Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album. Regarding her soon-to-be rap name, Harris told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she got the name because she is “a spoiled only child.” Harris is the half-sister of actress LisaRaye McCoy
In 1992, Harris got a big break when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. For the prize, she got to meet Kris Kross, and they in turn introduced her to their producer, Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat’s image as a “female Snoop Doggy Dogg”, and she became one of the first female “reality-based” rappers.
Da Brat’s debut album Funkdafied was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at Number #1. The single also entitled “Funkdafied” reached #1 on the rap singles chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. She had a follow-up hit from the same album, “Give It 2 You”, which reached #26 on the Hot 100. Read more about Da Brat here.
