ARCHIVED POST :: THROWBACK THURSDAY :: DA BRAT
Da Brat was born Shawntae
Harris on April 14, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois. She got her stage name
from being the “spoiled only child”
even though she is the younger
half-sister of actress Lisa Raye
McCoy. Da Brat fell in love with
music while playing the drums and
singing in the church choir. After
graduating from the Academy of
Scholastic Achievement in 1992
she got her big break.
Da Brat won the grand prize in
a local rap contest sponsored by
Yo! MTV Raps in 1992. She got to
meet Kris Kross, the young rap duo
who wore their clothes backwards.
They recognized Da Brat’s raw
talent and introduced her to their
producer, Jermaine Dupri, who
would later sign her to his So So
Def label.
Da Brat’s debut album titled
Funkdafied was released in 1994
and sold over a million copies, an
accomplishment that made her the
first female rapper to go platinum.
The album entered the rap albums
chart at #1 yet peaked at #11 on the
Billboard 200. It yielded several
chart breaking singles like “Funkdafied” featuring Jermaine Dupri,
“Give It 2 You”, and “Fa All Y’all”
featuring Kandi of Xscape.
Da Brat’s second album titled
Anuthatantrum was released in
1996 and went gold. The album
failed to have the success on the
charts her first album did. Howev-
30
er, the single “Ghetto Love” featuring Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of
TLC reached #16 on the Billboard
Hot 100. The only other single
released was “Sittin on Top of the
World” which failed to chart.
Da Brat spent the rest of the 90s
making a name for herself as the
queen of features. You could hear
her on Mariah Carey’s hit “Always Be My Baby” as well as the
So So Def remix of “Honey”, “I
Still Believe”, and “Heartbreaker”.
Her other features include “Ladies’ Night” with Lil Kim, Angie
Martinez, Left-Eye, and Missy
Elliot; Kris Kross’ single “Da
Bomb”, Missy Elliot’s “Sock It 2
Me”, Brandy’s remix for “U Don’t
Know Me”, and Destiny’s Child’s
“Jumpin Jumpin”. She also made
her feature film debut in Kazaam
alongside NBA legend Shaquille
O’Neal.
Da Brat’s third album titled
Unrestricted, was released in 2000.
The album had a luke warm reception causing it not to break onto the
charts. The album did however pro-
duce two singles which managed
to chart. “That’s What I’m Looking
For” which reached #56 on the US
charts and “What Chu Like” featuring singer/actor Tyrese, which
reached #26 on the US charts.
In 2001, Da Brat continued her
trend of being a featured artist, appearing on Mariah Carey’s “Lover
Boy” and Destiny’s Child’s remix
for “Survivor”. She also appeared
in Mariah Carey’s movie Glitter, as
well as the fourth season of VH1’s
hit reality show, The Surreal Life.
Da Brat’s fourth album titled
Limelite, Luv, & Niteclubz was
released in 2003. No longer on So
So Def, the album was released by
Arista and failed to have any of
her previous success. In 2005 Da
Brat was featured on the remix of
Dem Franchize Boyz #1 single, “I
Think They Like Me,” which also
featured Bow Wow and Jermaine
Dupri. In 2006 she joined good
friend Mariah Carey on her The
Adventures Of Mimi tour. She
performed her verses on the “Honey” and “Heartbreaker “ remixes
for audiences in Atlanta, Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York City, and
Washington, DC.
Still riding high off her success
as a featured artist, Da Brat was
featured on bonus tracks for both
Kelly Rowland and Mariah Carey.
She also joined the 2007 cast of
VH1’s hit reality series Celebrity
Fit Club. 2007 was shaping up to
be another in a long line of good
years for Da Brat...that is until
October 31, 2007. At a Halloween
Party at Studio 72, a nightclub just