Da Brat

Chicago beginnings

Shawntae Harris was born in Chicago on April 14, 1974, and grew up on the city's West Side, raised between the homes of her mother and grandmother. She sang in an Apostolic church choir as a child, played basketball and ran track at Kenwood Academy, and graduated in 1992 from the Academy of Scholastic Achievement. That same year she won a local rap contest tied to Yo! MTV Raps, which led to a meeting with the teen duo Kris Kross and, through them, an introduction to Atlanta producer Jermaine Dupri.

So So Def breakthrough

Dupri signed her to his So So Def Recordings, and her debut album “Funkdafied” arrived on June 28, 1994, with Dupri producing. Its title track climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the rap chart, and the album went platinum, making Da Brat the first female solo rapper to reach that mark. Blending West Coast funk textures with Midwestern delivery, the record also produced the singles “Fa All Y'all” and “Give It 2 You.”

Later albums and collaborations

Her second album, “Anuthatantrum” (1996), was certified gold, and “Unrestricted” (2000), featuring the Tyrese duet “What'chu Like,” returned her to platinum status. “Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz” followed in 2003. Along the way she became a frequent collaborator of Mariah Carey and worked with Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim and other So So Def acts. She earned two Grammy nominations, for the “Not Tonight” remix in 1998 and for “Got It Poppin'” in 2004.

Screen, radio and legacy

Da Brat appeared in the films “Kazaam” (1996) and “Glitter” (2001), later joined reality series such as “The Surreal Life” and “Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta,” and in 2015 became a co-host of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show. Her platinum debut is widely cited as a door-opener for the women rappers who followed in the late 1990s and beyond.

Read the story: Chicago Rap, Decade by Decade: From Hip House to Drill