| The Real Roxanne | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Adelaida Martinez |
| Alias: | Roxanne, Joanne Martinez |
| Birth Date: | 24 July 1963 |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Occupation: | Emcee |
| Years Active: | 1984–present |
| Label: | Select |
Adelaida Martinez[1] (born July 24, 1963), better known by her stage name the Real Roxanne, is an American female hip hop MC who recorded for Select Records.
Martinez was born in Brooklyn, New York. In the 1980s, she, the producer of Roxanne Shante, and others were engaged in the Roxanne Wars, a series of answer records inspired by UTFO's hit song "Roxanne, Roxanne", being the officially sanctioned artist in response to all of the answer records. She scored her biggest hit in 1986 by teaming up with Howie Tee on the single "Bang Zoom (Let's Go Go)", which reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart, her only UK top-40 song to date.[2]
The role of the Real Roxanne was originally filled by a different woman, Elease Jack, who recorded the first single "The Real Roxanne" under the character's name. Meanwhile, Martinez claims to have been introduced to UTFO in a fashion very similar to the Roxanne story. Already acquainted with Paul Anthony George, a member of Full Force, the group that produced UTFO:[3]
Ironic[ally] enough, I briefly met Doc Ice and Kangol (Kid) at the Albee Square Mall in Brooklyn, and, like Roxanne, I paid them no mind when they tried to get their rap on. All this was taking place while Paul Anthony and I were just becoming friends. Full Force was looking for someone to play the permanent role of Roxanne, even though they had already cut the track with someone they picked out of a club, whom, by the way, had absolutely no rap experience. They utilized her for an answer back to outbid Roxanne Shante's track. It seems that while they tried to create this character, they were having issues with this individual and her mother, so I was told, and that's when I was asked by Paul Anthony if I would audition for the guys, and I said sure, and I did. And, from there, I kept on walking in the shoes of THE REAL Roxanne!'
| Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B<br/>/HH [4] | |||||||||||||||
| The Real Roxanne |
| 30 | |||||||||||||
| Go Down (But Don't Bite It) | — | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B | BEL [6] | NLD [7] | UK [8] | ||||
| "The Real Roxanne" (with UTFO) | 1984 | 44 | — | — | — | UTFO | |
| "Roxanne Meets UTFO" (with UTFO)[9] | — | — | — | — | rowspan="2" | ||
| "Romeo Part I & Part II" (With Hitman Howie Tee) | 1985 | 64 | — | — | — | ||
| "Bang Zoom (Let's Go Go)" (With Hitman Howie Tee) | 1986 | 24 | — | — | 11 | The Real Roxanne | |
| "Respect" | 1988 | 55 | 27 | 24 | 71 | ||
| "Roxanne's on a Roll" | 80 | 40 | 42 | 80 | |||
| "Ya Brother Does"[10] | 1992 | — | — | — | — | Go Down (But Don't Bite It) | |
| "Lollipop" (with UTFO, featuring Syncere)[11] | 1998 | — | — | — | — | The Best of U.T.F.O. | |
| "I Can't"[12] | 2019 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
| Year | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| "Real Roxanne Meets Pee Wee Herman And Howie's Tee'd Off" (with Hitman Howie Tee and Joe Ski Love)[13] | 1986 |
| Year | Other artist(s) | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Undercover"[14] | 1988 | Kid 'n Play | 2 Hype |