Roxanne Shanté Recalls Mike Tyson Demanding Payment From A Promoter On Her Behalf

"And he was like, 'So who said they wasn't going to pay you?'"

Roxanne Shanté said Mike Tyson stepped in to defend her against a promoter who tried to avoid paying her in the 1980s.

The legendary battle rapper told the story on Hot 97 with Nessa Diab As a teenage female MC in New York City’s male-dominated hip-hop scene, Shanté said she turned to a young Mike Tyson—then an undisputed boxing champion—to back her up.

“Like I remember a time when I came by myself to a promoter, and there’s like a, there’s a photo that’s circulating on the internet because somebody had a photo from that evening. And the promoter told me, he said, ‘I don’t care who you bring with you,'” Roxanne shared in a clip posted online.

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The “Real Roxanne” rapper recalled the promoter telling her flat out, “We’re not paying you,” which prompted her to enlist her Brooklyn-born back-up.

“I brought Mike Tyson. And this is, yeah, I came back and showed up with Mike Tyson. And he was like, ‘So who said they wasn’t going to pay you?'” Shanté recalled.

“Did they pay you?” Diab asked.

“Yes, they did. Yes, they did,” Shanté said.

Shanté said Mike Tyson’s help in securing her pay allowed her to keep pursuing her battle rap career.

“I showed up. I showed up to the battle,” she said. “Yeah, I showed up, and I was like, ‘Listen, they said, you know, I was like, Mike, they said they’re not going to pay me.’ And he was like, ‘Let’s go.'”

Shanté recalled how many were baffled by Tyson showing up to defend a young rapper.

“He [Mike Tyson] was like, ‘No, Shante needs me. I’m going with her.’ And he came. Showed right up. And they paid me my money/”