Lemondrop

Before Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It," there was "Roxanne's Revenge," the 1984 hit single by then 14-year-old rapper Roxanne Shante, considered hip-hop's first female celebrity.

Five years and two albums later, the New York native quit the crooked music industry, alleging Warner Music had robbed her of her royalties. Then, at 19, the smartypants rapper decided to take advantage of a throwaway clause in her recording contract that said Warner would fund her education for life -- by earning a doctorate in psychology from Cornell University in 2001.

After years of stalling, Warner finally agreed to pay the tab to the tune of over $200K. (Update: A report in Slate says that Warner never made such a deal and that Shante doesn't have a PhD. A Cornell news release from last year originally confirmed it, but has since been edited. Shante has not denied the Slate report's findings.)

Why We Love Her (Regardless): Shante, now 38, definitely broke barriers for females in the music industry. But more importantly, she showed that circumstances -- in her case, being a teen mother and living in the projects -- don't have to stand in the way of pursuing your dreams or getting an education.

Click here for more after the jump.

Though it took her years to get the money from Warner, Shante was able to attend Marymount Manhattan College with the help of Dean Marguerita Grecco. Grecco kept sending tuition bills to the label, which finally paid up after Shante threatened to take her story public.

After obtaining a PhD from Cornell, Shante started a therapy practice for urban African-Americans. She sometimes employs hip-hop as a tool to get patients to open up. She's working on getting a radio show so she can reach more people.

Everybody Needs a Theme Song
One thing Shante tells clients is to have a theme song for life, a tune that not only represents who you are but that gets you going in the morning and can lift you up when you're down. (For the record, Shante's song is "Candy" by Cameo.)

"Life is a form in entertainment," she told Lemondrop. "When you have a theme song, it's what triggers you."

Giving Back to Little Princesses
Shante also offers $5,000 college scholarships to other female rappers each semester through the nonprofit Hip Hop Association, travels the country doing speaking engagements, and runs a nonprofit that helps purchase Easter dresses for young girls. In December, she hopes to run an event through that organization where little girls get to be "princesses for a day" by dressing like royalty and going to the see the film "The Princess and the Frog," which features Disney's first African-American princess.

"Our little girls today don't know how to be little girls any longer," she said. "Everything is jeans and sneakers. We find that [dressing up] really makes a difference."

Quote: "Everything is temporary, and you're allowed to change your mind," Shante told us. "A lot of young women feel they don't have choices, and that they're stuck in circumstances. What you build mentally, you will always be able to keep."

Below, check out "Roxanne's Revenge" video from back in the day.