Listen to Da Brat on Batanga

One of the most prominent of the balls-out, take-charge female rappers to emerge during the 1990s, Da Brat first received a national audience when she won an MTV-sponsored MC contest in 1992, which in turn brought her to the attention of producer Jermaine Dupri. Through Dupri's So So Def label, Ms. Brat released her first album Funkdafied in 1994; the record was an enormous success, topping the rap charts and making a strong showing in the mainstream charts as well. Remarkable for a female rapper at the time, the single release of the album's title track passed the million-sold mark and captured the top position of the singles charts for 11 weeks.

A second album, Anuthatantrum, followed in 1997 with similar success. Da Brat then spent the next several years working to establish an acting career, having made her film debut in 1996 with Shaquille O'Neal in the comedy Kazaam. Appearances on the TV series The Parent 'Hood and a role in Mariah Carey's big screen vehicle Glitter followed; but by 2000 she was again focusing on her music career, releasing her third album Unrestricted that same year and its follow-up Limelight, Luv & Niteclubz in 2003.