that promises energy and passion but this promise turns out to be distorted.
The story takes place in the 80s in Queensbridge (New York). At a time when Hip-hop has the wind in its sails, little Shanté born under the name of Lolita Good is noticed throughout her neighborhood as the champion of musical battles. Captivated by his talent, a neighbor offers him one day to put his voice on the instrumental version of the title "Roxanne Roxanne" which will quickly become a success. Torn between her teenage life and her life as an artist, Shanté will make choices that will upset her entry into the adult world…
The absence of the main theme: music
As you can see, Roxanne Roxanne tells the story of a teenager who has been passionate about hip-hop since a very young age. This element is to be taken into consideration because it is supposed to be the common thread of the film.
Only one downside, and not least: Shanté's family environment takes over the musical side that the film should make us discover. If we imagined discovering the talent of the pioneer of rap, it is still better to rely on the archives of the internet rather than the tribute dedicated to her.
Although the terms "passion" and "energy" were used by the platform to introduce us to Roxanne Roxanne, we do not really take advantage of her talent as he is so much flown over. The promised energy is totally non-existent the atmosphere is even heavy.
A botched scenario
During the first hour, we are waiting. The scenario is very slow, events are rare to the point of wondering if something will finally happen in the life of the teenager.
We expect to discover a musical ascent that does not happen, and because of the overview of the essential elements to be treated when telling the life of an artist who democratized female hip-hop. Some passages that might be considered important for understanding an artist's journey have been shortened or accelerated. We do not know the impact that his words may have had on his audience, especially women. It is also unknown how many records Shanté sold, or how long his career lasted.
For most of the film, the footage dealt with Shanté's childhood living in a single-parent home with her three younger sisters, run by a mother depressed by her romantic failures.The directors have focused too much on who Shanté is rather than who Roxanne Shanté is.
The real Roxanne Shanté became known more than 30 years ago. This film was an opportunity to discover the artist before taking an interest in his childhood. This subject took a large place in this realization, and reduced the visibility of most of Shanté's work as an artist and highlighted his wounds and weaknesses. So many questions around the one we want to nickname the icon of rap, which remain unanswered and leave us in the most total vagueness. Roxanne Roxanne would seem to be a personal tribute of the directors to Shanté, rather than a work allowing the discovery of his work as an artist.
